Biarum

[Oron Peri]

Four species of Biarum are in flower at the moment :
Biarum angustatum
B. pyrami
B. bovei - on mountains above 900m
All three have wide East Mediterranean distribution.

B. auraniticum the only yellow colored, on the other hand is a very rare species that was thought to be extincted.
It was rediscovered in the mid 90s  in the Golan Heights, this species is endemic to the Golan and the region of Jabel Druz in South Syria.

[Carlo]

Oron,

Thank you for the photos. I am a big fan of Biarum and have tried several species in pot culture over the years (with varied success). Anyone growing in pots that cares to share their technique?

[Oron Peri]

Carlo,

I grow a few species in pots including B. auraniticum, I find this Genera quite easy to grow the only problem seems to be Botrytis, if condition is too shady and humid.

Most of the Biarum are Mediterranean and so they need a long period of dry hot weather,
I never water them, practically 7 months without water.
As long as you keep them in a sunny hot spot they should be easy to grow., a few species are completely hardy, for sure B. bovei and B. auraniticum since they are high altitudes plants that get snow regularly.
I have found out that each tuber set flower every other year, and they can live for many years.
It is hard to collect seeds of most species since they mature underground.

Most of the species need soil rich in organic matter and so I add leaf mould.
For the low altitudes species i use sandy soil.

[Hans A.]

Oron thanks for showing species I did not know they exist
I grow very few in the garden in a loamy soil - biggest problem here are cutworms - one destroyed last week a B.pyrami flower just one or two days before it should open...

[Oron Peri]

biggest problem here are cutworms - one destroyed last week a B.pyrami flower just one or two days before it should open...

Hans,

I get out to the garden at least twice a week with a torch for that purpose,
I can become a real exterminator, and with all my love to nature if they touch one of my favorite plants they would make a terrible end...

[Tony Willis]

Oron,

Thank you for the photos. I am a big fan of Biarum and have tried several species in pot culture over the years (with varied success). Anyone growing in pots that cares to share their technique?

Oron that yellow one is quite stunning.

I grow several species from the Balkans, Turkey and Spain all in pots. It is too wet to grow them outside here. I repot each year in about July in a mixture of John Innes and extra grit using clay pots in a sand plunge. I water when the growth, usually in the form of flowers appear, and then keep them moist all winter and spring until they start to die down in about May .They do not need watering here during the winter as they stay moist and it avoids botrytis. I then keep them dry until growth reappears. In the recent mongraph on the genus which Giles Reed has lent me I see that Peter Boyce recommends feeding with tomato fertilizer at each watering something I am going to try. I do not keep them frost free and they have all proved hardy.I have a large arum collection and I am going to try this feeding method on those as well.

[Lesley Cox]

I can't add anything to the culture discussion as I only have Biarum davisii and it doesn't flower well for me, not hot or dry enough I think, but I can certainly appreciate these lovely species. Thanks so much for the pictures Oron. The yellow is especially good. Does it start all yellow then take on the rusty shade as it ages or is this colour variation in different plants?

[Carlo]

The ironic thing is that I do fine with Amorphophallus...and especially A. obscurus, a tiny one that is as small or smaller than many of the Biarum. It sounds, Tony, as if yours are just slightly moist even during dormancy. Is this the case? I wonder if I've over-dried them?

[Oron Peri]

Tony
 Thank you for the advise, I find Arums to be heavy feeders, you can almost hear them chewing..., and so i feed them at least 3 times during  winter with compost that i add on the top soil. I think I am going to try also the tomato fertilizer.

Lesley,
most of the flowers are this lemony yellow color, often different shades of rusty ,pink color.
The spadix is always bright yellow.

[Paul T]

Excellent Biarums, none of which I grow unfortunately.  I find them easy to grow here in pots, and all but davisii flower happily for me.  Some are prolific and regular flowerers, while others are a bit more shy.  As you can guess, we have no problem here providing the hot and dry bit over summer.    Like Lesley, I too am impressed in particular by that yellow, but all the others are delightful as well.  Thanks so much for the pictures.

[BULBISSIME]

B. ditschianum,end of summer :


B. davisii :


B. marmarisense

[Carlo]

THIS is why they are so high on my list of desirables! Just look at that ditschianum...I've been looking for it for a loooooong time. Fabulous job---they are beautiful!

[Anthony Darby]

I have B. marmarisense, but I suspect it won't flower this year.

[Tony Willis]

that ditschianum is wonderful.

I have marmariense and davisii but neither have flowered this year. I have looked for marmariense the last two times in Turkey with no luck

[Oron Peri]

I have B. marmarisense, but I suspect it won't flower this year.

Antony,

I grow other Biarum species, but I have noticed that each bulb bloom every second year.