Fw: Gethyum atropurpureum
Lee Poulsen (Fri, 26 Aug 2005 11:01:57 PDT)

On Aug 26, 2005, at 9:30 AM, Pacific Rim wrote:

Some of this information is on that Chilean webpage you mentioned.
It says the leaves are 30-60 cm long by 6-12 mm wide. The scape is
20-60 cm in length.
It also mentions that the stamens have filaments that are united at the
base in a ring and that generally 3 of them have fertile anthers.

Since it's found in the region in and around Santiago, which is very
similar to the climate in California (i.e. mediterranean) this to me
says it should be treated like other wet-winter, dry-summer bulbs such
as the South African Cape bulbs or California native bulbs: fairly cool
winters where it is watered or rained upon and kept dry and warm during
the summer. The temperature rarely gets down to freezing, but it has on
rare occasions gotten as low as the mid-20s °F. However, in-the-ground
temperatures most likely never go below freezing but the foliage ought
to be able to take the mid-20s.

Since it is naturally found between 33°S and 35°S that would correspond
to the region centered around Los Angeles in this hemisphere. So the
Aug-Sept flowering time should correspond to Feb-Mar flowering time in
southern California. It does say that the flower has a somewhat
disagreeable odor.

Of course plants in cultivation sometimes are able to thrive in
climates quite different than their native one.

Don't know if that helps any,
--Lee Poulsen
Pasadena area, California, USDA Zone 10a