South African Bulbs 2013

[Ezeiza]

There si an evidnet relation between scent and the color that the pollinators can see when the flower is active. These are the more common colors, the others are recessive and if they appear are not linked to scent.

[ArnoldT]

I have always found scent of a flower to be  an important thing for me.  I also think it is a very individual thing as well.

Some people can't smell  Muscari marcocarpum

Here the Massonia pustulata in full anthesis.

[johnw]

SJW said:
Re: South African Bulbs 2013
« Reply #437 on: December 02, 2013, 12:31:12 AM »
Quote
Quote from: johnw on November 25, 2013, 03:18:07 PM
I sowed 3 pots of Massonia seed back in September.  The pustulalatas are fine but of the other two pot the 3 seedlings in one pot died off and nothing came of the other.  Should I toss those two pots or water ocassionally and keep very cool or dry off and keep them cool?

John - not sure what others would do but I'd dry the pots off now and water again next September.
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Of course I forgot to retrieve and dry off the unsprouted pots from the cool ghouse.  Today I noticed the obovata pot had 3 new seedlings, the pot might very well be close to bone dry.  Now I wonder how much water to give these new pusulatas and obovatas.

johnw

[SJW]

Of course I forgot to retrieve and dry off the unsprouted pots from the cool ghouse.  Today I noticed the obovata pot had 3 new seedlings, the pot might very well be close to bone dry.  Now I wonder how much water to give these new pusulatas and obovatas.
johnw

John - I've just had the same thing happen with a pot of Lachenalia contaminata. I gave some water from below and will err on the dry-ish side of damp (if that makes sense!) over the rest of the winter until it warms up a bit.

[johnw]

Steve  - But once it warms up will the Massonias not be ready to go dormant?  I do want them to make the best of their first year.  Maybe I'll water and fertilize () them gingerly.

My Lachenalis Quadricolors are totally screwed up from too much heat in a greenhouse last winter.  One pot has been in flower for a month - typical for Quadricolor, one pot is completely dormant, one large trough is sulking but sending up about 200 shoots and the last one somewhere in between.  I am pretty sure the warm winter in that particular ghouse is to blame.

johnw - 0c and sunny.  Torrential rain for the weekend and they now say a green Xmas though not so green now.

[SJW]

Steve  - But once it warms up will the Massonias not be ready to go dormant?  I do want them to make the best of their first year.  Maybe I'll water and fertilize () them gingerly.

Hi John - all I really meant was that I try and minimise watering in the depths of winter but that the pots can be watered more as the days start to get longer. If the pots get too dry and hot in the Spring the seedlings go dormant sooner. I try to keep seedlings growing on for as long as possible and then stop when the leaves start to yellow.

[johnw]

Steve  - I'll do the same.  Although the sun here at latitude 44 is a lot stronger than yours we have to be especially careful watering in the greenhouse in winter as the ventilation has to be minimised due to the cold outdoors.  While the inside temp can soar on a sunny day one frigid breeze through a ventilator can knock things flat.

Thanks

john 

[ArnoldT]

Another  potful of Massonia pustulata

and

Gethyllis linearis

[ArnoldT]

oops.

Gethyllis linearis

[johnw]

Seven new Massonia obovata seedlings are up in the past week, almost exactly four months after sowing. 

johnw

[pontus]

here is my fabulous ammocharis coranica legonyane area form, which gave 2 umbels of flowers this summer in sucession, in july/august, it must be one of the most beautifull bulbs in my south african collection!

It took 2 years to establish before flowering, but i think that the intense heat this summer and alot of feeding with organic liquid fertiliser may also have helped..

Pontus

[ArnoldT]

Very nice Pontus, is that  Boophone in the background.  Here's an early Lachenalia viridiflora

[SJW]

Lachenalia sp. (JAA 639, seed collected west of Calvinia). Not sure about the ID but I asked a couple of knowledgeable growers who thought it could be Lachenalia canaliculata.

[ArnoldT]

Steve:

The photos in Duncan's book are not very clear.  He does state that L. canaliculata is found west of Calvina though.

[SJW]

The photos in Duncan's book are not very clear.  He does state that L. canaliculata is found west of Calvina though.

Hi Arnold. Graham Duncan's book was my Christmas treat to myself . I agree, the photos aren't very clear but the location, foliage and early flowering match. The book mentions the lower inner tepal being strongly canaliculate - that doesn't seem to be a clear feature on my plant but I haven't got a close-up photo of a L. canaliculata flower to compare it to. The colour seems to fit though, and the inner tepals are fading to light magenta. Anyway, I'll keep the label as it is but with a mental note to myself that it might be L. canaliculata!