September 2024

[Too Many Plants!]

Some impressions from my garden.....

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

LOVE those Gladioulus Decoratus! 

We have some giant Mediterranean bulb. I don't remember the name at the moment, but seem to recall it's supposedly the largest bulb in the world (I certainly could be wrong). I guess I don't remember it being a Drimia, but the flowers appear to be very similar. Large green leaves with a touch of glaucus bloom on them, leafing at a different time than flowering, and flowers are like 5-6 feet tall (150-180cm).

[Robert_Parks]

We have some giant Mediterranean bulb. I don't remember the name at the moment, but seem to recall it's supposedly the largest bulb in the world (I certainly could be wrong). I guess I don't remember it being a Drimia, but the flowers appear to be very similar. Large green leaves with a touch of glaucus bloom on them, leafing at a different time than flowering, and flowers are like 5-6 feet tall (150-180cm).

Probably labeled Urginea maritima...Urginea has been sunk into Drimia at the moment.

It keeps trying in my cold foggy climate, the leaves come up at random times and melt in the fog, then it send up a flower spike that usually melts in the fog. My last one hangs on because removing it would destroy the Rhodendron it is nestled against...the bulb isn't getting bigger, but it also isn't getting smaller.

Robert

[Too Many Plants!]

We have some giant Mediterranean bulb. I don't remember the name at the moment, but seem to recall it's supposedly the largest bulb in the world (I certainly could be wrong). I guess I don't remember it being a Drimia, but the flowers appear to be very similar. Large green leaves with a touch of glaucus bloom on them, leafing at a different time than flowering, and flowers are like 5-6 feet tall (150-180cm).

Probably labeled Urginea maritima...Urginea has been sunk into Drimia at the moment.

It keeps trying in my cold foggy climate, the leaves come up at random times and melt in the fog, then it send up a flower spike that usually melts in the fog. My last one hangs on because removing it would destroy the Rhodendron it is nestled against...the bulb isn't getting bigger, but it also isn't getting smaller.

Robert

Thanks Robert. That sounds like what I got it as. Mine in inland So Cal has been growing and dividing. Multiple heads are now making quite the statement when in foliage...and 2 or 3 of the bulbs must be pretty big by now.

[Carlos]

Hi

@Uli, i need seeds of that Gladiolus!

The bulb is NUMIDICA, not MARITIMA, it is a different taxon whether you call it a Drimia or a Urginea. Some pirate is selling bulbs on eBay for $500 or more... 


I got a few blooms in my Zeph smallii



and in the latest Zeph to arrive, Z. candida

[Uli]

Uli, i need seeds of that Gladiolus!

Well.... Yes, as I wrote I am doing hand pollination but so far I cannot tell. 

[Carlos]

Thanks!!

Zephyranthes pulchella ex R de Vries

[Too Many Plants!]

Zeph season in full swing...I've planted other colors along the way, but they don't seem to be resilient, spreading, and reliable like these white ones are.

Over the years I've spread these around our garden from one original clump, and those have grown into large clumps. And I've given many starters away...BOY are they dependable!

[Carlos]

Hi, amazing, is that candida as well?

Does anyone grow real atamasco?

[Carlos]

Vagaria parviflora


Here the leaves like those of some Sternbergia can be seen



Colchicum lusitanum, form with narrow tepals

[Too Many Plants!]

Hi, amazing, is that candida as well?

Hi Carlos, I don't know. If they were labeled when I purchased them, that's long-lost info... I sure am bummed I can't get some of the colored Zephs to go like these guys have!

[Too Many Plants!]

Colchicum lusitanum, form with narrow tepals

That one is really nice!

[Mikent]

All of these were taken yesterday. Now, the flowers are probably mostly torn up since the remnants of Helene have been causing rain for the last couple of hours.

There's a supposed Crinum lugardiae (as received from a BX maybe ten years ago). Doesn't match the descriptions of either foliage, or flowers. Then there's a Cyrtanthus sanguineus (I think this one's from BX 482). The last is Cyrtanthus mackenii (pale yellow ex Telos clone from PBS SX 481 ex Rimmer).

[Carlos]

Lovely @Mikent! Sad that Hélène was so destructive...

   @Too Many Plants I am cross- pollinating my three plants and hope to get seeds. This Colchicum is adaptable to areas with a mild winter like mine, it occurs near sea level in many places in Andalusia and Portugal (and on the Gibraltar Rock). The lowland form is even prettier, with much wider tepals. I have some but I have not succeeded in germinating the seeds, and they hardly ever make offsets, so far two after three years in two out of seven corms... I have not tried to cut them, as they are not real bulbs and I still can't really make out how they work, haha, and I call myself a botanist.

[Martin Bohnet]

So let's wrap up September...

my crocus are suffering from lots of rain, but Crocus banaticus

and Crocus kotschyanus

manage to cope with it. Sternbergia lutea

Height:	10-20 cm (3.9-7.9 inch)
Flower Colors:	yellow
Flower Season:	mid autumn
Climate:	USDA Zone 7-9

starts as well, though the main show will be delivered in october.

The Nerines are disappointing this year, guess they didn't like the very wet phase from last November to June - the Nerine bowdenii

"Flügel" cultivar is the only exception.

Last one is Impatiens arguta - I'll have to dig up one of the seedlings to find out if it qualifies as a geophyte, I bought both the purple and the white parent plant potted...

[Carlos]

Hyacinthoides ciliolata, Tunisian species close to the Algerian H. aristidis.



Prospero corsicum, I just love this little thing



Bye, September