May 2011 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Tecophilaea King]

Just a few of the South African, always popular, winter flowering Oxalis species brightening up the nursery.

Oxalis species.JPG
Oxalis hirta.JPG
Oxalis meisneri.JPG
Oxalis hirta3.JPG
Oxalis massoniana.JPG
Oxalis-hirta2.JPG

[Anthony Darby]

Superb. That and Pancratium maritimum, which always reminds me of my holidays in Spain, Mallorca and the Greek Islands. Thanks so much for your visit and for the generous helping of bulbs and seeds. The bulbs are all planted. Things grow so fast in Auckland that one of them's flowering already! Dave Toole gave me a link for square plastic pots. I think 9cm would be big enough to start seeds off in? I will investigate that source.

[Tecophilaea King]

The first of the early miniature Narcissi species, Narcissus cantabricus and the beautiful Veltheimia capensis flowering for us.

[fermi de Sousa]

Oxalis meisneri.

Hi Bill,
this Oxalis is possibily what I've had growing here (well, at Redesdale) as O. kaajvoegensis which I received years ago from a friend; I'd not been able to find any info under that name so will do some investigating when I'm home.
BTW it was coming into flower at the beginning of April for us, as was the green daff (which I'd never been able to flower in a pot the way you can!), so it seems our season was a bit ahead of yours. Right now in Barcelona the sun is shining and we have a couple of hours before we head to the airport to get to Portugal tonight.
cheers
fermi

[Tecophilaea King]

Oxalis meisneri.

Hi Bill,
this Oxalis is possibly what I've had growing here (well, at Redesdale) as O. kaajvoegensis which I received years ago from a friend; I'd not been able to find any info under that name so will do some investigating when I'm home.
BTW it was coming into flower at the beginning of April for us, as was the green daff (which I'd never been able to flower in a pot the way you can!), so it seems our season was a bit ahead of yours. Right now in Barcelona the sun is shining and we have a couple of hours before we head to the airport to get to Portugal tonight.
cheers fermi [/quote]

Fermi, its good to hear you're all enjoying yourselves, keep up the good work, take plenty of pictures for the forum to have a look at later.
As far as I am concerned Oxalis kaajvoegensis and Oxalis meisneri are the same species, I also received this species as O.kaajivoegensis  but has now been changed to O.meisneri according to Terry Hatch, so much for the "bots" chopping and changing.
BTW: the Oxalis species and the Narcissus viridiflorus like yours, started flowering early April but did not get round to posting them till now.
Enjoy yourself, but take it easy in the night clubs and dancing with all those beautiful senorita's. Must get very tiring    

[Tecophilaea King]

Nerine undulata alba, another little gem that forms a neat round head of lily-shaped flowers, delicately crimped at the edges.
Narcissus bulbocodium Jessamy can often be a fine plant well suited to pot culture.
The last picture is a nice, curiously shaped little Chrysanthemum, does anybody know the name of this cultivar? Thanks.

Nerine undulata alba
Narcissus bulbocodium Jessamy
Chrysanthemum variety?

[Anthony Darby]

I've seen that flower type before but not on a chrysanthemum. Here's my jade plant flowering - good for catching drone flies for the geckos - and Protea cynaroides.

[Maren]

Hi Anthony,

the protea is wonderful. Can't grow that in Scotland

[Anthony Darby]

I tried to get one to flower in my greenhouse in Dunblane. I know they manage in the Kibble Palace at the Glasgow botanic garden.

[Ezeiza]

In which medium did you grow it, Anthony?

[Anthony Darby]

Almost pure perlite. Very similar to my cyp compost. It seems to require very little feeding, with the suggestion of dilute urea only and that only occasionally. I wonder where I get that?  Here in New Zealand I planted it in a large hole with very sandy substrate and no humus. It is in a north facing aspect to get the midday sun.

[Roma]

I grew four different species from seed (brought back from South Africa by a volunteer working in the garden) at the Cruickshank garden some years ago.  I remember at least two making flower buds but it was in the winter and too cool in the greenhouse with light levels too low for them to open properly.

[Ezeiza]

The delirious advice on urea possibly originated in the fact that their native soils have practically no nitrogen. I have seen good specimens grown in perlite and sawdust, 50 and 50.

[angie]

I've seen that flower type before but not on a chrysanthemum. Here's my jade plant flowering - good for catching drone flies for the geckos - and Protea cynaroides.

Wish I could grow a Protea here.

Angie

[Lesley Cox]

Crocus minimus flowers for me in Sept and right through November, the longest season of any crocus for me. But C. minimus albus is in flower now, as it is in Australia, a full 4 months before its purple counterparts. It is so pristine and elegant. Mine is from Marcus in Tasmania who had it from Otto I think and he had it from Brian Mathew so impeccable provenance.