South African Bulbs 2013

[SJW]

What does affect flowering, I think, is keeping them too cool or shady the previous summer. I keep sale plants (flowering size) under the bench and they often fail to flower, whereas those kept on top in the light and where they get a warm summer perform reliably.

Mathew says in one of his books that Massonia should not be kept too warm and dry in summer as they can shrivel. One has to bear in mind that his experience is in the banana belt of south east England. Up here in the more civilised parts of the country a hot summer is a rarity and mine came to no harm (in plunged pots) even though we had several days this summer where the temperature under glass exceeded 40C.

That makes sense, Darren. I don't plunge and my pots certainly get a warm, dry summer.

No Michael- and I've asked Paul Cumbleton the same question. He has confirmed my findings that most Daubenya don't even seem willing to sprout every year. Seeds germinate well but then often the seedlings then stay dormant in future seasons or sprout sporadically at best. D. comata seems to be the exception for me - my 3 years olds have shooted every year and look like being flowering size soon.

I do think it might simply be that I am being too kind to the little seedlings and keeping them too cool beneath the bench (see my post above again) in summer to avoid such small bulbs shrivelling. Might be well worth experimenting with a few dormant bulbs in a propagator set to a minimum of, say, 25C for the whole of August, then watering as usual in September after taking them out.

Quite a few pots of my Lachenalia seedlings haven't resprouted this autumn after their first dormancy (bulbs are still there) and I wonder if my summer regime this year has affected regrowth. They were moved out of the greenhouse and into a cooler shed...In the wild seedlings will grow in the same area as mature bulbs and, unless they are shaded by summer vegetation (?), will experience the same climatic conditions and yet they don't shrivel up, so perhaps, as you say, we are being too kind to young bulbs.

[ArnoldT]

From my perspective:

I summer all my SA bulbs in a cool basement dry and at approx. 60-65 F.

No water.

My greenhouse gets much to hot at 110 F at times.  I leave the miniature Narcissus there plunged in a sand and gravel bed.

[angie]

My Massonias are at the same stage as yours Steve and I've not yet used a heater at all this winter (though I am in a much milder area) and there has been slight frost inside the greenhouse twice so I'm not convinced that extra warmth during growth helps the flowering. What does affect flowering, I think, is keeping them too cool or shady the previous summer. I keep sale plants (flowering size) under the bench and they often fail to flower, whereas those kept on top in the light and where they get a warm summer perform reliably.  None of my M. depressa even produced shoots last season as the summer of 2012 was so cold - they stayed completely dormant right through the growing season. They are back to normal this year.

Darren thats really interesting to hear. My Massonia didn't do well either last year. I lost a couple as well, they just seemed to dry up.
I have mine plunged at the moment. Do you think I should have kept them in the plunge that they get some moisture. Just not sure what I am doing wrong.

Angie 

[Ezeiza]

Invariably with SA bulbs and corms staying dormant for a season is due to lack of proper baking (or roasting!) in summer.

[ArnoldT]

Alberto:

I think you have to look at baking in the ground and baking in  a isolated pot. Ground has some moisture and temperature stability.

[fenius]

I'm new to south africans too, and confused as to which should come inside when we have -C
Since last winter I grow these (kept them inside all their first winter till spring)
ammocharis coranica
boophone haemanthoides
crinum acaule
haemanthus deformis
haemanthus humilis (giant)
polyxena ensifolia maughanii
... since they are not very big bulbs I lean towards putting everything inside now except maybe ammocharis, based on random internet info..Am I overprotective??
Oh, and I'm so bummed because I didn't notice c. acaule blooming hidden behind some tropicals in the fall, when I emptied the balcony of all tropicals last week I found only a dried flower.. Some days I think I have too many plants on my hands

[Ezeiza]

Arnold:

            In either case, if they have not "slept" warm enough, they will now "wake up". In my hot summer climate we never had a single case of plants remaining dormant. Same thing in S. California, S. Europe and the like.

[Afloden]

Fenius,

 I know that Ammocharis is fully hardy for me. My plants were grown from seed I got from Silverhill in 2000. I have grown some of them outside since 2007 here in Tennessee (USA) and they have endured temperatures to 7F (-13C) with no problems. My first plant (after 12 years!!!) flowered this past summer and it was quite a let down. The flowers smell like mothballs and only lasted about 3 days.

[Darren]

From my perspective:

I summer all my SA bulbs in a cool basement dry and at approx. 60-65 F.

No water.

My greenhouse gets much to hot at 110 F at times.  I leave the miniature Narcissus there plunged in a sand and gravel bed.

I'm sure summer at a constant 60-65 F is great. In a greenhouse in our part of the UK the temperature rarely even reaches 65f at midday in July. Your situation is more akin to that which Mathew describes, in which you need to take precautions against overheating in a greenhouse. Never been an issue for me. I lost a few succulents to scorch in summer this year (unusually warm) but the bulbs have all been fine.

[Darren]

Darren thats really interesting to hear. My Massonia didn't do well either last year. I lost a couple as well, they just seemed to dry up.
I have mine plunged at the moment. Do you think I should have kept them in the plunge that they get some moisture. Just not sure what I am doing wrong.

Angie 

Hi Angie, last season was a poor one for my M depressa and pustulata especially. The latter produced leaves and flowers but they looked a bit small and feeble.

My mature plants stay in the plunge all summer but are kept completely dry. Pustulata often still keeps its roots despite being dry. I'd be surprised if your summer in Aberdeen ever got too hot to worry them even if not plunged! Perhaps protecting them from fluctuations in temperature might be a help for you - by keeping them in the plunge but dry. In my opinion the worst thing you could do is to take them out of the plunge and put them under the bench or in a cool shed in our climate. 
Arnold puts his in the basement but his summers are much warmer and I suspect that 60-65F is comparable to soil temperatures the plants would get in the wild - plus there would be no notable drop at night time in Arnold's basement so the average cumulative temperature over the summer may be higher than our average temperature for the summer even in a greenhouse.

Incidentally - I've often left particularly prone-to-staying-dormant Irids such as ferraria in a black pot in full sun (no plunge) against the south facing glass of our greenhouse over the summer and the pot can get too hot to touch on some days. They actually seem to like it and flower well but I'd be very nervous about doing this with most bulbs!

[angie]

Thanks Darren. You are right about our Aberdeen summers. I had forgotten what summers were all about till this summer. I will leave them in the plunge and see if they do better.  Only got one in flower at the moment. I have lots of baby ones growing from seed that I got from Lesley and Hans J. Hopefully some day I will have a nice display. 

Angie 

[Ezeiza]

Precisely, Ferrarias are all hot summer dormancy plants and one of the most frequently mentioned as skipping a season in cool climates.

[fenius]

Afloden:
The mothball story is very disappointing, as I almost exclusively choose plants for scent!.. Oh well, I guess I'll wait for it to bloom  another couple of years and then get rid of it..

[Ezeiza]

Even if it smelled of rotting dog xxxx, the plant is so outstanding and difficult to get to flower that it would be worth the wait and effort.

[ArnoldT]

Here's a purple leaf Massonia pustulata