South African Bulbs 2016

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These Crossyne flava took ten years from seed to start flowering (probably because they were kept in a pot for half that time) but since then they flower regularly,

Crossyne flava Crossyne flava Crossyne flava Crossyne flava Crossyne flava

cheers

fermi

Crossyne flava
Crossyne flava
Crossyne flava
Crossyne flava
Crossyne flava

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Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Mon, 02/15/2016 - 5:28pm

Amaryllis belladonna is another regular late summer/early autumn flower in our area (and most of southern Australia!)

These are some seedlings which show some variation in shading

mixed seedling Amaryllis belladonna mid-pink seedling Amaryllis belladonna pale-pink seedling Amaryllis belladonna

This is a deep pink, almost cerise variety which was apparently raised in this area of central Victoria

deep-pink Amaryllis belladonna deep-pink Amaryllis belladonna deep-pink Amaryllis belladonna

No flowers yet on any of the white forms

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Tue, 04/05/2016 - 7:03pm

More nerines coming into flower:

Nerine fothergilla 'Major' (now subsumed into N. sarniensis, but is a little more frost resistant in our garden)

Nerine fothergilla 'Major'

Nerine 'Ariel' is an old hybrid which I got about 30 years ago and is fairly reliable in flowering most years

Nerine 'Ariel' Nerine 'Ariel'

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Sat, 04/16/2016 - 6:11am

Some autumn flowering South African oxalis in our garden now:

Oxalis polyphylla v. heptaphylla

Oxalis polyphylla var. heptaphyllaOxalis polyphylla var. heptaphyllaOxalis polyphylla var. heptaphylla

Oxalis flava (mauve form)

Oxalis flava (mauve form)Oxalis flava (mauve form)

Oxalis hirta.(salmon form)

Oxalis hirta "Salmon form"Oxalis hirta "Salmon form"

cheers

fermi

 

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Sat, 04/23/2016 - 6:16pm

Another Oxalis grown more for its foliage than flowers, is Oxalis palmifrons,

Oxalis palmifrons in bud at 8:30amOxalis palmifrons in flower at 10:30am April 22Oxalis palmifrons in flower at 10:00am April 23Oxalis palmifrons in flower at 10:00am April 23

In our rock garden it does manage to flower each autumn, but it spreads too easily by stolons and needs to be confined!

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Wed, 06/01/2016 - 6:43am

Gladiolus dalenii is a late autumn flowerer but suffers badly if hit by frostsad - fortunately these have come into flower before being hit!

Gladiolus daleniiGladiolus dalenii

Nerines are still flowering: these are possibly Nerine humilis (previously N. flexuosa?) with the smaller one in the pot being Nerine crispa (now Nerine undulata)

Nerine humilis and Nerine undulataNerine humilis

Nerine not quite filifolia - grown from seed as Nerine filifolia but the foliage is too wide!

Nerine not quite filifoliaNerine not quite filifolia

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Mon, 07/04/2016 - 10:17pm

Hesperantha humilis is a startling flower in the depths of winter but quite diminutive in this example

Hesperantha humilis

A second pot came into flower a day later and the stems are a bit taller

Hesperantha humilisHesperantha humilis

The exterior of the petals are attractive with the speckling - almost crocus like!

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Fri, 07/08/2016 - 8:12am

[quote=Fermi]

Another autumn blooming South African geophyte, Moraea polystachya, opened its first flower of the season today,

[/quote]

3 months later Moraea polystachya is still in bloom!

Moraea polystachya

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Fri, 07/29/2016 - 8:59am

First flower this year on Lapeirousia oreogena, grown from seed from the NZAGS Seedex, sown in 2012

Lapeirousia oreogena 2016

The first seedling flowered last year and seemed a little bit paler

Lapeirousia oreogena 2015

Still nice though!

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Fri, 08/05/2016 - 4:56am

[quote=Fermi]

 

Fermi wrote:

Another autumn blooming South African geophyte, Moraea polystachya, opened its first flower of the season today,

3 months later Moraea polystachya is still in bloom!

Moraea polystachya

cheers

fermi

[/quote]

Another month later still blooming!

Moraea polystachyaMoraea polystachya

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Sun, 07/31/2016 - 8:24am

[quote=RickR]

Yowza!

