PBS Forum

no one wants to start the December topic? OK, its really not a good bulb month for southern Germany, but as we usually have a rather wide description: This it the state of my Kniphofia sarmentosa

Height:	60-90 cm (2-3 ft)
Flower Colors:	red, orange
Flower Season:	mid winter to mid spring
Climate:	winter rain climate

in open ground - now with my climate, thats poker with a red-hot poker: Some years they flower in December, sometimes in March. Sometimes the flower gets killed of, sometimes a plant is reduced to regenerating back from root pieces - strange enough, they only suffer from cold when in flower - plants which don't flower that year are fine. So, the cold is soon to arrive according to the models - let's see what's the fate of this one...

First Ferraria of the season. Last year blooms on Dec. 17.

Quote from: Arnold on December 13, 2022, 12:50:30 PMFirst Ferraria of the season. Last year blooms on Dec. 17.

Beautiful.
You must have them in a greenhouse. I have considered moving some of my newly gifted bulbs into my unheated GH but not sure it would make much difference aside from getting rained on. Coastal CA.

Yes, they sit in a greenhouse heated to around 42-45 F.

The key in my view was the  addition supplementary light I added couple of years ago.  Our light levels here in the northeast USA are just not bright enough to get these to flower reliably.

Do you think it is the brightness, or the extra hours of light?  Might they be day-length sensitive?

I think it's brightness.  I'll dig up some charts I've done comparing the 'insolation' of SA with the northern hemisphere.  We get far less light energy falling on the ground than SA.  Also the number of cloudy days can play into the overall light.

Here are four locations as compared to Capetown SA.

You have to subtract 6 months to get the same growing season.

That is quite a difference!

I've spent about 5 months in South Africa  (Jan, Mar, July, Aug, Sep) and didn't really notice that it was so bright.

I did notice that one area had a daytime temperature like Victoria's summer and a night time temperature colder than we get in midwinter.  And there were flowers in bloom everywhere!

I live on the north side of Terceira, on the north side of the street, and during this time of year I get sun on the roof of my house but nothing in the front yard due to the neighbors having metrosideros trees that block the sun from November to February. In the back of the house, it gets lots of sun. The Ferraria I have do a lot better in the back and while they grow in the front, they may not flower. The light is strong enough in the front that my daylilies still give flowers.

Speaking of daylight sensitive, my poinsettia bush that I have outside has colored up nicely without needing any of that darkness treatment. We grow them in the ground around here.

Dear All,

Here are some pictures of my garden. We have abundant rain at this time so some flowers get ruined but most stand up to the rain. Lachenalia viridiflora looks particularly beautiful in rain. It is always the first one to flower, closely followed by Lachenalia quadricolor.
Zantedeschia aethiopica ,'White Giant' is worth growing for its foliage alone.
Aponogeton distachyus has woken up from a dry summer dormancy (in its pot in a dry spot in the greenhouse) within days.
The local Narcissus bulbocodium has different forms which flower sooner or later, this one is the early form.
Uli 

My Lachenalia viridiflora is also blooming, in my unheated greenhouse (currently 8 C, a bit warmer than the 2 C outside).  If yours is in the rain, you must keep it outside.  I wonder if I should plant one outside.

Hello Diane,

If you have enough bulbs, I would recommend to try some outside. So far all my winters have been frost free but the temperatures often went down to near freezing. None of my Lachenalias has suffered the least. They are very compact and sturdy. The rain does not harm either. Depending on their native habitat they may well experience the typical morning frost in their home country. Can South African members comment on that?

Thanks, Uli.

I've just looked on the wiki, which shows some photos of lots of bulbs at the bottom of a leaf cutting.  Have you tried that?

Will any portion of a leaf work, or does one need to use the bottom of the leaf?  Maybe I could cut a leaf into several sections, so I could get bulbs forming on the bottom of each piece.

I've just found excellent instructions on Matt Mattus' blog.

https://growingwithplants.com/2006/04/propagating-lachenalia/

Quote from: Arnold on December 14, 2022, 07:38:06 AMThe key in my view was the  addition supplementary light I added couple of years ago.

I have added some low level extra LED lighting, actually only on for 7 hours, to add intensity. The main reason was to experiment with Massonia leaves - supposedly held prostrate in high light levels.
What have you added, over what sort of area? Reflectors/shades?
In reality, approaching natural maximum light levels would be almost impossible - cramming enough lamps in would be impossible. Ignoring the costs.........
 

Quote from: Diane Whitehead on December 14, 2022, 05:48:24 PMI've spent about 5 months in South Africa  (Jan, Mar, July, Aug, Sep) and didn't really notice that it was so bright.

That is because the human eye corrects for the light intensity - look at the natural variation in your locality and it will be "enormous" between the lowest and highest but you will still regard it as bright sunlight.

Quote from: Uli on December 17, 2022, 03:57:43 PMDepending on their native habitat they may well experience the typical morning frost in their home country.

Duncan, in Lachenalia, gives details of hardiness and a few species are routinely exposed to frost.

Quote from: Diane Whitehead on December 17, 2022, 04:11:10 PMThanks, Uli.

I've just looked on the wiki, which shows some photos of lots of bulbs at the bottom of a leaf cutting.  Have you tried that?

Will any portion of a leaf work, or does one need to use the bottom of the leaf?  Maybe I could cut a leaf into several sections, so I could get bulbs forming on the bottom of each piece.

