beginner questions for Lachenalia aloides quadricolor

Colin Davis collydavis@gmail.com
Thu, 03 Oct 2013 13:00:52 PDT
Dennis,

The aloides clan (now broken up), is considered the easiest to grow of the Lachenalias. The biggest factors to consider are light and temperature, as they will become quite leggy and not attractive if high light levels are not maintained. Higher temperatures will accomplish the same - ideally no higher than low 70's in the day and low 40's at night. Being in a windowsill they will get a good temperature swing which they need, just watch the daytime highs. As with most all bulbs drainage is key in the soil, although this one does well with a bit more organic matter than some others. Keep it evenly moist, never saturated. Don't do crazy with pot size, as they'll do just fine being packed in a smaller pot with others. Keep them around 2" deep when planting. Dont worry about fertilizer for now, SA bulbs are adapted to poor soils, and as long as you mix in some organics youll be fine. Better to attempt growing it on a windowsill than not at all. Really not a tough one.

This is a choice species to start a SA collection on, as once you understand it's needs and succeed in growing it, you can apply essentially the same growth parameters to a wide variety of other bulbs. Not to mention that its one of the most brilliantly colored flowers in my opinion (if you have a nice form).

Colin



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