Albuca shawii
Diane Whitehead (Thu, 15 Sep 2011 10:48:24 PDT)

On 15-Sep-11 Robin Carrier wrote:

This is odd. I checked all my South African field guides, and the
only one that mentions
Albuca shawii is Vanderplank's Wildflowers of the Port Elizabeth Area,
Gamtoos to Swartkops Rivers.

It describes its flowers as being white and green with yellow tips,
with the keels on the outer tepals turning reddish as the flowers age.

When I google, all the pictures shown are yellow with green stripes,
just like my plants. Annie's Annuals says it is from the Drakensberg
Mountains and will grow in USDA zones 7 - 11. Their picture looks
just like my clump.

http://anniesannuals.com/plt_lst/lists/…

There is a picture of it growing in Scotland, but in a pot. It is
treated there just like rhodohypoxis.

I am in USDA zone 8, but on the Pacific coast. This is not at all
like the zone 8 over in the SE of the U.S. I have well-drained soil,
so both the albuca and rhodohypoxis grow well for me in the garden
where they need to be watered in summer.

Diane Whitehead
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
cool mediterranean climate
moderate dry summers, moderate rainy winters
68 cm rain (27 in)