South African Bulbs

[Michael J Campbell]

Francis, my Moraea bulbs all get the same treatment. They are all grown in plastic pots in the greenhouse in a compost made up as follows. 50% soil,20% coarse grit, 20% perlite, and 10 coarse sand. The pot is filled to about three quarters with this mix and then a layer or coarse sand  about 2cm. the bulbs are places on the sand and covered with the same sand and then topped with Grit. They are kept in the greenhouse with the heater set at 2C to keep the frost out. They are watered on the 1st  of September and kept just damp until they have made  good growth usually around Christmas or early January. Then I feed them every two weeks with tomato feed until flower buds appear. they like plenty of water when in full growth and as they are in pure sand it is difficult to over do it.
Remember I live in the west of Ireland in a mild climate and we only occasionally get heavy frosts, although 2010 and 2011 were extreme with -17c
for weeks.
I have had them bloom out in the garden for years until the heavy frosts came.

Hope this helps.
  

[Tim Ingram]

Michael - Moraea aristata is stunning. I wonder how much winter cold some of these would take? I have a yellow Moraea (not sure of the species) which has been outside now for 4 or 5 years (with a low of -14°C this winter - but usually only to -8°C or so) and Watsonia aletroides has survived and flowered quite well. Maybe if given an insulated cloche through the worst weather...?

[Michael J Campbell]

Moraea collina (syn. Homeria collina)

[bulborum]

Michael

Very nice Freesia alba picture
The seeds you send from the Freesia's (Anomatheca) start germinating
looks very promising

Roland

[cohan]

Michael- what a show!

Trond, yes, my plant(s) is (are) Ledebouria galpinii just remember mine a)only just emerged from winter rest so leaves are not fully developed in the pics, and buds aren't open b)my plants live indoors all year, so with lower light, the leaves will be less flat, and less purple, but they do have the attractive texture, and the flowers opened pink

 

Here is Bulbine favosa small form; this is an easy and frequent flowerer Probably would be much more erect in full sun, but I'm just happy it flowers.... I may try to raise at least one of them this summer to show the caudex..



Ongoing flowering on my plants from Penrock seed as Ornithogalum unifoliatum; they are one leafed, but not succulent as that species should be? Probably one of the species moved to Albuca..



Some fresh pics of the Ledebouria galpinii

     

[Hoy]

Michael- what a show!

Trond, yes, my plant(s) is (are) Ledebouria galpinii just remember mine a)only just emerged from winter rest so leaves are not fully developed in the pics, and buds aren't open b)my plants live indoors all year, so with lower light, the leaves will be less flat, and less purple, but they do have the attractive texture, and the flowers opened pink

Here is Bulbine favosa small form; this is an easy and frequent flowerer Probably would be much more erect in full sun, but I'm just happy it flowers.... I may try to raise at least one of them this summer to show the caudex..

Ongoing flowering on my plants from Penrock seed as Ornithogalum unifoliatum; they are one leafed, but not succulent as that species should be? Probably one of the species moved to Albuca..

Some fresh pics of the Ledebouria galpinii

OK, I wouldn't have recognised it without the flowers
You do grow a lot of plants inside the house! How many pots do you have?


I once had a pot of L socialis inddors and the leaves was pretty nice, the flowers were not! However last autumn I was too late to bring it inside. It didn't take the freezing temps and died. . . . .

[bulborum]

I can send you new ones Trond

R

[cohan]

I have two types of L socialis, one is also flowering now- not fancy, but still nice- and this is a form with nice leaves... I have a couple other Ledebourias too, though some of the most amazing ones are very hard to get- especially in Canada!
Here's a not very exciting photo from today of Ledebouria socialis (hard to see in this pic, but the leaf is a bit more shapely than my other form, nicer markings, and the leaf back gets darker in stronger light... Also Ledebouria 'Leatherleaf'

 
I have no idea how many plants I have inside-- I suppose around a couple hundred maybe.... No way I could deal with just outdoor gardening here when the season is so short...

[Hoy]

I can send you new ones Trond

R

Roland, thank you very much! I'll PM you.

I have no idea how many plants I have inside-- I suppose around a couple hundred maybe.... No way I could deal with just outdoor gardening here when the season is so short...

Well, I have about 100 I think - and that's enough for me. Takes time to check them all during the winter although some are completely dry during the winter. But you have some interesting ones, Cohan

[cohan]

Some of mine are winter dry as well, though I am trying to get more winter growers, that's the whole point of having plants inside!! My best light is in spring and fall, so I have started to water my summer growers quite early, and late into fall, with a shorter winter rest, and half dry in summer; I follow a similar schedule for things like Haworthia, which are mostly winter growers in habitat, but I don't water during the darkest time of winter, and again in mid-summer (though its not hot here) I don't water again..

[Hoy]

Some of mine are winter dry as well, though I am trying to get more winter growers, that's the whole point of having plants inside!! My best light is in spring and fall, so I have started to water my summer growers quite early, and late into fall, with a shorter winter rest, and half dry in summer; I follow a similar schedule for things like Haworthia, which are mostly winter growers in habitat, but I don't water during the darkest time of winter, and again in mid-summer (though its not hot here) I don't water again..

Have you sorted your plants in classes according to watering regimes or do they all get the same treatment?
Or maybe you remember the exact programme for each and every plant you have

[cohan]

They are more or less grouped, but I also have to fit pots where I can fit them, and where they can get appropriate light.. So I try to put pots with similar schedules together in trays, and give more or less water by making a looser soil for those that want to be drier -- this is espeically true for cacti; some plants though, just get stuck in where there is space..
Once they are adults and on schedule (seedlings tend to get water all year for a couple of years) I do know what schedule each plant needs..
That doesn't mean I always water them when I should....lol

[Hoy]

Seems you have plenty to do even when the garden is snow covered

[cohan]

Sometimes it seems the outdoor garden is just a small blip on the radar..... in fact, maybe I only imagined that there is a growing season outdoors here....

[Howey]

Thanks for the info about the Moraeas, Michael.  I'll give it a try.  I heard that a high potash content in the fertilizer was a desirable thing with these South African bulbs?  Fran

Frances Howey
London, Ontario, Canada
Zone 5b