Brunsvigia josephinae in bloom

Ken kjblack@pacbell.net
Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:30:46 PDT
Hello Susan, Jim & Marie,
 
From above, the bulb appears oval shaped ... 11" x 9" and is slightly over 9" high from the soil surface.  My understanding is these generally grow 1/2 to 2/3 about the soil, so overall height is probably in the 13 - 18" range.  It is a large bulb but I suspect perhaps only moderately so for this species.  The mother of this one was larger and I've seen a considerably larger bulb of this species (with at least one offset) at the UC Irvine Botanic Garden, which I suspect is probably blooming right now.   If I can swing it, I may make a trip to UCI this coming weekend and will take some photos.
 
Anybody have photos from UC Berkeley's specimen this year ... or other Brunsvigias? 

 
Ken



Ken, that bulb scared me!  How big is it?  Compared to the wall next to it, it looks really large!
...
5th year of bloom for this 15-year old bulb from seed.  It seems fewer florets this year than last.  Also, 2 of its sibling bulbs which bloomed for the first time last year seem to be sitting 2009 out.  We've had a very dry year and I've provided no additional H2O.  A 4th sibling bulb is sending up its first scape this year.  Several other siblings have yet to bloom.
 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amarguy/3917385121/
 


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