March 2024

[Too Many Plants!]

Another really nice Sparaxis (imho), S. Elegans starting its show.

[Too Many Plants!]

Sparaxis Tri Color pink / white. I enjoy them a lot amongst my many S. Tri-color sp. flower colors.
Seed collected specifically from this plant and a couple other very similar looking flower plants should be in the upcoming SX offering. Now be warned, I have a lot of Sparaxis, including non Tri-color sp., so it's entirely possible there could be some crosses in that seed. But they should make for fantastic late winter early spring flowers no matter the purity outcome!

[Martin Bohnet]

As donations are a bit slow this year, I'll tease with another two EX items: Lachenalia "Aqua Lady" (EX04_040 from @AngelikaN ) and Trimezia species (EX04_60) from Uli.

Meanwhile in the garden, the plants slowly get higher: Iris aucheri Olof in front of Fritillaria sewerzowii

(which in turn is planted too close to Scilla peruviana). Sidenote to myself: Have to improve the code on the link-plugin for subpages that do not contain the genus name (here: Juno vs. Iris)

[Too Many Plants!]

As donations are a bit slow this year, I'll tease with another two EX items: Lachenalia "Aqua Lady" (EX04_040 from @AngelikaN ) and Trimezia species (EX04_60) from Uli.

DANG!...wish I could get in on the EU seed EX for that Lachenalia Aqua Lady!!

[Carlos]

Albuca 'spiralis' ex Château Pérouse, from EX02 I think. It obviously is not spiralis...




And Narcissus obesus, also from CH-P, again it is not the right thing, it is the 'false Portuguese obesus'..




Oncostema peruviana 'ifniensis' preparing to bloom



And a wild Iris pseudacorus seen today. I had never taken a photo of it...



Carlos

[Uli]

The spiraling of Albuca spiralis leaves very much depends on the growing conditions, the harder, dryer and sunnier it grows the more the leaves curl up. But it may in fact be something else.
A question: how does Oncostemma peruviana ifnensis differ from other forms? Which color is the flower?

[Uli]

Moraea sisyrinchium is a common and beautiful wild flower in the Algarve and can flower en masse. Interestingly the flowers only open in the afternoon and are invisible before.

[Carlos]

Hi, Uli. I don't know and I don't know (or remember). I just bought it from rareplants before Brexit, I am focused on other things. But I wouldn't be surprised if there were no substantial differences.I know very little about Albucas, but I think the brown-red bracts, greenish pendant flowers, and scabrid/hairy straight leaves are a strange combination.I wonder if anyone else took the seeds, I did not write down the reference and though I keep all 'invoices', I could not find this one.

The Narcissus was EX03_238, so I keep thinking that the Albuca is earlier.

Carlos

[Martin Bohnet]

My (sadly deceased last fall) "Albuca spiralis" looked flower&spike wise very similar, but was somewhat spiralled even in my dark falls - see here https://www.flickr.com/photos/150325868@N06/23716684398/in/album-72157677456980444/ . Hard to believe that a spiralis in Spain would be so straight.

on the other hand, that hardcore curling and compact growth of that "fizzle sizzle" cultivar seen advertised was like a very different plant. a tetraploid, maybe?

[CG100]

The spiraling of Albuca spiralis leaves very much depends on the growing conditions,

And clone, but there is usually some spiralling. With so many broadly similar albuca species, it would take a novice with the genus, most of a lifetime to determine if that is A. s. or not.

Commercial nursery A. s. will almost certainly be grown either geographically far enough south to maximise curl and minimise costs, or grown further north under lights that maximise curl.

[Steve Willson]

Flowering now, from Rimmer deVries' seeds donated to BX454 (spring 2019) - Clivia Sahin Yellow.  Of the five seeds I received, three have made it thus far.  This is the first to flower.

[Too Many Plants!]

Gladiolus tristis

Hi Arnold. It's interesting how different my G. Tristis looks compared to yours...

[Arnold]

I think mine may be a bit of a hybrid.  It seeds all over the greenhouse bench and I have 4-5 pots with it growing.

[Too Many Plants!]

I think mine may be a bit of a hybrid.  It seeds all over the greenhouse bench and I have 4-5 pots with it growing.

Mine is also quite productive spreading it's likeness around my garden. Now I try to pull all the seed pods off before they have a chance to ripen and open.

[Robin Jangle]

That's Albuca viscosa. Albuca spiralis leaves, although also glandular hairy are nowhere near as hairy as A. viscosa. Albuca spiralis leaves are dark green not olive green and the fool proof way of separating the two is that A. spiralis leaves clasp at the base whereas A. viscosa do not.

Albuca viscosa often has leaves spiral in the upper third but most commonly not. I have them growing wild across the road from me and none have spiral leaves yet where I lived before (about 50km north) they were all spiral.