South African Bulbs 2011

[Lesley Cox]

A long way from a Lapageria.

[Ray]

Some SA plants flowering now bye Ray
Romulea tortuosa
Massionia depressa
Eucomis vandermerwei
Lachenalia pendula

[Michael J Campbell]

You are not going to believe this. This Watsonia is planted in my front garden and has survived two winters with -15c the first winter and -17c last winter for weeks at a time. It is planted in a bed with shrubs and while 60% of the clump is dead these few have survived and flowered last year and again this year.
I think it is Watsonia amatolae but I am not sure. I have included a pic of what is left of the clump.

[PeterT]

looks in the same state as my Libertias and Watsonias Michael, no buds on my Watsonias yet but it was a little colder here 

[Alessandro.marinello]

Tulbaghia sp. Devon in flower

[PeterT]

a pretty thing Alessandro 

[PeterT]

Another non bulb -Kniphofia hirtasorry I think the name is hirsuta  
and I have corrected the name on the picture too.

[jshields]

I'm a bit of a "Bulb Bigot," but I tried to grow Kniphofia here too, including hirsuta.  So let's make Kniphofia all honorary bulbs.  K. caulescens was almost hardy here, surviving out in my garden for several years and blooming a couple times.  K. northiae survived a very long time in the rock garden, but it never bloomed and eventually also died.

Jim

[PeterT]

Thanks Jim,
caulescens died last winter here, but survived, rather the worse for wear, in shelterd spots. No sign of pauciflora as yet but it usually emerges from deep down when the winter is too hard. I grew seed of citrina, ensifolia and baurii some years ago and they have done well this year, but I am not convinced that they are the true species. An interesting one I hope is still there when I finish weeding the allotment -K typhifolia which has vertical, narrow, twisted leaves and flowers that are mostly just stamens. Triangularis seems to have coped well with the cold too.
northiae is growing strongly.

[jshields]

I have a new (to me) Crocosmia in bloom:  'Elizabethan Gardens' which I received in 2009.  It came to me as being hardier than 'Lucifer', but I'm not sure about this.  I received at least 10 corms, but there are only a few shoots showing, and only one is in bloom.

Still, it has to be pretty hardy to have made it through two winters out in my garden.  I like the hot, red-orange color too.  This cultivar has larger flowers than the strain of 'Lucifer' that I grow here, so that is also a plus.  So far, this is not quite as tall as my 'Lucifer'.  Let's see if it continues to survive here, and bulks itself up in the process.

Jim

[Peter II]

Rhodoxis Hyb. / Hebron Farm




Ornithogalum dubium (Hybrid?)

[Ezeiza]

Rhodohypoxis grown among cacti and succulents??

[Lesley Cox]

That does seem an oddity as Rhodohypoxis love water. The longer you water them the longer they flower. I think these are the Rhodohypoxis x Hypoxis hybrid?

[Ezeiza]

Even so, a lot of Hypoxises grow with wet feet.

[David Nicholson]

Hesperantha baurii, seed grown, sown March 2008 SRGC 07/08-1935. Apologies for the quality of the pictures.

A frustrating little specimen, it's been in bud since last Thursday but by the time I got to photograph it (late afternoon) it had closed up again. Given our low light levels, and temperature levels over the past few days it simply wouldn't open so yesterday I left it on the dining room window sill (special dispensation!!) and this morning it opened with the help of some warmth from the central heating (I said it was cold here!) but now at 1335 it's all closed up again. Lovely little plant, pity that the pics don't do it justice.