Haemanthus 2011

[Auricular]

and here some of my "children":

Haemanthus namaquensis sown last autumn

Haemanthus spec. Lüderitz sown 2008

[Auricular]

Haemanthus montanus

[Brian Ellis]

Great to see all your hard work coming to fruition Bernie.  As a newbie can I ask what you would do with Haemanthus humilis ssp hirsutus seedlings? They are coming along nicely, haven't yet produced a second leaf...

[angie]

Great pictures. I knocked over a pot the other day in the greenhouse and the bulb fell out. I still can't believe that a bulb this size can produce huge leaves and such lovely flowers. I was glad to see the bulb was still healthy. I still worry about keeping the bulbs dry. Can't wait for our season to start.

Angie

[PeterT]

Congratulations Bernie,
Which species are you talking about Angie? they all have different growth cycles. My  bulb of H montanus is not big enough to flower but it has just started to produce leaves.

[angie]

Hi Peter

I am new to Haemanthus but really like them. I would like to have a wee collection of them and already have quite a few and that's thanks to some of our friends here I just love having something growing in my greenhouse through the winter months. It helps pass our long winter. A couple have flowered but others I will have to be patient. I am just glad to have the leaves.
I thought I was going to get a flower from my H.Clarkei monocot but no only nice big leaves, but maybe this season I might be lucky.

Angie

[ArnoldT]

Haemanthus humilis

[Maggi Young]

Wow, I don't grow these plants so that great picture of the furry leaves emerging is teaching me as well as amazing me, Arnold, thanks. 

[jshields]

One pot of Haemanthus humilis hirsutus in full bloom.  I'm told there is also a pink form of this, but all mine seem to have white flowers.

Jim Shields
in Westfield, Indiana
USA

[Maggi Young]

One pot of Haemanthus humilis hirsutus in full bloom.  I'm told there is also a pink form of this, but all mine seem to have white flowers.

Jim Shields
in Westfield, Indiana
USA

And what a sparkling white they are.

[jshields]

One of my H. montanus in full bloom.  One clear difference between this and hirsutus is the bracts of hirsutus are green and erect; these bracts are shriveled and sort of declinate.

Now I'm getting impatient for my pink humilis humilis to start blooming.

Note --  As far as I can recall, the growth habits of Haemanthus species are as follows:

Summer-growing and blooming Haemanthus: carneus, humilis humilis, humilis hirsutus, montanus.

Evergreen Haemanthus:  albiflos, deformis, pauculifolius

All the rest are winter-growing and bloom mainly from late summer to late autumn.

Jim
in Westfield, Indiana
USA

[santo2010]

Great to see all your hard work coming to fruition Bernie.  As a newbie can I ask what you would do with Haemanthus humilis ssp hirsutus seedlings? They are coming along nicely, haven't yet produced a second leaf...

Hy Brian,
Half the ones You sent me have produced two leaves, half ony one. The interesting thing is that they produced it shortly after the first one. After that they stoped changing, not more producing new leaves, no more growing noticeably at least.
 

[Auricular]

This year one of my spec. Lüderitz will flower veryvery early, at least 6 weeks earlier than normal, maybe due to the cold weather we have now

[Brian Ellis]

Great to see all your hard work coming to fruition Bernie.  As a newbie can I ask what you would do with Haemanthus humilis ssp hirsutus seedlings? They are coming along nicely, haven't yet produced a second leaf...

Hy Brian,
Half the ones You sent me have produced two leaves, half ony one. The interesting thing is that they produced it shortly after the first one. After that they stoped changing, not more producing new leaves, no more growing noticeably at least.
 

Hello Santo, I wonder why, perhaps your weather is more to their liking when they were just starting into growth...someone on this forum will know I am sure.  Glad to know they are doing well.

[jshields]

It looks as if I'm only going to get a few seeds on my Haemanthus montanus, in spite of hand pollinating almost every day for a week or longer.  All the half-dozen plants that have bloomed this season are from the same batch, so all may be siblings.  I won't have any to share this year.