Many thanks to Alberto & Susan B. for helping to remove the question mark over my Worsleya. It is indeed the real McCoy. I simply had trouble believing that a stranger whom I met once only would just hand me such a prized plant for naught.
Oh dear, now I shall probably start to worry about it & coddle it & look out for full moons & ask Ron for his dance steps....
Geoff in The Northern Rivers of NSW, AU
USDA Zone 10 equiv.
On Fri, 1 Sep 2006 21:05:52 +0000 Alberto Castillo wrote:
Hi Geoff:
Worsleya leaves are quite unique among bulbs in that they look like a cock's tail feathers. Not fountain like as in Hemerocallis, Phormium, Agapanthus, etc., which are all drooping. Worsleya leaves are like a strap that has been bent along his horizontal axis. There are many images of the foliage in the web. This is apparent in quite small plants.
Typically it is a slow growing plant and there are very many records of flowers obtained after many years of cultivation. They do better in big trays rather than pots as in Nature the root system wanders about in a relatively shallow layer of soil on top of quite smooth rocks. These roots can be very long and extensive.
Best
Alberto
Ezeiza Botanical Garden
Argentina