PBS Forum

Lachenalia Ensifolia ( pink form)

Couple of Lachenalias.

Not 100% sure of ID's.

Veltheimia bracteata

Massonia depressa 'Kamiesberg'

After a long wait since I sowed the seeds in December 2007, I am enjoying a potful of Narcissus romieuxii flowers.  I sowed seeds of subspecies rifanus and also romieuxii hybrids, but all six flowers look exactly alike, so I don't think these will be hybrids.

Diane - nice narcissus. Rather a long time to wait.

This far North one has to be grateful for what there is. Spring bulbs are making progress, perhaps because it has not been very cold.

Photo 1, a spring flowering crocus.
Photo 2,3, kniphofia Christmas Cheer
Photo 4, Ipheon
Photo 5, daffodils coming through

Sternbergia vernalis

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Narcissus munozii-garmendiae, early strain from Extremadura, Spain

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Over three months with no rain and it's the rainy season, or it used to be. 

Carlos J

Carlos posted a photo labeled Sternbergia vernalis. Is this the same thing as S. fischeriana? That's the yellow-flowered, midwinter-blooming species I have. For another, white this time, here is Sternbergia candida, photographed today.

The first scape on this seedling Clivia gardenii turned out to be nearly all yellow. 
Also a first, for me, Hippeastrum idimae. 
Hippeastrum 'Saffron' Stands about 35 cm tall.  The short scape is from a bulb that turned out to be having root issues.

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Hi.

Jane Mcgary inquired after Sternbergia vernalis/ fischeriana, yes, it is the name with priority if I'm not mistaken. 

Carlos

Ferraria ferrariola

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

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?

I'm glad you enjoyed it!  It was started in early 2017 with a couple of other species.  Some seedlings started blooming at three years old, but this is a first for this one.  So far, it's the best of the lot.

Quote from: Arnold on January 09, 2024, 06:59:21 AMFerraria ferrariola

Very Nice Arnold! Can't wait for mine to bloom!!

Boophone Haemanthoides in leaf now, and always making a spectacular garden statement! I know...it's not in flower. But imho I grow Haemanthoides for its foliage as its flower is lack luster. Even Disticha which has a much nicer flower, I still grow more for the foliage. Though I much prefer Haemanthoides foliage over Disticha.

20oz coffee tumbler for scale.

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Asphodelus acaulis. Bought as an adult rhizome. I would exchange pollen, as it is self sterile...

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I hoped to catch it with a full ring of flowers in a Mammillaria style, but no luck so far... Amazing plant anyway.

Carlos

Update on my L. Lachenalia Viridiflora. 

Uli, you had recommended hand pollination. Well these flowers aren't opening up at all to give access to pollen! Any thoughts on this?

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L👀ky l👀ky !
From our most recent bulb exchange.
First leaves of my Gethyllis Linearis sp..

Once again...Thank you to those generous folks that share The Bulb LOVE!!

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Moraea Ciliata SLOWLY forming a nice clump. This year it should have quite a nice flower display! 

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Quote from: Too Many Plants! on January 11, 2024, 02:42:07 PMUpdate on my L. Lachenalia Viridiflora.

Uli, you had recommended hand pollination. Well these flowers aren't opening up at all to give access to pollen! Any thoughts on this?

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I can see the stigma on your pictures. You need a fine thin paintbrush to go inside the flower. The flowers are open, Lachenalia viridiflora flowers do not open wider than that. If you look at the flowers there are some which have a small opening in the middle. If you carefully get the paintbrush inside you will have visible yellow pollen on it. You can then stroke the stigma which is the fine white pin in the middle of the mouth of the flower with the pollen laden paintbrush. You can use the pollen of one flower for several others but it is also good to collect pollen from several flowers. If it works you will find a swelling seed pod after the flowers have faded 

The encircled flower is open and the arrow points at the stigma.
Sorry about the low quality of the design.

Allium circinnatum, from Crete, Greece

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Lachenalia reflexa 

The flower barely rises above the plant.

Quote from: Uli on January 12, 2024, 08:55:54 AMThe encircled flower is open and the arrow points at the stigma.
Sorry about the low quality of the design.

Hi Uli, I took a run at pollination on my L. Viridiflora. I'll start by saying I need a smaller paintbrush! Something very tiny. That said, I crammed the small paintbrush I have in the open flowers and saw no pollen. I've pollinated many Aloes, some of my Babiana, Sparaxis, and Gladiolus so I'm familiar with what pollen looks like on this paintbrush. This bulb was recently (within about a month from the flowering) planted from our recent bulb exchange, and I wonder if that could have some effect on pollen production???

Flowers with apparently no pollen can happen, but I have no explanation for this phenomenon.

The "usual" position is the opposite one - pollen but no stigma/ovary. A stressed or small plant, too small to be able to produce viable seeds, may produce pollen as it is a small drain on the resources of the plant.

Hippeastrum anzaldoi in bloom now. The same bulb bloomed in late July/Early August, not sure why it decided to bloom again now. But, no complaints!

Please excuse the poor quality of the pictures. I'm using a new camera. One of the crappy new Minolta's (yes, the one with the big fake lens that actually has a tiny real lens hidden inside it). Still playing around trying to figure out how to get the best quality shots with it.

