Tigridia 2013

[François Lambert]

One of the easier bulbs to grow here is Tigridia pavonia.  The only thing to take care of is to protect them from the snails which seem to appreciate their foliage above anything else growing in the garden.  Each flower only lasts for a day, but every day about a dozen or more flowers open.  The flowers are about 10 cm in diameter.

[annew]

These were one of my mother's favourite flowers when I was little - we loved seeing all the different colours as they opened.

[Rimmer de Vries]

This one is Tigridia pavonia 'Sunset Oz' seedling selected by Ellen Hornig.

my hand for scale- blooms about 5" across

[wooden shoe]

Hello Francosi,
Are these hardy for you, or do you dig them out and store them in winter?
Rob

[François Lambert]

Hello Rob,

I grow these in pots that I store in my cellar during the winter.  I think these are just not hardy here, sometimes I have seedlings germinating from seeds that fell on the soil and they usually don't survive winter in the open soil.  But my garden is a very heavy clay soil, perhaps they would survive winter better in a sandy soil that offers better drainage.

François

[TC]

I think Tigridias are hardier than they look.   I never lift mine and although I have losses, some come up every year.  Five have just appeared through a dwarf rhododendron I planted two years ago.  They must have survived the really cold winter last year and all the winter wet this year.
About every two years I buy a bag of them and plant them at random, only to forget where I put them.  It's such a lovely surprise when they do come up in unexpected places.

[Rogan]

I've been growing this since I was 5 years old! I'll probably never stop! 

[François Lambert]

great flowers Rogan !

I used to have more different colors of Tigridia, but for some reason all my other colors got extinct.  Two years ago I have sown a white form of Tigridia.  I hope next year these will flower, which is one year later than under optimal growing conditions because they are growing a bit too crowded right now.  Just need to space them out - which occurs to me to be one of my major problems for most of my seedlings, always crowded !

[Maggi Young]

Rogan- I am sending you a p.m.

[TC]

Some more Tigridias opened today.  It's a pity they don't last for more than a day.  Also a picture of where they are coming up from.