South African Bulbs2012

[Darren]

Sadly both the Geissorhiza tulbaghensis and the Moraea are single clones. The Moraea has never even produced an offset in all the years I have grown it, nor does it seem to be self fertile. The Geissorhiza mathewsii did produce a few viable seeds from selfing last year so I'm trying again this time.

[fermi de Sousa]

Two species nerines flowering now:
first one, 2 x Nerine crispa [someone last year told me the correct name but I've forgotten it already- reminders welcome!]

cheers
fermi

[bulborum]

Nerine undulata LN Africa (N. crispa)

Roland

[fermi de Sousa]

Nerine undulata LN Africa (N. crispa)
Roland

Thanks, Roland!
Next one:
2 x Nerine filifolia
is this one included in N. undulata as well? Foliage is very different but the flower is very similar,
cheers
fermi

[bulborum]

As far as I know this are some synonyms
maybe an other member know other ones

Nerine crispa see Nerine undulata
Nerine filifolia is Nerine filifolia
Nerine flexuosa See: Nerine humilis or Nerine undulata
Nerine flexuosa var. angustifolia see: Nerine angustifolia
Nerine flexuosa var. pulchella see: Nerine humilis
Nerine flexuosa var. sandersonii See: Nerine laticoma
Nerine humilis Syn. N. tulbaghensis

[Michael J Campbell]

Watsonia laccata & Watsonia alteroides

[Rogan]

Michael, the wild species also grow within a short distance of one another in the Western Cape near the town of Swellendam. They are very similar in stature if not in flower. Damp roadside verges (often all the habitat they have left!), and seepage zones seem to suit W. aletroides, wheareas W. laccata seems to prefer drier, more elevated spots:

[Rogan]

Watsonia laccata has to be my favorite Watsonia; here's an image demonstrating how variable the flowers can be in nature:

[Diane Whitehead]

Our weather has suddenly warmed up - lovely sunny days in the low
20s - and some of my bulbs have put up flower stalks.  So far just one
is in bloom - Gladiolus tristis.

[David Nicholson]

From the garden today a clump of hybrid Ixias that seem to thrive in my garden in a warmish spot, backed by some Dutch Irises and a garden Paeonia about to flower. I don't lift the Ixias for a dry winter and they come up every year without fail.

[daveyp1970]

Moraea Huttonii flowering for the first time from seed.

[Diane Whitehead]

A few more open in the garden.  The first lost its label, but looks distinctive
enough for someone to identify for me.

   added later:  Nobody offered a name so I went through my bulb books for
similar photos, then compared my seed database with my garden maps to
see what is missing from the maps, and Chasmanthe floribunda var ducketii,
from Silverhill in 2007, is.  It is supposed to be plain yellow, so I guess this is
just the plain species.

    and even later:  no, it looks more like Chasmanthe bicolor, but I've never
 bought that seed.



The ixia is a sp from Silverhill.  I am not impressed.  I think it was too
insignificant for naming.

         added in October as I am preparing to send its seeds to the exchange:  The
Silverhill 2009 catalogue describes it thus:   A tall species with very pale blue flowers
from high in Namaqualand in damp areas, late spring flowering.

The Tritonia lineata is pretty.  I sowed it in March 2008, and this is its first
flowering.  Its code number is SF5271.

[Maggi Young]

My goodness, Diane, you're being real tough! I think the Ixia is rather pretty 

[Darren]

The end of the flowering period for the winter growers here, at least unless my very few amaryllids decide to pop up flowers in mid summer.

There's a tale with these two pictures.

Our AGS group used to have a display at the Holker Hall festival in Cumbria each June. Back in the late 90s one of the donated display plants was labelled 'Moraea alpina'. I was rather taken with it so when I saw seed in the AGS exchange a few years later I got some. All I knew about M. alpina was that it was a summer growing Drakensberg species so I treated my (many) seedlings accordingly. By the time I observed that the seedlings really wanted to grow in winter I had lost most of them and realised it could not be M. alpina. A switch to a winter growing regime produced much improved growth in the only surviving plant, which then flowered. I have identified it as Moraea debilis. In fact the pot I originally saw at Holker was also M. debilis misidentified and I wonder if the donor of this plant also sent the seed to the exchange.

M.debilis is related to M tripetala but is usually smaller flowered and (distinctively) flowers at the very end of its growth period as the leaves die off, M tripetala flowers much earlier - usually March with me. M debilis seems to be rather rare in cultivation. M alpina coincidentally flowers at the same time but is at the start of its growth period. I googled for images of M. alpina and found M. debilis is masquerading as it elsewhere too!

As luck would have it I mentioned this story to a kind forumist at an SRGC discussion weekend and he soon sent me a few corms of the true M. alpina which is a delightful plant only 4cm high in flower.

[ArnoldT]

Haemanthus humilis ssp. humilis ex. Jim Shields