Miscellaneous summer bulbs

[RickR]

Wow, Tony!  What a rarity!

Is this its maiden bloom?  I assume it isn't actually at bloom stage yet...

And are those two lowermost appendages, leaves?  Are they mature?

[Tony Willis]

Rick

that is the flower in its mature state. Those lower bits are cataphylls which are drying of as the flower pushes through the ground. The leaves will appear later. I keep it cool but frost free over winter.

Most biarum flower in the autumn and this one is unique in flowering in spring. This is its second flowering,the first time was early July last year when we were in Oregon and so missed it. I have tried to find it without success in the wild during early May but feel I have been there too late. It is very local.

[Tim Ingram]

Tony - I saw the lily on the Scottish Rock site and immediately fell in love with it! What a beautiful flower. I'm not so sure about the Biarum though!!!

[McDonough]

Tony, super cool Biarum... I've never had any luck with these when I tried them from seed a couple of times.

In bloom now (and all summer if enough moisture) is Pinellia cordata 'Yamazaki'.  Yes, I know the warnings about Pinellia species being too aggressive, but so far in this climate they have not posed a significant threat; I've grown P. pedatisecta for years, and it is spreading around a little bit.  

I've grown this diminutive form of P. cordata for several years, labeled as 'Yamazakii' but think it is properly spelled 'Yamazaki'.  It has remained a small clump with attractive mottled foliage, so far without any sign of romping about.  The cute yellowish-green flowers barely peek out, but worth lying on one's belly to sniff the flowers that smell like sweet bubblegum, although some people report the fragrance as being lemony.

 


International Aroid Society page on Pinellia infloresences, including Pinellia cordata 'Yamazaki'
http://www.aroid.org/genera/arisaema/herold/Pages/pinflower.php

[RickR]

Pinellia don't seem to be invasive here in Minnesota, either. 
In fact, many won't grow here at all.

[Tony Willis]

I thought I would post an updated picture of the Biarum ditschianum which has elongated and is now showing its flowers and pollen

[Tony Willis]

A late summer blooming orchid Pterostylis coccinea. This grows from small tubers and is dormant from about April to August

[McDonough]

Spectacular plant Tony; looks like they're made from spun glass.

[WimB]

Some bulbs flowering here during the last month:

Biarum arundanum
Cyclamen hederifolium 'Stargazer'

[deesen]

Hesperantha huttonii

[WimB]

Hesperantha huttonii

Nice David,

had never seen a plant from that genus. Where does it grow in the wild?

[deesen]

Thanks Wim, it's from South Africa. Grown from seed from one of the Exchanges sown March 2008 and this is it's second flowering year. They are pretty easy and survived two winter dormancy periods in my greenhouse just covered with a couple of layers of fleece in a tray under the staging. Two pretty bad winters too by South West England standards.

There are a number of species some of which are summer growers with similarities between them. Ian Young grows Hesperantha baurii in the open in Scotland but mine are under glass.