Is this normal for Haemanthus nortieri?

J.E. Shields jshields@indy.net
Tue, 12 Jan 2010 07:47:34 PST
Paul,

Maybe this is due to my growing all my Haemanthus in containers.  I do try 
to put my largest Haemanthus bulbs into 2-gal. pots.  They seem to get 
really huge if given enough room for roots.  I think the roots out-mass the 
bulbs in most cases.

I'll keep watching my coccineus for signs of offsets; but I've never seen 
an offset on one of my own coccineus yet.  My oldest Haemanthus bulbs are 
12 years old.

I vaguely recall seeing some curious Haemanthus coccineus in the Little 
Karoo botanical garden in South Africa about 6 years ago.  They had spotted 
or mottled leaves, like some Lachenalia, and they may have clumped.  I 
never managed to wheedle any seeds of that Haemanthus out of the curator!

Jim Shields


At 07:15 AM 1/12/2010 -0800, you wrote:
>Jim
>Unlike your experience, the H. coccineus in both the Botanical Garden
>and my home garden definitely make several offsets. These may even
>appear shortly before their first bloom.
>
>Paul Licht, Director
>Univ. California Botanical Garden
>200 Centennial Drive
>Berkeley, CA 94720
>(510)-643-8999
>http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/
>
>
>On 1/12/2010 5:14 AM, J.E. Shields wrote:
> > Michael,
> >
> > That does not look like my plant of Haemanthus nortieri.   On my plant the
> > single leaf stands quite erectly, straight up.  Its surface is slightly
> > sticky or tacky, and bits of dust, sand, etc., stick to it.  The leaf is
> > somewhat succulent as well.
> >
> > Neither my bulb of H. nortieri nor Graham Duncan's much older bulb of
> > nortieri, at Kirstenbosch in Cape Town, has ever bloomed.  I guess you
> > could say that not blooming is the main trait your Haemanthus has in common
> > with nortieri (that's a joke).  You don't have nortieri.
> >
> > As far as I know, neither nortieri nor coccineus ever makes any
> > offsets.  HH. barkerae, pubescens, humilis hirsutus, albiflos, and
> > pauculifolius are the only ones that usually make offsets.  H. humilis
> > humilis may occasionally make an offset, but produces seed so readily (if
> > you have at least 2 clones) that offsets don't matter.
> >
> > What it actually is would be hard to say until it blooms.  At a guess, you
> > have Haemanthus coccineus.  H. coccineus will eventually bloom for you, and
> > then should bloom almost every year from then on.  It does make a very
> > attractive plant and inflorescence, but it is not rare.  I have a bunch of
> > bloom size bulbs of coccineus in my greenhouse, and I really enjoy them
> > when they bloom sometime in August-Sept-October.
> >
> > Best regards,
> > Jim Shields
> > in cold and snowy Westfield, Indiana
> > USA.
> >
> >
> >
> > At 11:02 AM 1/12/2010 +0000, Michael wrote:
> >
> >> .......
> >> Now could somebody please tell me if it is normal for Haemanthus nortieri
> >> to have 2 leaves at a time? I thought it only produced a singe leaf, at
> >> least that's what the literatue says about it.
> >>
> >> My plant never flowered to me but I guess the leaves are attractive enough
> >> on their own. Are there any chances of the plant being confused, thus the
> >> reluctance on blooming? Or coud it be dividing itself from the crown? Does
> >> this species ever produces offsets?
> >>
> > *************************************************
> > Jim Shields             USDA Zone 5             Shields Gardens, Ltd.
> > P.O. Box 92              WWW:    http://www.shieldsgardens.com/
> > Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA
> > Tel. ++1-317-867-3344     or      toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA
> >
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*************************************************
Jim Shields             USDA Zone 5             Shields Gardens, Ltd.
P.O. Box 92              WWW:    http://www.shieldsgardens.com/
Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA
Tel. ++1-317-867-3344     or      toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA


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