It's no wonder that you changed your avatar!

[/quote]

Well, I do try to stay up-to-datecheeky

A couple of other seedlings in the same pot have opened

Lapeirousia oreogena 3 forms 2016Lapeirousia oreogena Lapeirousia oreogena Lapeirousia oreogena

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Wed, 08/03/2016 - 9:51pm

Babiana odorata did not flower last year as the frosts destroyed all the buds though the foliage seemed to be unaffected.

This year the frosts must've been too early or too late to affect them as they are flowering well

Babiana odorata Babiana odorata Babiana odorata

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Tue, 08/16/2016 - 7:47pm

When Babiana odorata and B. pygmaea flower at the same time we end up with hybrids which have varying amounts of yellow in them and usually radial symmetry showing the influence of B. pygmaea,

Babiana odorata with hybrids Babiana odorata hybrid Babiana odorata hybrid Babiana odorata hybrid Babiana odorata hybrid with dark exterior

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Mon, 08/29/2016 - 2:21am

More South African bulbous plants in flower at our place.

One pot of seedlings of Hesperantha latifolia seems to have an interloper!

Hesperantha latifolia and a strayHesperantha latifolia hybrid?

Is it another species or perhaps a hybrid between H. latifolia and something like H. humilis or H. pauciflora?

Lachenalia concordiana

Lachenalia concordiana

Gladiolus watermeyeri from seed from NZAGS 2011 Seedex sown in 2012

Gladiolus watermeyeriGladiolus watermeyeri

It has a violet scent but only during the day;

Romulea sabulosa continues to be fabulous

Romulea sabulosaRomulea sabulosa

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Tue, 09/06/2016 - 7:16am

Hesperantha vaginata - the type species has interesting black/brown sections

Hesperantha vaginata

Moraea bipartita is flowering a bit earlier than last year

Moraea bipartita

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Sun, 10/02/2016 - 6:04am

Geissorhiza (splendidissima see below, this is possibly  G. foliosa) in the rock garden

Geissorhiza splendidissima

A day later with more sunshine, more flowers are open

Geissorhiza splendidissimaGeissorhiza splendidissima

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Fri, 09/23/2016 - 8:59am

Some new flowers this week!

Babiana sinuata grown from seed from South Africa sown 2012,

Babiana sinuataBabiana sinuata

Geissorhiza splendidissima, from seed from Israel - it appears to be on steroids compared with the form I've had for ages 

Geissorhiza splendidissimaGeissorhiza splendidissimaGeissorhiza splendidissima

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Fri, 09/23/2016 - 3:59pm

Some more in our garden:

Spiloxene capiensis

Spiloxene capiensisSpiloxene capiensis

Ixia maculata, forms and possibly hybrids,

Ixia maculataIxia maculata

Sparaxis tricolor

Sparaxis tricolorSparaxis tricolor

Sparaxis grandiflora, purple form,

Sparaxis grandiflora, purple form

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Sat, 09/24/2016 - 9:05am

Not the best pic, but I think this demonstrates the size difference between the two plants I have labeled as Geissorhiza splendidissima, (the smaller is possibly another species, such as G. foliosa)

Geissorhiza splendidissima

The mass of purple is a nice background for this Lachenalia contaminatacheeky

Lachenalia contaminata with Geissorhiza splendidissima

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Sun, 09/25/2016 - 5:51am

This sparaxis used to be considered a Streptanthera (twisted anthers) but I'm not sure if it's Sparaxis pillansii or S. elegans now,

maroon Sparaxismaroon Sparaxis

This is Moraea macrocarpa grown from seed from Gordon Summerfield in RSA in 2010; hopefully it is self fertile as it did not open when its sister seedling did!

