Calostemma

[Alberto]

Hi All, here is another genus from Australia, in the Amaryllidaceae family. It is just blooming now,in the northern hemisphere, with late summer rains (or artificial rains: waterings!). Two species belong to this genus, purpureum and luteum. Sometimes another specie is listed in floras, C. scott-sellickiana (who grow it?). In Australia there are only three genera in Amaryllidaceae: Calostemma, Proiphys and Crinum.
In C. purpureum the floral scape is from a leafless bulb, about 30 cm tall. The flowers have a lightly eucalyptol-scent.

Alberto
Italy 

[Hans J]

Great Alberto !

I grow also Calostemma from seed -how big ( old ) are your plants ?
My knowlegde for this plants is very poor - it seems they like not full sun here by me -I must make it in ligth shade ...

Thanks for your pics
Hans

[Alberto]

Hans, the bulb is about 3 cm in diameter. I grow it in full sun and Italian sun is different from German one!

Ciao
Alberto

[Hans J]

OK -maybe the seedlings are more sensibel than mature bulbs !
how you treat it in winter ?

[Alberto]

They need a summer dry rest, all sun possible in winter and moist.

Alberto

[Hans J]

Thank you - how cold they can have in winter ?
would my greenhouse be OK ( with a minimum of 5° ) or must they have more temperature ?
are they evergreen ?

[Alberto]

Hans, it is deciduous with a summer dry rest. 5°C is good, little water, good drainage and much light as possible!

Alberto

[Hans J]

Alberto ,

I have it now realized it is a "wintergrower" ....
my idea is that I have done nothing wrong - I have cultivate it always warm and a little wet since sowing -but in next spring I will give it a rest ....

[Paul T]

I grow Calostemma.  They are winter growers predominantly, having no problems with our frosts down to -8'C and as far as I know they can take colder than that.  They are totally dormant in spring/summer then come into flower and then leaf.  They like space to pull their bulbs down deeply.... I find they won't flower in small pots at all.  I have a couple of different colours and the scott-sellickiana (although I haven't flowered it as yet, it came from a reputable source).  In the ground they will pull themselves easily down a foot into the ground if necessary to insulated themselves throughout the heat of summer.  Full sun here is fine for them, but in 8 inch plastic pots the bulbs will pull themselves down to sit on the bottom of the pot.  Those of you who have seen my "Evolution of a Crocus Garden" topic..... I have planted them in the top level of the garden, and they are pretty much the only bulbs that have not been put into baskets, as I know they will want to pull themselves down to their own level and expect them to travel a way down.  I am hoping that this way they will set themselves up properly and I will start getting reliable flowering from them.

While working in the Botanic Gardens in autumn I took the oppotunity to check how deep the bulbs had pulled themselves down there in their established clumps.  Those around the edges were about 6 inches underground (that it the top of the bulb), but I would imagine that the centres of the clump were deeper.  As far as I know, Calostemma lutea has now been subsumed as a colour form of C. purpurea rather than being a separate species.  There are significant differences to me in the flowers, but obviously not enough for them to retain a separate species status.  I still think of them myself as separate species though. 

[arillady]

Calostemmas are native to this area and they grow in full sun here - there is a large patch just outside our driveway which is a beautiful sight every year - there is also a patch of dirty white flowered ones on the drive. We do get pretty hot summers here. The flower stems bend over as they age and the succulent seeds hit the ground. The seeds are fleshy so would be hard to send.

[Paul T]

Pat,

I would be interested in seeing pics of your dirty white one.  Maybe a bulb too?    I would love to find every possible colour of Calostemma, but realise that is a bit outside of possible.  What colour is the main patch outside your driveway?

[arillady]

Paul the same colour as Alberto posted

[Paul T]

That's the "normal" sort of colour for purpurea.  It crosses happily with the yellow (was lutea) and forms interesting colour combinations of yellow and red.  I can try to dig up pictures of some of the colours I have photographed at the Australian National Botanic Gardens here in Canberra, if anyone is interested?

[Hans J]

Of course Paul !!!

I would like to see it 

but I think it is only to making all of us "long teeth "

[Paul T]

I'm assuming that "long teeth" means jealous, or something like that?  Haven't come across that turn of phrase before.  Makes up for so many of the Australian comments I make that no-one else understands.    At least yours you can work out what it meant by context... so much Australian slang makes no sense to anyone, least of all us Aussies!!