February 2010 (Southern Hemisphere)

[fermi de Sousa]

We had a summer storm yesterday to finish January, so there'll be Zephyranthes and Habranthus soon!
This Lilium "Starfighter" came from Adrian at Coal Creek Bulb Farm and I decided it would be better in a pot than in the ground and it looks pretty good so far!


This Lilium "Black Beauty" is much diminished on previous years with only one bloom per stem - it'll need a feed up.


Lastly, a poor pic, but just to let you see that Calostemma purpureum is back again.


cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

As predicted the Habranthus martinezii


and Habranthus tubispathus


have responded to the weekend rain!
cheers
fermi

[Hristo]

Hey Fermi, very nice clump of H.martinezii, great to see the real thing, I thought I was growing it from seed but it turned into Z.labufarosea! Lucky for me I like Zepyrahthes and hadn't got it!

[Tecophilaea King]

Sorry folks, I have had a little problem with our computer, which we finally managed to fix, with a new motherboard.
Fortunetly we had most of the important info, email and pictures backed up on a external harddrive, a must and big relieve.
Anyway, to start where I left off with the with the variegated Alstroemeria aurea, and the questions by Lesley and Fermi.
Lesley, I am not sure about the rampant nature of this plant, if any, but who cares, it will always look spectacular and eye-catching in the garden.
Yes Parva Plants is finished in Tauranga, and now Christchurch, but Ian Duncalf  still have a few projects ongoing and and this variegated Alstroemeria is on of them.
Fermi, like so many variegated plants, this one undoubtly started of as an sport or mutation, when one part of a plant produces a different form or colour, and with tissue culture wouldn't take long to mass produce.
PS: just discovered that we have moved on to February 2010 (Southern Hemisphere)

[Ezeiza]

Fermi, that is the real thing, the real martinezii. If you look at it from the side the flower has an upper upwards curving side. This and the brownish base is typical of this species. There are nice pink and almost while forms and some "normal" and also giants.

Chris, you are very fortunate in having Z. labufarosae from seed. A number of cultivars are sold some of them very nice but also most of them (if not all) heavily virused. Of course in the gorgeous pics the diseased leaves are not seen.

[Tecophilaea King]

One of my favourite genera is undoubtedly the beautiful Cyrtanthus, another large genus native to South Africa again, where various species are found growing in a wide range and habitats.
These include damp bushy stream-edges, as epiphytes on other plants, and in near desert conditions, and some species possibly require fire to trigger flowering in the wild.
Flowers vary in shape from star-like to tubular, and they can be white, pink, red, orange or yellow and the leaves can be strap-like, or narrow to quite wide.
Cyrtanthus herrei : the decorative evergreen, glaucous foliage is the main attraction, although the umbels of greenish-orange, pendulous flowers in summer rival any display by any other species.
The huge bulb should be planted with the neck and about two-third of the bulb above ground level, and require a very very sandy soil, semi shade, and will not tolerate over-watering.
The present flowers got damaged by the rain, so will post a picture from previous flowering.
Another colourful species is the Cyrtanthus glaucophyllus : a more robust and larger colour variation form of Cyrtanthus sanguineus, and sometimes called Cyrtanthus sanguineus var. glaucophyllus with flowers larger and darker in colour (reddish orange) than Cyrt. sanguineus.  which is easy to grow and all the plants we have grown have come true from seed.
Cyrtanthus staadensis : this rare, floriferous plant deserves wider horticultural attention. Its bright orange-red flowers with their distinctive, dilated perianth tubes are carried on long peduncles or stalks.
This species prefers a sunny aspect and tends to be evergreen in cultivation.

[Tecophilaea King]

Alberto, its good to meet and hear from you again, and to see you still active on this very interesting and informative forum.
Keep up the good work.  Bill.

[Hristo]

Alberto, the distinct advantage of growing from seed I think, clean stock! I can't imagine enjoying the blooms if they emerge from virused leaves!!

Cracking plants Bill, every time I come here I go very green! How long has it taken these to reach flowering size?

[Ezeiza]

Thanks Bill, you see, this forum is never in dormancy.....

Chris, no one mentions growing this species from seed so it is possible it is seldom produced except when different clones are crosed but then, the original form is not preserved. This is probably the reason why there are so many (lovely) variants. Unfortunately virused plants flower for some years before dwindling away and in the meantime you can infect the rest of your amaryllids.

[Hristo]

A problem indeed Alberto! I was fortunate to get seed from it this year. I sowed half in a 9cm pot and half with the mother plants. Only the seed with the mother plants germinated, I guess they kept conditions 'sweet' !

[Tecophilaea King]

Another Habranthus bursting into flower after a heavy downpour is the Habranthus brachyandrus.
H.brachyandrus has soft pink flowers with a rich burgandy throat.
It suppose to be slow to multiply and never seem to set seed, but never had any problem with the increase to the point where they almost become rampant.

[Tecophilaea King]

Trimezia martinicensis (and many other synonyms according to Clive Innes) is another interesting species, flowering almost all the year round.
Commomly known as "Wild Scallion" and widespread throughout most part of South America.
Alberto might be able to tell you more about this little beauty
Sorry, the closeup might be slightly over exposed 

[Tecophilaea King]

Eleutherine plicata (again many synonyms), flowers white, short-lived, about 1 cm diam. born in succession.
This little beauty again comes from Central and South America at altitudes of 600 m. or more.
Another species for the collector I suppose.

[Tecophilaea King]

This coral plant Russellia equisetiformis from Mexico I think has not stopped flowering and is still going strong.
From spring until autumn, this coral plant produces hanging clusters of scarlet tubular flowers about 1 in (2.5 cm) long that look like little firecrackers inspiring the plant's other common name, firecracker plant.
The wiry branches start out erect then fall over to cascade down in lengths as long as 4 ft (1.2 m) and would be ideal for a display from hanging baskets.

[Tecophilaea King]

Cracking plants Bill, every time I come here I go very green! How long has it taken these to reach flowering size?

Chris, propagation is usually from bulbils, divisions or the black-winged seed.
Cyrtanthus seeds are short-lived and should be treated like fleshy amaryllids.
Seeds are often sown on the surface of a well-drained medium and should be sown as soon as they are ripe and only slightly covered with sand or grit at 20 deg. C. to keep the seeds in place.
However, some of our members have better success in floating the seeds until they sprout and then carefully planting them just underneath the medium surface.
This is particularly true if your medium is very well-drained and dry out too quickly for the non-floating method. But regardless of what method you choose, the germinating seeds need to be kept moist.
Growing Cyrtanthus species from seed was never meant to be easy, (apart from the C. elatus) and can take up to from 3-5 years and sometimes longer (depending on the species) to flower, but if successful, will be fascinating, rewarding and very enjoyable.