South African Bulbs 2011

[ArnoldT]

Here's the Veltheimia bracteata in full color.

[ArnoldT]

Here's a bit of a travel log from Mary Sue Ittner of the Pacific Bulb Society.

http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/NaudesNekTwo

[Maggi Young]

Here's a bit of a travel log from Mary Sue Ittner of the Pacific Bulb Society.

http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/NaudesNekTwo

Arnold mentioning this has reminded me that I meant to give a link to a great series of posts by Mary Sue in the PBS mail list..... the thread is entitled  Eastern Cape Trip and begins here Tue Jan 11: http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/pbs/2011-January/039764.html and continues at intervals through the next weeks/months finishing here:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/pbs/2011-March/040106.html ..... it makes interesting reading and there are links to super photos on the PBS Wiki.

I commend it to you!

[Paul Cumbleton]

One of my favourite bulbs, Daubenya aurea, has flowered well this year at home. If you cross the familiar yellow and red forms you sometimes get orange shades from the resulting seedlings. I find the one shown below particularly appealing. The second photo shows it alongside the two regular colour forms for comparison.

Paul

[Robert G]

Paul,

Beautiful Plants! Another plant to add to my want list. Thanks to this thread I have started a South African bulb collection. Just curious... is it relatively easy to grow?

Robert

[jshields]

It was not easy for me to grow here in central Indiana.  It seems to need cold weather in its growing season in winter. My bulbs never bloomed in my cool greenhouse, and they died when grown outdoors in a cold frame.  On the other hand, Massonia do great in the same cool greenhouse along with Lachenalia and Haemanthus.  I have given up on Daubenya, since I hate to waste rare and valuable plants.

Jim

[Robert G]

Thanks for that Jim. I suspect you and I have similiar growing conditions so I will definitely take your advice.

                                                                                                   Robert

[angie]

Paul I can see how Daubenya aurea is one of your favourites. Something special

Angie

[Ezeiza]

Jim, it can be more of a problem of dim light. Grown under frost free conditions it is very persistent. The info about it receiving occasional snow in winter does not mean it is alpine at all.

[Miriam]

Paul,

Thanks for your interesting post!
The orange Daubenya is wonderful 

[arillady]

The first belladonna showing the stems trying to get to the afternoon sun - it is growing in the shade of a rose. The other photos are of the cream belladonnas in a couple of parts of the garden. The cream is looking really good this year whereas the regular pink one is not looking as spectacular as usual. Must be the cooler summer and ongoing rains.

[Darren]

Love those Daubenya Paul but I'm about to give up trying with them as expensive purchased bulbs have always rotted before growing and seedlings are very slow. If my current batch of seedlings die then I won't be replacing them.

Here are some plants that I can grow:

Lachenalia carnosa - first flowering from seed and exhibiting a rather bifurcated tip to the inflorescence which is probably related to abnormal bud development and will likely not be present next year.

Lachenalia namaquensis from a Terry Smale collection. Normally this flowers in early February but is late this year.

[YT]

Here is Ixia sp. from Silverhill Seeds, cat. #1381. Though it was described as ‘20cm flowering stem, high altitude species, fl not seen. Sow Au. Zone 7.’ on the list, its flower stems usually reach 30-40cm. And blotch-less but veined flowers have faintly fragrant. Does anyone have already identified this ixia yet?

[Houseslippers]

Here's Whiteheadia bifolia, the poor relation of Massonia and Daubenya. I grew it from Alpine Garden Society seed, sown 3 years ago. It's the sort of plant only a mother could love: the leaves appear to have no stiffness in my growing conditions but just drape themselves about listlessly, completely dependent on support from the environment; the flowers, which are pollinated by mice, smell faintly musty. I suppose it's what they used to call a 'connoisseur's plant':

[daveyp1970]

Tony i have a bit of a thing for green flowers and that's pretty special.