Ferraria crispa

Michael Mace michaelcmace@gmail.com
Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:14:51 PDT
Matt wrote:

 

>>I think that these are indeed Ferraria crispa, but I have a problem. I had
been potting up the cormlets every year, and now I have many, far too many. 

 

Chances are you do really have Ferraria crispa.  They produce multiple corms
like crazy.  I repot mine every couple of years; if I wait longer the entire
pot will be filled with corms.  Fortunately, they do not spread
horizontally, so I don't think they are an invasive threat.

 

They are pretty easy to bloom in typical summer-dry mediterranean
conditions.  As others have suggested, leave the corm clumps intact and
you'll get bloom sooner.  I have bloomed them in 8-inch pots, with the tops
of the corms an inch or two below the surface.  Bigger pots may work better.
Use very well drained soil.

 

I have a number of other Ferraria species, and many of them are much harder
to make bloom here.  I'm not sure what the problem is, although a number of
them are desert species and it may be too wet for them here in winter.

 

Good luck, and let us know what the flowers look like when they bloom --
they are quite variable.

 

Mike

San Jose, CA (zone 9, min temp 20F / -7C)

 

 


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