Moraea macrocarpaMoraea macrocarpaMoraea macrocarpa

it has a spicy, cinnamon-like scent,

cheers

fermi

 

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Sun, 10/02/2016 - 6:16am

Ixia trifolia

Ixia trifolia

Babiana stricta cultivars

Babiana stricta -purpleBabiana stricta rosy -purpleBabiana stricta rosy -purple

Sparaxis tricolor red form

Sparaxis tricolor

Moraea aristata (or possibly a hybrid)

Moraea aristata

cheers

fermi

 

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Sat, 10/08/2016 - 6:51am

Sunny morning, so the Sparaxis (maybe) bulbifera looking great

Sparaxis bulbifera

Moraea setifolia

Moraea setifolia

Geissorhiza monanthos

Geissorhiza monanthosGeissorhiza monanthos dark centerGeissorhiza monanthos white center

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Sun, 10/09/2016 - 4:36am

Hi Claire, 

hopefully these pics will make things brighter till the sun comes back (then you can post pics during our winter!)

These yellow ixias came from a friend but no ID on what they are, possibly a form or hybrid of Ixia maculata

Yellow ixiasYellow ixias

These were grown from seed but I'm afraid that they have crossed so I cannot put a definite name to any of them! 

mixed ixiasmixed ixiasmixed ixias

Ixia maculata and Ixia dubia are in there somewhere!

cheers

fermi

CScott's picture

CScott (not verified)

Thu, 10/13/2016 - 5:05am

I enjoy the pictures of your flowering African Bulbs.

We too are entering winter, and our winters are such that 

we do not grow African Bulbs.

Thanks for the pictures of yours in bloom.

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Sat, 10/15/2016 - 7:06am

Thanks, CScott,

here are a couple more:

Geissorhiza radians;

Geissorhiza radians

Pelargonium triste

Pelargonium triste

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Mon, 10/17/2016 - 5:38am

Gladiolus liliaceus opened in the morning a muddy, orange red;

Gladiolus liliaceus

In the evening it started to become a purplish color;

Gladiolus liliaceus

At nighttime it was a mauve-purple and had developed a sweet, clove-like scent!

Gladiolus liliaceus at nightGladiolus liliaceus at nightGladiolus liliaceus at night

By morning it had reverted to its original color

cheers

fermi

CScott's picture

CScott (not verified)

Wed, 10/19/2016 - 3:33pm

I am wondering what makes the colour change?

Different light levels?  Different temperatures?

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Fri, 10/28/2016 - 5:39am

[quote=CScott]

I am wondering what makes the colour change?

Different light levels?  Different temperatures?

[/quote]

A good question which I can't answer! I presume the color change helps to keep them camouflaged during the day then attractive at night to their pollinators.

This little bulb came to us from the NZAGS Seedex a few years ago as Geissorhiza darlingensis, but it doesn't look like the pic on the SANBI site: http://redlist.sanbi.org/species.php?species=1535-20 looking more like their pic of G. purpureolutea http://redlist.sanbi.org/species.php?species=1535-82

So which is it?

Geissorhiza darlingensisGeissorhiza darlingensisGeissorhiza darlingensis

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Fri, 11/04/2016 - 7:34am

Three rather different Gladdies, 

Gladiolus carneus

Gladiolus carneus

Gladiolus stellatus,last year from Greg Boldiston, Longinomus Nursery, Romsey

Gladiolus stellatus

Gladiolus meliusculus - a recent acquisition also from Greg

Gladiolus meliusculusGladiolus meliusculusGladiolus meliusculus

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Thu, 12/01/2016 - 2:51am

Another gladdie came into flower a couple of weeks ago:

Gladiolus miniatus, from NZAGS Seedex 2011,

Gladiolus miniatusGladiolus miniatusGladiolus miniatus

This was grown from NARGS Seedex as G. permeabilis but is possibly Gladiolus wilsonii (a few blooms of Ixia polystachya in foreground)

Gladiolus maybe wilsoniiGladiolus maybe wilsoniiGladiolus maybe wilsonii

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Wed, 12/14/2016 - 4:35am

We had our local group's Plant Swap last weekend and one of the plants I got is this yellow form of Ornithogalum dubium

Ornithogalum dubium yellowOrnithogalum dubium yellow

cheers

fermi

Fermi de Sousa's picture

Fermi de Sousa

Sun, 12/18/2016 - 3:22am

We got this Watsonia socium (syn Watsonia pillansii) from Glenbrook Bulb Farms (home of many fine dwarf daffodils) last year but didn't get a flower. This year the 2 corms have become a clump and have flowered profusely,

Watsonia sociumWatsonia sociumWatsonia socium

cheers

fermi

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