August 2011 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Lesley Cox]

Vireyas tend to flower when the conditions are right, not strictly seasonally. I suppose that's because there's usuallly no summer/winter in their native homes but rather, wet/dry. I don't grow any here, a bit cold for them but a friend who lived in Timaru had several in a glassed in porch and she watered them copiously at various times so they'd flower when SHE wanted them to, like for her daughter's wedding and other events.

[meanie]

That Lapeirousia oreogena is truly lovely!

[Rogan]

"I guess they're taking your mind off the rugby?"

I'm feeling a little more positive about the rugby now, Lesley! 

"That Lapeirousia oreogena is truly lovely!"

They are really worth trying. I grow mine in 125mm (5") pots and they take about 3 - 4 years to reach flowering size. In Namaqualand this species and L. silenoides make sheets of colour often growing together with Lachenalia carnosa and Cotula and Felicia daisies.

[Anthony Darby]

This Romulea is labelled monticola, but I think I must have transposed labels? The two pics were taken a.m. and p.m. yesterday.

[fermi de Sousa]

Anthony,
it looks suspiciously like the weed we have in our "lawns"!

A few new pics from the weekend:
Retic iris Pixie


Retic iris Natascha


Muscari muscarimia


And one that I thought I'd lost, Anemone coronaria ex Iraq from Goteborg, so though the flower is tiny it is very welcome!


cheers
fermi

[Anthony Darby]

You must have an interesting lawn if romuleas are weeds, Fermi?

[arillady]

I was thinking the same thing Fermi as it is a dratted weed here - zillions of it if it is the same. There seems to be two forms here - one with long 'trip' leaves and the other more upright thin leaves. At least the kangaroo grasses are taking off instead of the salvation jane.

[Paul T]

We have that Romulea weed as well.... I think it is somthing like Romulea rosea var Australis?

Yep, just went looking online.  Here's a bunch of photos....

P.

[David Nicholson]

Must be nice to have weeds like that

[Lesley Cox]

I'm feeling a little more positive about the rugby now, Lesley! 

Touche (with an acute.)

[Lesley Cox]

Romulea rosea is NOT a nice weed David. It seeds everywhere, especially into mats and cushions and you can't get it out because the bulbs go deep and if you pull the leaves they just break off leaving the bulb which comes again and again. A potful with a square metre of bare gravel all round it would be fine.

[arillady]

Lesley it would probably find the gravel to its liking!!

[Lesley Cox]

You're right Pat. The pot would need to be on solid concrete and then the seeds would wash to the edges and make a grass-like fringe around the concrete.

[fermi de Sousa]

Anthony,
as you can gather from the above some Romuleas can be a real pest! We grow most of the "cultivated" ones in pots to make sure they don't get weeded out by mistake! The exception is in the original sand-bed we made for South African bulbs but which is now shaded out but some bulbs persist there.

Here's a pic of 2 Narcissus which came as N. hispanicus but which is the correct one?


next to them is the clump of Retic Iris "Alida" which has built up steadily from 3 bulbs 3 years ago - though all we got the first year was 2/3s of a flower!


cheers
fermi

[Paul T]

Fermi,

Alida seems to be a good multiplier.  I bought it last year I think, and this year the single bulb was 3 flowers at least.  Not bad at all.