FANTASTIC AFRICAN BULB SEED LIST

[daveyp1970]

Angie i was pointed to this chaps(Terry Smale )web site by another forum member(thanks again Alberto) he has stopped selling for this season but its one to keep for next season,also i will have a few spares at the end of this season nothing rare i dont think but your welcome to them anyway.
cheers dave

[angie]

Daveyp1970 & Cohan

Thanks for the Terry Smale web page. I sat today and read all the older forums in the South African Bulbose plants , it took me hours but boy it was great the only thing is I am so jealous of all the people that are managing to grow these plants, they are fantastic. I have had a good bit of advice and its great to find out about all these web sites. Thanks for the offer, will give them a good home. It would be nice to hear how you get on with your seeds, I know they take years to grow but it would be nice to see how they develop. Thanks again for the link.


Cohan

I bet you are a lot better with seeds than me  , I think I will have to go down the road of bulbs. I think I am going to learn a lot from everyones posts.
Its great this way, more intersting than books.

Angie

[angie]

HI Paul T

Do you grow meconopsis? friends from the SRGC showed me how to grow these plants from seed and its the only plants I have success with. I have been following Ian Young's instructions on when to start seed off so hopefully I will get better.
I must say that I find your post very interesting, Thanks

Angie

[Paul T]

Angie,

Not a single Meconopsis here unfortunately.  I keep trying the infamous blues, but the summer heat here is a struggle for them.  I really must try some of the other Mecs one of these years.  I've tried seed from a couple of Mecs but always end up damping off or something like that.  I will keep trying though.  Just the thought of your thousands of Mecs is amazing!! 

[Darren]

Angie,

I can recommend joining the South African Bulb Group (they have a website or possibly Terry Smale's site has some info?). The range of material in their seed & bulb exchange is always fascinating and it is a much cheaper way of getting these plants than most commercial sources. Terry's bulb list has been reduced in recent years but he remains by far the best and cheapest source in the UK for Amaryllids especially.

[Lesley Cox]

Angie, do try some bulb seeds, including South Africans, if you have a little glasshouse or similar. I accept that Aberdeen is perhaps not the best climate for them but some cover will help.

In general, bulbs are easy from seed, it's just a matter of waiting. They usually take longer to germinate than herbaceous species but once they do so, will grow on nicely to flowering. Drainage while they are dormant is often a factor to be considered and Ian's bulb log will be very helpful with all such matters. The species of Freesia, Geissorhiza, Sparaxis and many others just take a couple of years to flower and so are very rewarding in the short term.

I really hate to think of you up there and NOT having some of these colourful plants to appreciate.

[Rogan]

From a South African's point of view I think they're scandalously expensive - and they're using one of my images without permission to market their product!     Perhaps they do market Silverhills' seeds as many of the photographs are from their online catalogue (...used with permission?).

 Edit : see future posts from Rogan to discover that Silverhills  seeds photos are being used  without permission.

[angie]

Lesley & Darren

Lesley I long to grow some more colourful plants in my greenhouse, today is a grey damp day but as soon as I open my greenhouse door the grey day disappears. I will try some more seeds and a the three species that you mentioned.Sounds worth a try a especially if they only take a few years before they flower. I think my seeds have failed before because I have kept them to warm, but reading all these post helps, so thanks Lesley and to everyone else.


Darren

Thanks Darren I have looked at joining the South African Bulb Group ( Paul from Wisley ) suggested this as well. Its great getting all this feedback
I have been looking back all the old logs and my wish list is getting bigger and BIGGER but l am not a greedy person so I will start with a few bulbs ans see how it goes. But saying this if they grow with me it might be scary to think where I will be in the next ten years, Thanks for your advice.

Angie

[daveyp1970]

Rogan i totally get your point but there stuff is like candy to a kid for me,i did't order on the advice of Alberto who made a vary valid point  when he contacted me,he said that this seed is probably not the freshest and thats why its being sold there,the thing is that i have not been growing south african corms and bulbs for that long and have only just joined this forum,when i came across that site the pictures blew me away i did not know they had took yours or silverhills pictures and still there prices did not seem bad to me(still learning)because some of there stuff is like rocking horse manure in the U.K,I do have a couple of friends in south africa who send me fresh seed from there gardens but besides that i bought off ebay,i have taken in everybody's comments and know wish i could remove this thread,but on the upside i have met some fantastic and knowledgeable people.

[Rogan]

There's no need for you to apologise Dave, it's me who's onviously in a bad mood today and tired of being ripped off by my own countrymen, so I must apologise to you all for my various diatribes on this subject - I promise this will be the last!   

Dave, I have good fresh seed of various things at the moment and will gladly send them along to you if you'd like to try them. Please send me a private message.

[angie]

Daveyp1970

I am glad you posted this topic I like you are new to the forum but agree with you that its a great way of meeting others. I to have paid a fortune for some of my plants (DONT TELL ANYONE) husband might be listening but I to cant help myself its my hobby and gives me so much enjoyment when a plant finally flowers, Its a horrible grey rainy day here but sitting here reading and looking at the lovely pictures that the forum gives us is great, so thanks.

Rogan
Nothing to apologise for.
Angie

[Susan Band]

To brighten things up, here is a Gladiolus flowering now, grow from seed (silverhills) in an open bed in sunny Scotland.
I have posted on the flowering now pages but perhaps it is more appropriate here. Gladiolus oppositifolius.
Susan

[Maggi Young]

What a super, soft colour, Susan. 
Rogan, since you are "on the ground" so to speak, perhaps you might contact Silverhills to see if they are connected with/have given permission for the use of their photos etc... it would be better to check this and not be giving too much publicity to someone who is cheating...! 

[angie]

Thanks Susan

Thanks for brightening our day, lovely colour.

Angie

[Lesley Cox]

A lovely plant Susan. The more I see of Gladiolus species, the less I understand dame Edna's obsession with the biggies.