Mike in Zone 6 Finger Lakes region where, days later, the 60 MPH wind gusts have finally stopped

Wonderful Boophone, Gethyllis, Lachenalia, and Hippeastrum!

Does that anzaldoi set seed?

Carlos

Scilla madeirensis fruit
Ferreria ferrariola
Lachenalia canaliculata
Gladiolis venustus

Out of season hybrid lily....

I forced a bunch in my class for students to see how cuts are often grown (Oregon Bulb Company is way beyond).

Picked a few to take home and what do you know?

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A couple of things that have bloomed this month (plus one I won't post a picture of because it's one lone flower and it's really early for me: Tecophilaea cyanocrocus

, which I posted pots full last year).

My first Paramongaia weberbaueri of the season. These flowers are big. The first photo, just the part that is yellow, is about the length of the palm of my hand to the tip of my middle finger.

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And a rebloom since I got it last summer, so I've kept it alive! Anigozanthos 'Masquerade' (kangaroo paw). The flowers of my pot of Lachenalia viridiflora

have already faded, so I can't take a side by side comparison photo of both of them. And Ixia viridiflora

isn't anywhere close to blooming yet. (I suppose I could go over to the Huntington to see if either of the teal Puyas are in bloom yet (P. alpestris and P. berteroniana). I don't suppose that their Jade Vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys) in the big greenhouse is in bloom right now. And I've never seen in person Oron Peri's beautiful hybrid creation of Iris palaestina × I. postii <https://seedsofpeace.info/product/iris-palaestina-x-i-postii/>.

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Hi, wonderful!

I am trying to get some people in contact to swap pollen of Paramongaia, it would be for next season as yours is the last flower among adult plants I know of. But you would receive much fresher pollen...

Ever tried to ask for cuttings of Strongylodon?

Carlos

Gladiolus venustus with reproductive parts showing.
Massonia bredasdorpensis forest with a coin for scale
Lachenalia canaliculata close up

Arnold - interesting plant details.

Ferraria divaricata

Received as Narcissus romieuxii. I make no claims on id correctness

In outside covered frame. One day after a 3 day gully washer and warm humid air above 60°F, preceded by a week completely below freezing with lows down to +4°F . I put a frost blanket single layer in the frame ad closed the plastic lid when it got below 15°F

This group is shorter than the previous post.

These came as Narcissus cantabricus foliosus. Again i make no claims on id accuracy 

Lachenalia trichophylla blooming now. From 2 seed packets i have 3 different leaf forms.
 fine hairs, pustulate and an Intermediate 

Always a favorite Lapeirousa oroegena

Lachenalia luteola volunteer in leucocoryne tray. Reaching for light after 3 weeks in somewhat darkness

Sinningia bullata. I like this plant best when it is just sprouting and not growing all over. This is a 8" pot of seeds Dell sent me in 2016 that i never separated, just increased pot size as needed 

Picture from last week of sinningia tuberosa started in 2021

Albuca villosa. Fuzzy leaves

Cyanella orchidiformis from BX 368 john wickham.  about 30" tall. The earliest and tallest Cyanella i have tried. 

I put a bunch of these in the BX last fall 

Sternbergia candida

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Asphodelus acaulis. I've been told that it can be self fertile, I hope this selfing is successful.

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Allium reconditum, a rather mysterious and unknown species from Andalusia. I am trying to ascertain if is really the same as Allium chrysonemum, another little known plant from further east. One of the few Allium with hairy leaves in Spain, I think that it is the only one if you don't consider Allium chamaemoly as 'hairy'.


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Gladiolus uysiae sweetly scented

Arnold...Love your Ferraria, and Gladiolus Uysiae! And your G. Venustus, a species which I planted years ago never to be seen again,
 and haven't since had an opportunity to acquire again.

Thanks, TMP.

they grow in a cool New Jersey greenhouse with many other SA bulbs.  Sleep during the summer in a cool basement.

As I mentioned before, January isn't my most floriferous time, but we're slowly moving forward again, as we're about a week out of the icy cellar before.

Daily travelling from the shelter to the sunny front door stairs are Whiteheadia bifolia

- or Massonia bifolia

as Kew classifies it currently - the battle between lumpers and splitters around Masonia isn't over, as Desertia (unaccepted) and Namophila (accepted) float around... Another traveller is Pterostylis truncata (the epithet with a grain of salt as I'm not 100% sure yet - confirmation or other opinions welcome). I adore these little aliens - put them in any science fiction set and everyone will instantly believe they are not from this planet.

The outside world slowly wakes up and gives more color - Cyclamen coum

obviously has survived the slug attack in December and the freezing period a week ago, and Crocus antalyensioides

is among the first greetings in yellow. Opening up still is hard as the sun only barely touches the ground - low angle and close buildings are always a problem in winter, but things change fast now. A few Snowdrops are out, cheap ones and expensives alike, but need a day of warmth or two more until reaching a presentable state.

 Additional Gladiolus uysiae.

One photo showing the papillae on the edge of the stigma.

Finally some sunlight.

Better definition.



Ferraria divaricata