PBS Forum

Is anyone growing Cyrtanthus carneus, C. herreri and C. flanaganii? 

I am looking for these three species and it would also be nice to hear from others who grow them and are happy to share some photos of their plants.

Quote from: MLoos on January 07, 2024, 12:42:27 PMThe first scape on this seedling Clivia gardenii turned out to be nearly all yellow.

Very nice @MLoos, how old is this plant?

Cyrtanthus mackenii (red form) makes me really happy this January. Lovely scent too. Hard to capture the true colour though

Yes! That's them. How do you know they are not in Africa?

They do have a species I would like but I'm not sure about ordering. Neither Silverhill nor Lifestyle Seeds ever seem to have Brunsvigia or Gethyllis seeds and I assumed they might just be too problematic to ship and then germinate with success.

Africa Seeds guarantee high germination rates though - is this why they are so expensive?  Free phytosanitary certificate if you order for over $120.

Have you ordered from Lifestyle Seeds before?

Hi CG100,

Maybe somebody who has some will still reach out...

I did come across Jacques Amand website when searching and they had 7 species listed, none of them in stock though. I have also found a South African supplier who has seeds of some and I was wondering if they would germinate. They are not cheap though, at $45 for 5 seeds and that's on sale. They also have quite a few Brunsvigia species seeds, which are also quite ephemeral aren't they? Maybe I should ask separately how long after collecting people were still able to germinate Brunsvigia seeds.

Thank you for the link, nice article on Gethyllis! Aren't they charming little plants Love their South African name

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone in the UK is growing Gethyllis, and has enough bulbs to share/sell? Or seeds?

Quote from: OrchardB on November 16, 2022, 02:26:05 AMI find these almost indestructible as frost free greenhouse plants here in SE UK. (slugs allowing) Are their any more showy plants; maybe hybrids, that give more colour/flower size. I grow and flower H. sanguineus ok as pot plants but not tried crossing. Rarely see the other species available.

Himalayan Gardens have Haemanthus humilis this year https://www.himalayangardens.com/haemanthus

Send some photos of your Haemanthus CG100 if you have any. I am always curious what other people's plants look like. 

Where are you based?

Hi CG100 and Uli,

No, I'm positive this is H. alibiflos. They removed the leaves and most roots before sending it to me. It looked like an offset which was originally under the soil surface (I think), as it wasn't green at all, and the shape was quite elongated and not exactly symmetrical. I would imagine it will now 'shape up' that it is on its own - that is if it grows successfully.

The leaf is still growing. I got it in April, it didn't do anything for a very long time, to the point where I moved it away thinking it was not going to grow, but then it started growing this leaf. The stubs from the cut off leaves have grown a bit too. Actually they have grown first, and then the new leaf appeared.

I don't have anything spiky and no other plant was ever touching it. It first only had one of those breakouts on the top surface, and then slowly and gradually it got more. I feel they get longer as the leaf grows. The spots visible from the bottom I only noticed recently.

Regarding it only growing one leaf, I also noticed that in Brunsvigias. I currently have three, they are all from South Africa, and they all only developed one leaf at first, the second one only after a considerable amount of time.

I attach another photo of my plant and one from Kew and one from RHS Wisley. I feel like they are always quite shiny CG100? I've never seen a matt one.

Hi everyone,

Has anyone seen something like this on Haemanthus leaves? I am not sure what is causing these spots. The spots seen against light on the underside of the leaf do not correspond to the dry linear breakages on the top surface - do I have two issues here?

This is Haemanthus albiflos grown from a bulb originally from South Africa. It took a while to start growing but once started it looked really healthy, and recently started getting these spots and lines.

Hi everyone,

I was wondering what observations people have regarding Stagonospora curtisii, indoors and out. What genera do you find get infected? What do you do? Do you treat it? Do you leave it? What do you treat it with? I am particularly interested in hearing from UK based members if you have been successful in treating it - what products did you find effective?

