Dear Mary Sue: You might find the South African Field Guide #6 Karoo of help. Flora of the Natal Drakensberg by Donal Killick, published in 1990 by Jonathan Ball and Ad. Donkers, Johannesburg, might also help. in John Hutchinson's book A Botanist in Southern Africa, (page 627) he mentions Gethyllis cilaris as being common on the Cape Flats, a fruit much sought after by children in June. Cheers, John E. Bryan Mary Sue Ittner wrote: > > Dear All, > > Gordon Summerfield in his post to me mentioned the lows that one of the > species experienced in Sutherland which gave Jim McKenney hopes that he > could grow Gethyllis. > > Recently on our list there was a thread about South African bulbs and > hardiness that made it clear that in cold winter climates some people could > grow South African bulbs and some could not. David Fenwick plants his > really deep which helps in the UK. Ellen Hornig has a protective cover of > snow which keeps the soil temperatures moderated. Others no doubt count on > mulch or tree cover. It appears that most of the bulbs that people are > trying are summer growing bulbs from the Drakensberg. That would make sense > since you would assume that since they would be dormant during the coldest > time of the year they might be more tolerant. > > For the longest time IBSA members have talked about the wonderful flora > they see each year in another cold part of South Africa, but this one in > the winter rainfall area. Sutherland which Gordon mentioned is in the area > described in The Color Encyclopedia of Cape Bulbs as the Roggeveld Center. > The higher elevations of this area (winter rainfall, but not a lot, up to > 250 mm or 10 inches in some areas) get cold and Sutherland is one of them. > I keep hoping someone is going to do a field guide for this area > (Sutherland-Middelpos) as there isn't one now. I read about these plants > and want to see what they look like. It would be interesting to learn how > many of them would survive in colder climates. They probably wouldn't make > it in climates as cold as Jim Waddick and Jim Shields' however. Silverhill > Seed occasionally collects seed there and that would seem to be one way to > go since these species are not widely grown. > > Most people grow Gethyllis in pots. Why couldn't they be brought inside to > a cool room if the temperatures got really cold and then moved back outside > when the cold spell passed. I've done that with plants here I cherished and > didn't want to take a chance on. It surely doesn't stay at the extremely > low temperatures all the time. The other factor I don't know about however > is how they would do during summer temperatures. As Jim said you could > shelter them from the rain and daytime hot temperatures are not a problem > it appears. But I seem to recall Rachel saying that it cooled off at night > in Sutherland even in summer. So perhaps the species most adapted to cold > temperatures in winter, wouldn't like hot nighttime summer temperatures. So > it might be the same thing as the Drakensberg plants, but this time it > would be a matter of whether hot night time temperatures would be a problem > during dormancy, not during growth. Until someone tries them however, we > won't really know. > > Mary Sue > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php