Orange ornithogalum

[Michael]

Hello there!

Could someone tell me what species/hybrid belongs this orange Ornithogalum? My cousin brought me seeds of them some time ago, and all came white except this one! And i got like  after the first flower opened



Thanks for any help
Mike

[Maggi Young]

Hi, Mike, I think we had a question about this plant before.... I'll see what I can find in a search......

[Ezeiza]

Hi Maggi:

             Look around Ornithogalum dubium, but the flowers are not open yet.

Regards

[Maggi Young]

I thought I remembered an orange form, cannot find a photo though but it is discussed here
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=249.msg22484;topicseen#msg22484   I think your plant is a form of O. dubium  There is a South African website mentioned by Rogan on that page, they may have photos.

Oh, Alberto, thank you, that confirms my thought then!

[Paul T]

O. dubium.  Used to grow it here but I found that I'd buy it in flower, and then it would never surface again.  The bulbs survived for years without shooting, but I never had it above ground again.  Frustrating as all heck, as I just loved the colour.  The yellow form on the other hand returns year after year (it is virtually evergreen here) and flowers prolifically, setting seed etc.  No idea why the yellow is so easy and the orange so shy for me.  From other discussions elsewhere on the gardening lists I am not alone in these results either.  Then again, you're in a totally different climate so it may work just fine for you each year.  Either way, good luck with it as it is a wonderful plant and flowers for SO long!!

[Michael]

Hello everyone, thanks for the help, it is indeed O. dubium and not an orange form of O. thyrsoides as i previously thougt.

Tyerman, what you mention is very strange indeed. Do you want seeds of mine when the pods mature? I dunno, perhaps you might have a different sttuborn clone of the species, and probably if you try to grow them from seed, natural selection will choos for you those who will grow well in your zone. And can you please show me the yellow one? I am not good with the search thing, as it never finds anything for me.

[Paul T]

Mike,

Here's a pic of the yellow O. dubium.  Not a brilliant pic, but you get the idea.  There are others I have seen pics of with a dark centre to the flower, like your orange most likely has. 

[Michael]

Hi again!

Paul thanks for the picture, the yellow form is also very nice, with a good shape!

Here is an update of the ornithogalum, now with a much better camera (it was getting dark and the flowers close when it's cloudy or during the night) that's why the flowers are like that. Do your yellow one also do this Paul? I am still wondering if they are the same species...








Cheers 

[Paul T]

I think most of the Ornithogalum do that Mike, well at least those I have come across seem to anyway.

[Ezeiza]

Hi Mike.

           The time and brownish center are also typical of O. dubium


Regards

[Anthony Darby]

Ornithogalum dubium often turns up in garden centres here.

[Ezeiza]

Hi Anthony.

I hastily read

"Ornithogalum dubium often turns up in gardens here"

So much for global warming!

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Anthony wrote it turns up in garden centres
Eseiza, not gardens....
At least not in my garden - I bought one once, but it didn't show up again after Winter... 

[Ezeiza]

Dear Luc.

That's right, it was my mistake for reading in a hurry-

Here, where the weather is suitable for growing many of them outdoors, are not very permanent because they are extremely susceptible to viruses, dubium, conicum and thyrsoides, even more than Lachenalias.


Kind regards

[Michael]

Viruses? What kind of viruses?