South African bulbose plants 2009

[Lesley Cox]

You will have noticed David, that it is very fragrant.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

A pretty wee thing David - not one I had seen before.
Thanks for showing ! 

[Ragged Robin]

You will have noticed David, that it is very fragrant.

OOooo, what sort of fragrance Lesley?

[David Nicholson]

Obviously Lesley's olfactory systems are much better than mine, I can't detect a scent at all.

[Darren]

Nice picture of a lovely plant David.
It does have a nice scent Lesley. David - wear gloves when you pick off the dead flower remains though they don't smell so nice then and the smell lingers on your fingers! Not as bad as some forms of the (IMHO) laughably named Massonia jasminiflora which, to my nose, smell like a pair of old socks stored in the belly of a dead goat in a cess pit and, amazingly, get worse as the flowers fade..

If you get chance to grow P. pygmaea, snap it up - it is gorgeous.

[Maggi Young]

which, to my nose, smell like a pair of old socks stored in the belly of a dead goat in a cess pit and, amazingly, get worse as the flowers fade..

I'm not going to ask how you are familiar with such a scent, Darren.
Have I spoken before of my admiration for the ( thankfully)fragrant Mrs  Susan Sleep and the everyday tribulations of her  life with you, siting of shade houses notwithstanding???  

[David Nicholson]

Thanks Darren. I haven't got Polyxena pygmaea (yet!) but I have P. paucifolia and P. corymbosa from the same source as P. longituba and I'm trying P. odorata from seed. When it's stopped raining I'll have a stroll to the greenhouse and have another smell although my olufactory system doesn't benefit from the many Benson and Hedges of my youth

[Darren]

David, You are getting a nice collection together there. I struggled with P.corymbosa and eventually lost it (twice) and I hope you have more luck.

Maggi, you have indeed expressed your admiration for my long-suffering better half and I'm sure she greatly appreciates it and I quite agree with you. She is indeed nicely fragrant and is currently using a lovely coconut shower gel which puts me in the mood for....


.... a Bounty bar.

[Maggi Young]

Maggi, you have indeed expressed your admiration for my long-suffering better half and I'm sure she greatly appreciates it and I quite agree with you. She is indeed nicely fragrant and is currently using a lovely coconut shower gel which puts me in the mood for....


.... a Bounty bar.

       

                  

[Lesley Cox]

Oh, do you have Bounty bars too? I love them but prefer the dark chocolate kind, to the milk.

Robin, it's hard to describe the Polyxena scent, perhaps a bit like some cosmetics and can be quite cloying in quantity. Mine grows in a thick clump outside so the scent blows away but if I stick my nose into it, it's almost sickening. Just a very little is enough, like Lilium pyrenaicum.

[Paul T]

I never detected any scent from my longituba when I grew it, other than a vaguely oniony smell.  I've seen some lovely pics of a pot in full flower (mine never did that well for me) but as just a couple of flowers to me it was very disappointing.  

I've never stuck my nose into the Massonia jasminiflora to be honest, but I would most definitely grow it for the wonderful flowers on it.  The name may be for the bunch of flowers that someone obviously thought looked like Jasmine, rather than smelling like jasmine.  I've harvesting seed off mine at the moment, so those who expressed interest a while back should all receive at least some seed from me soon.  Quite a good crop this year, thanks to the work of a paintbrush on a few occasions. 

[Rogan]

Here is a selection of flowers from the road reserves near my property in the southern Cape. Despite the very dry conditions, an amazing diversity of flowering plants could be found at this time of the year:

Ixia micrandra and an unidentified Moraea / Homeria (...any suggestions?) species;

two Watsonia laccata forms from seasonally wet areas;

a Bobartia and a Moraea species;

Watsonia aletroides and Wachendorfia paniculata - they both enjoy similar conditions;

and a common Babiana species that grows just about everywhere.

[Maggi Young]

Oh, Rogan what a delightful selection... very cheering!

[David Nicholson]

Lovely pics Rogan. When (notice "when" not "if"!!) I win the lottery South Africa is high on my round the world tour itinerary

[angie]

I never detected any scent from my longituba when I grew it, other than a vaguely oniony smell.  I've seen some lovely pics of a pot in full flower (mine never did that well for me) but as just a couple of flowers to me it was very disappointing. 

I've never stuck my nose into the Massonia jasminiflora to be honest, but I would most definitely grow it for the wonderful flowers on it.  The name may be for the bunch of flowers that someone obviously thought looked like Jasmine, rather than smelling like jasmine.  I've harvesting seed off mine at the moment, so those who expressed interest a while back should all receive at least some seed from me soon.  Quite a good crop this year, thanks to the work of a paintbrush on a few occasions. 

Here I am getting excited about growing Massonia Jasminiflora and to be told that it doesn't smell nice , what a shame I expected it to smell like jasmine, Its a shame that such a lovely flower wouldn't smell nice. I have to learn about plants.
I might not get to the flowering stage but I will remember not to put my nose down to close.

Angie