January 2024

[Too Many Plants!]

Boophone Haemanthoides in leaf now, and always making a spectacular garden statement! I know...it's not in flower. But imho I grow Haemanthoides for its foliage as its flower is lack luster. Even Disticha which has a much nicer flower, I still grow more for the foliage. Though I much prefer Haemanthoides foliage over Disticha.

20oz coffee tumbler for scale.

[Carlos]

Asphodelus acaulis. Bought as an adult rhizome. I would exchange pollen, as it is self sterile...



I hoped to catch it with a full ring of flowers in a Mammillaria style, but no luck so far... Amazing plant anyway.

Carlos

[Too Many Plants!]

Update on my L. Lachenalia Viridiflora. 

Uli, you had recommended hand pollination. Well these flowers aren't opening up at all to give access to pollen! Any thoughts on this?

  

[Too Many Plants!]

L👀ky l👀ky !
From our most recent bulb exchange.
First leaves of my Gethyllis Linearis sp..

Once again...Thank you to those generous folks that share The Bulb LOVE!!

 

[Too Many Plants!]

Moraea Ciliata SLOWLY forming a nice clump. This year it should have quite a nice flower display! 

[Uli]

Update on my L. Lachenalia Viridiflora.

Uli, you had recommended hand pollination. Well these flowers aren't opening up at all to give access to pollen! Any thoughts on this?

I can see the stigma on your pictures. You need a fine thin paintbrush to go inside the flower. The flowers are open, Lachenalia viridiflora flowers do not open wider than that. If you look at the flowers there are some which have a small opening in the middle. If you carefully get the paintbrush inside you will have visible yellow pollen on it. You can then stroke the stigma which is the fine white pin in the middle of the mouth of the flower with the pollen laden paintbrush. You can use the pollen of one flower for several others but it is also good to collect pollen from several flowers. If it works you will find a swelling seed pod after the flowers have faded 

[Uli]

The encircled flower is open and the arrow points at the stigma.
Sorry about the low quality of the design.

[Carlos]

Allium circinnatum, from Crete, Greece

[Arnold]

Lachenalia reflexa 

The flower barely rises above the plant.

[Too Many Plants!]

The encircled flower is open and the arrow points at the stigma.
Sorry about the low quality of the design.

Hi Uli, I took a run at pollination on my L. Viridiflora. I'll start by saying I need a smaller paintbrush! Something very tiny. That said, I crammed the small paintbrush I have in the open flowers and saw no pollen. I've pollinated many Aloes, some of my Babiana, Sparaxis, and Gladiolus so I'm familiar with what pollen looks like on this paintbrush. This bulb was recently (within about a month from the flowering) planted from our recent bulb exchange, and I wonder if that could have some effect on pollen production???

[Uli]

Flowers with apparently no pollen can happen, but I have no explanation for this phenomenon.

[CG100]

The "usual" position is the opposite one - pollen but no stigma/ovary. A stressed or small plant, too small to be able to produce viable seeds, may produce pollen as it is a small drain on the resources of the plant.

[Mikent]

Hippeastrum anzaldoi in bloom now. The same bulb bloomed in late July/Early August, not sure why it decided to bloom again now. But, no complaints!

Please excuse the poor quality of the pictures. I'm using a new camera. One of the crappy new Minolta's (yes, the one with the big fake lens that actually has a tiny real lens hidden inside it). Still playing around trying to figure out how to get the best quality shots with it.

Mike in Zone 6 Finger Lakes region where, days later, the 60 MPH wind gusts have finally stopped

[Carlos]

Wonderful Boophone, Gethyllis, Lachenalia, and Hippeastrum!

Does that anzaldoi set seed?

Carlos

[Arnold]

Scilla madeirensis fruit
Ferreria ferrariola
Lachenalia canaliculata
Gladiolis venustus