South African Bulbs 2011

[Michael J Campbell]

A couple of Lachenalias not happy with the frosty weather.


 1 & 2  Lachenalia namaqua,
 3 & 4  Lachenalia bulbifera

[johnw]

Michael - Good to see these two species. Are they also kept bone-dry during their summer dormancy?

johnw  - +6c and heavy rain for the last few hours as another weather bomb passes; mercury about to plummet on this virtually snow-less scape.

[Michael J Campbell]

Are they also kept bone-dry during their summer dormancy?

Yes, the pots are dried out then left on the bench all summer,in full sun.

[David Nicholson]

A couple of Lachenalias not happy with the frosty weather.

Yours look a lot happier than mine Michael

[Maggi Young]

A couple of Lachenalias not happy with the frosty weather.

Yours look a lot happier than mine Michael

Yes, David, I was thinking that a lot of folk would be happy enough with Michael's stressed plants! He has very high standards!

[Onion]

That's why he is Mr. Amazing  

Every time I see this thread, I feel like a little uninformed gardener. Always new species, new wishes but no place  

[Lesley Cox]

why would you wear a uniform Uli?

[Hristo]

Flowering indoors, a welcome relief from the whiteout in the garden!
Lachenalia orchioides var. orchioides
Cyrtanthus mackenii 'Pink'

[Paul T]

Beautiful pastel pink mackenii, Chris.  Lovely!!

[David Nicholson]

Very nice Chris. I've tried Cyrtanthus a few times with no luck at all.

[Hristo]

Cheers Paul and David! These are both first time flowerers for me, the Lachenalia from seed and the Cyrtanthus purchased as a bulb.

[johnw]

Chris - Do you keep your Cyrtanthus barely moist during its summer rest?

I think we are going to have a bumper crop of flowers on our big C. brachyscyphus.  Will post when out though nearly as exciting as yours.

johnw

[Hristo]

Hi John,
It has never had a rest as such, it stays on a west facing window and just keeps on throwing out leaves so I just keep watering it. My other amaryllids let me know when they want to rest but this one just keeps on going!! Will look forard to seeing your C.brachyscyphus when it flowers.

[Ezeiza]

John, practically all Cyrtanthi are WINTER dormant or at least, are much slower at winter.

They are really tender and even slight frosts can turn them to mush.

[Paul T]

Alberto,

That may be how they behave in nature, but I definitely have mackenii here that have had quite heavy frost (by that I mean at least -5^oC) here without any problem at all.  I also have Cyrtanthus elatus (Valotta Lily got those who don't know it, but that spelling just doesn't look right to me?) which grows for me in the open garden without a problem.  My mackenii are verging on evergreen, and I have a creamy white variety of mackenii that almost always flowers in June here, when we're well into Winter (and just to be different it has sent up a scape now for our summer enjoyment!  ).  While frost may damage badly many of the other Cyrtanthus, I have to stand up for the mackenii and elatus at the very least as they do not have any problems at all with the levels I talk about above, and the ones out in the open garden would have definitely been through -8^oC while dormant (the elatus is definitely dormant in winter here).  The majority of my mackenii that I grow are in a bit more shelter than that, but ALL of them would get at least some degree of frost on them as even against the wall under the eaves of the house would get to freezing in midwinter.  This would include Cyrtanthus falcatus, montanus, brachyscyphus, some complex hybrids and more.  I've even been told that the Cyrtanthus falcatus needs a decent level of cold for it to flower, so I've moved my pot out so that it gets light frost in winter.  The plant is looking much stronger now, and I am hoping for flowers one of these years.  By the sound of it it should have died last winter when it got frost on it?  I'd hazard it would have had at least -2 or -3^oC where I have it at present?

I know we've had discussions before about "ideal" climate and where they originate from, and we've disagreed on my growing conditions for some things in the past, but my Cyrtanthus grow, multiply, and flower well so they can't be that close to death.  I'm just mentioning this so that pthers reading this don't make the blanket assumption that frost and Cyrtanthus means death, because as far as I am aware I haven't lost a Cyrtanthus to the cold here as yet, although as I said most of them are not out in the open and full frost by any means.