September 2024

[Uli]

It is definitely not ferox. My plant has a single branching inflorescence. I grow ferox which is very different.
I will try to find a picture of the inflorescence in my archives 

[Carlos]

Great story!! If it had happened to me, I would have climbed again to the crater and got eaten, I know myself.

Another name I was handling is Aloe ballyi

[Too Many Plants!]

Another name I was handling is Aloe ballyi

Hi Carlos, Ballyi is another less substantial Aloe. What he pictured, and described is a more substantial trunking Aloe, which narrows the possibilities.

[Carlos]

Ok, I quit.

[Too Many Plants!]

Ok, I quit.

Sorry, Carlos. I don't mean to discourage you. I'm just saying, you need to find a more robust solitary trunking species to consider...

But as I said before...the correct way to ID it in lieu of guessing, is inspect the flowers well.

[Carlos]

Ok, I quit.

Sorry, Carlos. I don't mean to discourage you. I'm just saying, you need to find a more robust solitary trunking species to consider...

But as I said before...the correct way to ID it in lieu of guessing, is inspect the flowers well.

Hi, yes, that's why I quit. As I said I'm not really into Aloe, I only like to try to identify unknown plants, but this genus is discouraging. I would need to spend a lot of time with this subject, I would if the plant was mine, but... I hope that Uli will understand, hehe.

[Carlos]

Some late, late summer flowers at last

Barnardia numidica. Again the discussion over splitting / not splitting Scilla. It seems that this splitting has somewhat more standing / acceptance than that of Drimia.

This plant has tiny bracts, unlike Prospero, it has only one seed per locule, unlike Prospero, and produces leaves together with the scapes, unlike Prospero. True Scillas flower in the spring.

The seeds of B. numidica are indeed very different from those of B. japonica, being round and not elongated. I have not succeeded in getting seedlings of any of them so far, so when I saw bulbs of numidica for sale, I feared that I wouldn't click on "add to the basket" fast enough!



Here Prospero obtusifolium to compare



LEft: Drimia numidica (this is what everybody calls maritima in California). Right: true D. maritima



Drimai purpurascens (Urginea undulata) from Algeria, I still have to confirm that it is purpurascens, it could be serotina.



And finally, Acis valentina

[Carlos]

Prospero hanbury, a jewel from the Negev desert. It blooms without any rain.

Colchicum lusitanum


Autonöe madeirensis with an unusual late summer flower stalk

[Martin Bohnet]

Thanks for pointing out that leaf scheme with the Barnardia @Carlos - I'm hopelessly lost with flower characteristics on Scilla sensu lato...

Talking about unusual late stalks: good year for those I guess - I had no idea that Sinningia "Bananas Foster" could again produce flowers on stalks that had their main flower 2 months ago. Weldenia candida

was another late flowering surprise. not a timing- but a local surprise: Ennealophus euryandrus

appearing in yet another pot - starts to be a serious competitor for Freesia laxa as a pot weed - but I love it.

But of course the signs of fall get more and more, though the "prophet of doom" in this image of Hedychium deceptum

Height:	80-120 cm (2.6-3.9 ft)
Flower Colors:	red
Flower Season:	late summer to mid autumn
Climate:	USDA Zone 8-9

is the Actinidia arguta, which actually had its very first 4 fruits after what must have been 6 years at least. Another fall prophet is Crocus hadriaticus

, which was "slugged" the night after this image - you can already see the traces of those monsters on the colchicum buds to the right in the same picture.

Not looking like fall at all is Oxalis bowiei

which is a massive spring green leaf mass with some of the biggest oxalis flowers I've seen.

Last one is a Begonia somewhat unexpectedly appearing in the open garden (discarded potting soil?) - IDs welcome. I know there are a few somewhat hardy begonias, but is this one of those?

[mrhomick]

X Amarygia 2024
Back in 2006 we were fortunate to meet Mike and Carol Willits who were growing a number of X Amarygia from seed they had obtained from Les Hannibal. We were allowed to dig as many selections as we wished for a donation to one of their causes they supported in the area in which they lived. The soil was like an adobe clay and difficult to dig and full of large cracks when dry. They said the best time to dig and transplant X Amarygia was during flowering. We dug a selection of colors and brought them home.

They produce an abundance of seed every year and back a number of years ago we had access to an x-ray machine that was used commercially to scan jars of food produce for foreign metal on a conveyor belt. When work was completed for the day we started it up and passed a selection of seed through the unit multiple times (30+). Last year we noticed one of the seedlings was producing leaves of a spectacular size and it is now in flower. The flower scape is 33 inches (83cm) tall which is probably 1.5  times our normal flower scapes for this intergeneric hybrid. The flowers are also much darker and intense color than the parental group involved.      We are not sure if the enhancements are due to the x-ray treatment or some other factor. In an article by Les Hannibal, located here: https://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/IBS/website/GALLERY_OF_THE_WORLDS_BULBS/GRAPHICS/Amarygia/LesHannibal.html ,he mentions that occasionally you may get a "throw-back" seedling of higher vigor and size than their siblings. This may be the case in this instance. 
All the best, Michael

[Carlos]

Amazing, @mrhomick I have no idea...

@Martin Bohnet yes, Barnardia is similar to Autonöe (Macaronesian Scilla), but if I remember well, the fruit is fleshy...  I expect to get the form from the Selvagens islands soon.

In the meantime, we had rain and mild temperatures below 30°C/85F, and several rainlilies activated. It seems that it's useless to water some species in the hottest oart if the summer. Still learning. 




Zephyranthes citrina (from Uli).

[Arnold]

Clinanthus incarnatus

[Too Many Plants!]

Clinanthus incarnatus

WOW! Very nice!!

[Too Many Plants!]

I just had to post this little gem 💎 again. In our few (maybe started in 2017) years of collecting, growing, and learning about SA bulbs, so far this little guy stands apart maybe only alongside of M. Polystachya in terms of staying power. AND it did it in full sun ☀️ through a really hot summer...weeks in 100°F+ temps with a few days around 110°F, peaking at 112°F for at least a couple days. Very impressive!! And a l👀ker TOO.

Lebedouria Revoluta (Tanzania)

I didn't catch when it first leafed out but had to have been at least the last week of, maybe mid July. I first saw the plant (and it was in flower) August 5...

[Uli]

Some impressions from my garden.....

Titanotrichum oldhamii, pot grown because I lost the previous one to rodents. Not so easy, hates root disturbance.
Tropical waterlily hybrids do very well, the blue one is ,,Director Moore" and the reddish one is ,,Red Flare" but may be wrongly named.
The Gladiolus is G. decoratus, very nice I do hand pollination 
And the last picture is Drimia ,,Red Squill" from Bulb Argence. It is a giant form, the flower spikes will be more than 150cm tall finally