Thank you,

Piotr

Hi everyone,

Thanks Uli! I am glad I have been able to bring some interest the the Forum. You do not have any issues with Stagonospora? Are all your Hippeastrums grown from seed? I feel like here in the UK you can not get a Hippeastrum bulb which is not affected. I actually got one this year, sold as H. vittatum, kind of an impulse buy because it reminded me of the one my granddad gave me when I was a boy, and I am pretty sure it has it too.

David maybe you know if there is a product in the UK which is effective on Stagonospora?

I do not know about those outdoor pests Uli Everything I have is grown in pots, indoors, because I do not have a garden. Fungus gnats can be a nuisance, but I use nematodes as a precaution now, whether I see any flies or not.

Yes, thank you, I had been using PBS WIKI for quite a long time before I decided to join the forum. Growning plants from seed is very rewarding, but the problem is you have to keep all those seedlings until they flower to see what you have, and I have very limited space. Also, you get attached and end up keeping too many once they have flowered

Below is a photo of the 21 seedlings I planted in a pot. It has been exactly 14 days since I floated the seeds in water.

Ah, I see what you mean David. Maybe they are overcrowded? That is what RarePlants advise on their website, apparently if grown in pots they have a tendency to split up rather then flower. But I do not know. I am only just starting with this genus. And I have mine in a not too large pot (only one bulb).

My apologies, I should have expressed myself more clearly perhaps. I tend to use "soil" and "potting mix" interchangeably, which is not quite correct is it. I did use a soil based potting mix though (1 part) and horticultural sand (2 parts), plus some pumice and charcoal. The potting mix is meant to be sterilized but could potentially pick up all sorts during storage. I did not pour boiling water over it or bake it prior to planting the seedlings. I believe in them  

I used agar to grow bacteria cultures and plants in vitro as a student back in the day. But this is maybe a bit much for growing plants at home as a hobby  

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your replies.

I did plant around 20 of them into soil yesterday morning as I had some other things to plant so I just went ahead with it. They had actually started developing leaves at that stage. Today I can see that they have not stopped growing, as all seed cases were flat on the soil surface at the time of planting and today they moved quite a bit. Also the ones with visible first leaves, which were maybe 3 mm, are now taller, so yes, they are definitely in a hurry.

Yes, Ken, I observed yesterday that the seemingly detached 'roots' turned green on one side and started developing a leaf. Who knew! I thought they were getting ready to die. But I left those in water together with the rest to see what they would do.

Yes, I agree that floatation adds another step, but I do not start hundreds of seeds so I do not mind moving them from water to soil. Also, I was able to select the strongest ones to go in the pot. I have never grown a bulb from seed so I am trying different things to see what happens. Normally if I grow other plants from seed I do what David does, and as soon as I can see a root they go into soil. Or I just sow straight in soil. But this is new and exciting 😊

Yes, Uli, these are from Chileflora. They say on their website that this species is restocked in November, and since it is April now, I thought it might be a good idea to try some now, as I suppose this is roughly the time when they would be germinating if they were back in Chile. I will probably try the other packet in the autumn, maybe half in water and half in soil, to see if there is a difference in how they behave then.

To be honest I thought only a few would germinate, at best, not ALL of them. I assumed the seed would be old or poor quality, especially that they never replied to a single email at Chileflora. I was actually prepared not to receive my order at all.

You have some good looking Hippeastrum seedlings Uli. Do you ever have issues with Stagonospora in your Hippeastrums?

David, do you grow them outside? I have a Rhodophiala bifida 'Hill Country Red' from RarePlants (UK). They say they grow theirs under glass, where they flower regularly, but apparently tried outdoors and they survived. What do you mean by saying 'not extreme enough'? Summers not hot enough or winters too mild? Do you have a photo of what they look like now?

Below is a photo of the 'detached roots' yesterday

Hi David,

Yes, I have seen that photo, thank you. Can you remember when you started them? As in was it spring or autumn, and did you store them prior to starting? Which species was that?

Maybe I should try transplanting some into soil, since there are so many, and then see what happens with the other half, left in water.

I used to live in Blackpool back in the day. Very windy there, isn't it