I've just found excellent instructions on Matt Mattus' blog.

https://growingwithplants.com/2006/04/propagating-lachenalia/

Hello again, 
Yes, I have propagated Lachenalia, Haemanthus and Veltheimia from leaf cuttings. For Lachenalia hybrids there is no choice because they would not come true from seed. But for species like viridiflora I strongly recommend raising offspring from seed and not from leaf cuttings. I find that Lachenalia are prone to degeneration, most likely due to virus infection. The shortest lived in Lachenalia mutabilis. Propagation by means of leaf cuttings or bulbils may maintain and spread the virus, seed grown plants are healthy and much more vigorous. Seedlings need one more season to get to flowering size than bulbs from leaf cuttings. To get seed you may need hand pollination. Large leaves can be cut into sections not smaller than 7 cm approximately. The lower part is less prone to rotting than sections from the upper part, they are softer.

Hi, Uli, they are early indeed! This is subsp. Validus, common throughout Portugal.

Carlos

 
What have you added, over what sort of area? Reflectors/shades?

--I've added two four tube LED fixtures each about 15-18 inches above the plants.  The come on at 7 AM and turn off at 5 PM.  They are suspended from the greenhouse supports.

In reality, approaching natural maximum light levels would be almost impossible - cramming enough lamps in would be impossible. Ignoring the costs.........

--The cost of LED's has been minimal for me here in Northeast USA. I think the up front cost for LEDs is more than other systems but the operating costs are less. The idea was  to add a bit more light energy to the plants.  It's worked out well for the Ferraria's as they have started flowering consistently
 

Quote from: Arnold on December 18, 2022, 04:58:14 AMIn reality, approaching natural maximum light levels would be almost impossible - cramming enough lamps in would be impossible. Ignoring the costs.........

--The cost of LED's has been minimal for me here in Northeast USA. I think the up front cost for LEDs is more than other systems but the operating costs are less. The idea was  to add a bit more light energy to the plants.  It's worked out well for the Ferraria's as they have started flowering consistently
 

So it seems that the difference of ~40° latitude in NJ to ~33° (Cape Town) can be compensated with LEDs effectively enough. My 48° on the other hand... still the LEDs help a lot keeping things from becoming too leggy.

One thing I can see with my setup is that many Oxalis fail to open up their flowers - this Oxalis tomentosa

IS leggy and needs a friendly direct blowing aid to open at least a bit. I really should learn to resist in the exchanges...

Different coloured/wavelength light produces different effects in plants.

Pretty much all wavelengths can produce growth but light of green-yellow-orange produces most growth per watt. Blue light controls inter-nodal distance and rather little is needed to keep growth compact. Lighting levels only have to be very low for plants to show phto-period effects, such as coming into flower - if memory is correct, red light is most effective.

Not only insolation varies across the globe, although we are considering mostly latitude here, but so does spectral content.

The big players in horticultural lighting systems - most especially Philips - have published masses of information and data.

Massonia bredasdorpensis  Two year old seedlings.

Daubenya zeyheri.

This may be an unusual one.  Leaves wit ha central mid leaf white strip.

Had a look at Bothalia Vol. 32.2 from Oct 2022  "Systematics of the genus Daubenya (Hyacinthaceae: Massonieae)  and the descriptions do not  state any    have a   mid leaf white strip.

Quote from: Martin Bohnet on December 19, 2022, 04:41:13 AMSo it seems that the difference of ~40° latitude in NJ to ~33° (Cape Town) can be compensated with LEDs effectively enough. My 48° on the other hand... still the LEDs help a lot keeping things from becoming too leggy.

One thing I can see with my setup is that many Oxalis fail to open up their flowers - this Oxalis tomentosa

IS leggy and needs a friendly direct blowing aid to open at least a bit. I really should learn to resist in the exchanges...

Yeah, some of the Oxalis want direct sun to open...low angle late afternoon light doesn't cut it either!

Robert
in chilly (for us) San Francisco.
The only Oxalis open today was atacamensis, which doesn't open and close

Try Oxalis namaquana. Bright yellow even open in rain with me. But do not let it escape from the pot in your climate. I found it near Leliefontein. It formed a mat of shallow soil on rocks in a wet place 
Pictures come later...... it is raining too much.....
Uli 

I find that my South African bulbs do just fine outside in the rain, and it rains a lot here during the winter, as long as they are in well draining soil. Bagacina, a lava rock product, does well as an additive. Once the sun gets high enough, my oxalis will finally open. There are fields that are full of the dreaded O. pes-caprea that will be opening soon.

One of my hybrids, Gladiolus huttonii x Gladiolus undulatus is in bloom. I caught a photo when the first flower opened, but since then the wind has beat up the other flowers on it. It is in a raised bed with the neighbor's cement block wall in the background.

Gladiolus huttonii x Gladiolus undulatus.jpg

Othonna cakilefolia 


Flowers not yet fully developed

Othonna cakilifolia a bit further along.

So it's New Year's Eve, 18°C in southern Germany, and I've got at least one bulb in flower outside: Colchicum szovitsii

'Tivi'.

To demonstrate how unusual this is: Heleborus niger (not unusual) with honey bees, and the last second of a truly remarkable butterfly. I don't think there is a long history of butterflies killed in Germany on December 31st in the open garden by a cat.

 Lachenalia callista

Ferraria ferrariola