South African Bulbs 2011

[arillady]

We had a whopper of a frost this morning. See below.
I called into Neukirch C on way home (very roundabout way) - they would have had more frost.
I think the grass must have been mowed last time I visited as I remembered more clumps.
I do wonder why this one grave is separate. Can someone translate please?
As I read it with highschool German - Here lies a small child - born and died on 15th March 1910
And one of the old farmhouses on the same road as the cemetery.

[Hans J]

Pat ,

maybe I can help a little bit :

Neukirch means New Chapel

On the grave is written :

"Here is slepping a little boy ,
Create for dying and died to life ,
born 15. March 1910,
For remebering from his parents ....."

Greetings
Hans

[bulborum]

Here rests a little boy
made to die
and died to live
born March 15, 1910
in memory of his parents

[arillady]

Thank you both for the better translation.
It was sad to see only that grave on that side of the cemetery. It is possibly the area where the children were buried. It is a small cemetery with only a couple of dozen graves.

[daveyp1970]

Thank you both for the better translation.
It was sad to see only that grave on that side of the cemetery. It is possibly the area where the children were buried. It is a small cemetery with only a couple of dozen graves.

How sad to see it on its own.
On a brighter note could that be a more frost resistant generation of  Lachenalias,it could be an excellent discovery.

[bulborum]

Sorry I double-crossed your translation Hans
I missed that one
was in a hurry for the concrete

Roland

[David Nicholson]

David's boobed again!!

Well you see I have this system. All my summer growing bulbs have a yellow label in the pot, as well as the plant label, so that I can tell at a glance that they are summer growing. Now this works well-as long as I make sure that the bulbs are summer growing in the first place. This time I've failed and have been watering Albuca juncifolia and Freesia alba and only realised today after checking my database after tipping them out to explore the reason for no growth. The Albuca has a good root system and the Freesias were just beginning to show shoots.

So, what should I do to retrieve the situation?

[arillady]

If you have growth I would personally just keep them growing - less water though.

[PeterT]

They can't be too frost tender surely, Alberto,  for them to have made these naturalised clumps ?

I have tried a few Lachenalias (including aloides) without frost protection but kept dry when frozen, a couple persisted for ten years, Lachenalia contaminata even flowerd a couple of times and survived -15C in the winter of 2009/20010 and so did aloides, but not last winter which was even colder. I came to the conclusion that they will withstand a fair amount of frost though the leaves may be "cooked" as Alberto puts it, but they won't grow in prolonged periods of cold. The average temperatures in a british winter are simply too low for them to grow.
The other reasons that I gave up on them are that in order to get them through frosty periods I had to keep them too dry to grow properly in any case, and indoors they need too much light.
Probably a better bet planted against a wall in Cornwall or parts of Ireland.

David ,
the freesias are happy to stay in growth much of the year but dont care much for hard frost, the albuca is pretty easy going and grows in season regardless but has its limits too with regard to frost.

[arillady]

I did notice today that the frosts made the flowering stems of the Lachenalia collapse a bit and the flowers don't have their previous substance. Just hope they set seed - never looked for seeds before on Lachenalias.

[David Nicholson]

Thank you Pat and Peter. They are pretty wet at the moment so think I'll leave them and not water again until September.

[Maggi Young]

A couple of wonderful plants ex. JJA, both growing in deep sharp sand (and given winter cover). First Gladiolus flanaganii - I had these as young bulbs several years ago and this is the first flowering. It is a rather stunning small species. The second is a group of Eucomis schijffii just beginning to show signs of flowering. The small species of Eucomis are really excellent rock garden plants and this one is particularly distinct.

 See the Eucomis in flower......

http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=7532.msg209023#msg209023

[PeterT]

Thanks Maggie, wonderfull pictures.
G flanaganii is indeed wonderfull and E schijffii is definatley on my wants list....

[Diane Whitehead]

First flowering of two Albucas (aurea and shawii), both from seed sown in 2008,
growing in a raised bed in the garden.

[ArnoldT]

A criss-cross of Boophone disticha leaves