Bulbs from South Africa - 2010

[Gail]

BTW - I love spiders! and reptiles & amphibians of all sorts. I was one of THOSE little boys whose pockets were places nobody dared go....

The only wildlife that gives me the creeps are earwigs.

Did you not see the David Attenborough film on earwigs?  They are such good mothers!

[Mark Griffiths]

So the new name is freesia laxa? easier to spell and remember.

I got my Joan Evans as a freebie in a pot of Oxalis obtusa. It's now officially a weed in the greenhouse along with Cyclamen persicum and the greek repandum type mongrels, oh and leucojium niicas..er..nicca..the one from Nice.

I'd like to get the freesia going in the garden but it doesn't seem to persist. it prefers the company of P.allionii, Cyclamen etc.

[Lesley Cox]

Gail, I remember Attenborough's comments about earwigs being good mothers. Of course that make them endearing to the female of the species. (Our species, I mean 

Sorry Maggi, I'll not introduce further coments or photographs of tarantulas. Perhaps a tarantella instead?

[Hristo]

Cheers Darren,
Once you get them to flowering size they bulk up quite well from that point. I have found sellers listing other species but when you get to the site they are always out of stock. Like you I think, I got F.crispa from Monocot Nursery many years ago, very relaible. I have another two species from seed, divaricata maybe and unknown,both Silverills again ( and 8 years from flowering!!  ). I may have another species but I'm not sure, it is just like crispa in flower but the plants are one third the size of my normal form, could be a sport. I want to gow it another year to make sure this is not just a 'cultural' effect.
Regards
Chris

[Hans J]

here some color from today :

Ornithogalum dubium

enjoy
Hans

[Darren]

I like that Ornithogalum Hans. I don't grow it but the ones I have seen seem to get leggy and fall over in our light - but not yours!

This is Moraea ciliata. It has been producing flowers intermittently for over a month now. They have a lovely scent but don't last long. There is also a white form which I don't grow but looks very attractive.

[David Nicholson]

Nice Ornithogalum dubium Hans. The art, as PaulT reminded me when I showed mine last year, is to get it to flower again the following year Needless to say mine hasn't

Nice Moraea Darren.

Most of my small collection of summer growing South African bulbs appears to have survived the winter. I re-potted a couple of them last week and Albuca shawii in particulata had masses of good quality bulbs.

[Hristo]

Very attractice Moraea Darren, I'm assuming it is seed grown? How long from germination to first flowering?

[fermi de Sousa]

This is what I got from a friend as Brunsvigia josephinae, just starting to flower


There is some discussion in Australia about whether we have the true species.
cheers
fermi

[Darren]

Chris - the Moraea was sown in 2000 and first flowered in 2005, so 5 years. I think i could now do better - seed sown 2007 looks like flowering next year so that is only 4 years. It is well worth growing despite the fleeting flowers.

David - thank you for the reminder to extract my summer growers from their hibernation and repot them!

[Darren]

Miriam showed her Hesperantha vaginata out in the garden - here is my potful under glass. The next pic is Geissorhiza inaequalis.

I've spares of the Hesperantha if anyone would be interested. And likely to have seed too.

[Carlo]

That H. vaginata is some beauty, Darren!

[Darren]

Thank you Carlo.

I was lucky enough to see it in the wild in 1999. It was growing in red clay which was drying out at flowering time. It must be like concrete in summer. The farmer told me that it was impossible to drive a tractor over in winter as it got so sticky. It is pollinated by monkey beetles (think of scarabs with furry edges!).

With me it likes a plunged clay pot as, ironically, it really suffers if kept too wet in winter here. The flowers only open fully for about two hours on sunny afternoons but last several days each.

[Alessandro.marinello]

to smal flower, from the wonderful color

Ixia pumilio

[Lesley Cox]

Does this Ixia vary in colour? Mine is not in flower at present but is a rich strawberry pink colour. Strawberries crushed with cream.

In flower now (early autumn) is Gladiolus carmineus. It may flower from now or through winter or in mid spring. It grows to about 30cms. I'll hand pollinate and hope for seed which I have had, before.