Eucomis 2010

[Hans J]

Hi all ,

after all this bad weather in August have we now again sun ....and I could take today some pics from my flowering Eucomis ( they are all very late in this year )

Eucomis autumnale
Eucomis X ex RB
Eucomis comosa 'Kilimanjaro'
..3 different sizes of Eucomis !

enjoy
Hans

[Brian Ellis]

Yes Hans they have been late this year, still, better late than never

[ArnoldT]

Hans:

How do you overwinter the Eucomis.

[Hans J]

Brian - I have the feeling that many species are not flowering in this year 

Arnold - they are in our cellar -my greenhouse is to cold

[Brian Ellis]

Yes Hans, a few of mine will not flower this year.  I think they were too late starting into growth.

[Hans J]

I agree with you Brian !
they are to late into growth ...
I had no flowers in this year on my E.pole -evansii 

[ArnoldT]

 Interesting none of my potted Eucomis have flowered.  Only flowering one is planted out and stays there through winter.

[ArnoldT]

Here is Eucomis bicolor.  Hardy here in Northern New Jersey.  From Seneca Hills Perennials, now unfortunately closed

[Maggi Young]

Looking good, Arnold.
I've read the posts about "lost" nurseries on the PBS pages.... it's a sad story of  some really great plant  sources closing, isn't it?  Sign of the times, I guess.

[Brian Ellis]

Some of the different Eucomis flowering at the moment, the bicolor is self-seeded in the garden, the rest pot grown. So we have
Eucomis bicolor
Eucomis comosa 'Cornwood'
Eucomis vandermewei 'Octopus' I'm told this should be pronounced van-der-mer-va can anyone confirm this please?
Eucomis pallidiflora
Eucomis 'Peace Candles'
Eucomis 'Sparkling Burgundy' although this year the foliage is very pale
Eucomis 'Swazi Pride' - this was bought as 'Swazi Prince' but I think this is the correct name.
Eucomis 'Zeal Bronze' the last flowers just about over. Apologies this is actually pole-evansii

[Hans J]

Brian -  my compliments !!!

to your question :
I suppose the correct name is E.vandermervei ....named after a person with the name : Van der Merve

Hans

[ArnoldT]

vandermerwei: for (1) Frederick Ziervogel Van der Merwe (1894-1968), South African medical inspector of schools in the Transvaal and Natal, plant collector particularly interested in Aloe and Scilla, also a collector of sheet music and compiler of a glossary of Afrikaans medical terms, and author of Mediese Woordeboek (1935) with J. Louw and Suid-Afrikaanse Musiekbibliografie (1958) (Euphorbia, Aloe, Eucomis) (Botanical Exploration of Southern Africa) or (2) N.J.S. Van der Merwe (fl. 1929) (Gladiolus, Drosanthemum) (Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names). The taxon Delosperma vandermerwei is a bit of a mystery since according to Aluka specimen records it was collected by both N. Van der Merwe in 1929 and F.Z. Van der Merwe in 1941 so I don't know which one it's named for..

[Brian Ellis]

Thanks for the extra information Arnold, I'm still not entirely sure on the pronunciation.  Hans I am pleased that you like them, there are quite a few that haven't flowered though

[Maggi Young]

Thanks for the extra information Arnold, I'm still not entirely sure on the pronunciation.  Hans I am pleased that you like them, there are quite a few that haven't flowered though

there are quite a few that haven't flowered though  ..... good grief, I think you already have more flowering than I  knew existed!

'Zeal Bronze' looks to have a large flower spike and nice top-knot.... what sort of size is that?

[Brian Ellis]

I think it's standing at about a metre from base of flowerpot to topknot Maggie, I will measure it tomorrow.  There are many more
http://www.theafricangarden.com/page44.html
there are quite a number of newer hybrids and some are very nice!