South African Bulbs2012

[Maggi Young]

One can treat scale with a cell phone now?

As Arnold says, it makes a good comparison, but for a treat I think most prefer the cinema or dinner out.......

[ArnoldT]

I usually treat scale with an effective insecticide.

[Lesley Cox]

Well cell phones are getting really smart now so soon we'll be able to point them at any fungus or aphis and like like Lady McBeth - see Fermi's other post in whatever thread - say out, damned spot and it will go immediately.

Well I won't. I have enough trouble coping with a very regular cell phone. The smart ones are WAY too technical.

[Maggi Young]

I'm so pleased to see the curled leaves on the Gethyllis.

When I admired some leaves in South Africa, I was told that they wouldn't curl
if I tried growing them at home. 

There are a number of genera that coil their leaves and I can't remember the genus
involved in that discussion.

Have others found that leaves straighten in cultivation?  And if so, I wonder why.

From the PBS lists, a link to an paper ( only the abstract, for free!)
Desert geophytes under dew and fog: The “curly-whirlies” of Namaqualand (South Africa)

   by  Stefan Vogel     and     Ute Müller-Doblies

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0367253010001015/

[Hans J]

Maggi

the name of this peoples is :
Stefan Vogel
Ute Müller-Doblies

Hans

[Maggi Young]

You are correct Hans - a case of careless copying on my part.   
I will make a correction.

[Darren]

I can access the full paper and it looks very interesting - thanks for pointing it out.

[ArnoldT]

Here are three Gethyllis linearis sitting in the same pot displaying different amounts of 'curl'

Gethyllis linearis

[ArnoldT]

Acquired this as Lachenalia rubrida rubra but G. Duncan calls it Lachenalia punctata in his new Lachenalia tome.

[Maggi Young]

Here are three Gethyllis linearis sitting in the same pot displaying different amounts of 'curl'

Gethyllis linearis

   
Well:  three in the same pot all doing their  "own thing" - is there any way these plants can confuse us more? 

[Lesley Cox]

Here are three Gethyllis linearis sitting in the same pot displaying different amounts of 'curl'

Gethyllis linearis

The battery on the curling tongs must have been running out of puff.

[arillady]

Arnold love those leaves.

[YT]

Polyxena ensifolia, white form seedlings, purple dots on out side of petals.
Polyxena 'Pink Pompon', probably selected from P. ensifolia seedlings.

[David Nicholson]

Very pretty YT

[Victor Yatskevich]

As they are beautiful. Especially Polyxena 'Pink Pompon'.
It is a pity that we can not grow these flowers in the garden.