The Bulb Maven

Nerine

The County Fair has ended, and my favorite dog trial was last weekend in Eureka.  We brought home 19 ribbons, and had the best fun, not only with our own runs, but seeing our friends win their ribbons too.  These two events represent the peak of my summer fun, and now it feels that the season is winding down, and we are on track to autumn.

This is reinforced by the blooming of many members of the Family Amaryllidaceae, most notably Nerine.  They are just starting now, and will go on well into October.  Fat buds are emerging, presaging the dazzling display of these wonderful bulbs. 

Nerine is a South African genus of about 25 or so species.  Only one, N. bowdenii, is widely grown, and although it is lovely, it can be one of the most frustrating species, multiplying prodigiously and blooming sparsely.  It is, however, the most hardy species, which is why it has been in gardens since the 18th century.

I will start today with the hybrids, most of which have N. bowdenii in their parentage, as well as N. sarniensis.  N. bowdenii comes from the Drakensburg Mountains in South Africa, and keeps its foliage in summer, dying back in winter.  N. sarniensis comes from Table Mountain in the Cape Province of South Africa, and is summer-dormant.  Among the hybrids, therefore, you can get a variety of behaviors as far as foliage is concerned, but most of the hybrids I grow are summer-dormant.

I don't normally grow many hybrid bulbs, but some years ago the International Bulb Society distributed hybrid Nerines from the collection of a hybridizer who had died suddenly.  Most of the collection, unfortunately, was lost, and the bulbs I obtained languished for a while, not really reaching blooming size until about a year ago.  I must say, the ones I have are truly wonderful, and I eagerly look forward to fall to see if more are starting to show their lovely flowers.  Below is a sampling.

Why aren't these grown more?  It's true they are not very hardy, but with careful siting they are successfully grown in England, and produce a wonderful display in fall.  They are superb for the West Coast of the USA, and make a wonderful addition to the dry garden.  If winters are severe, they can be grown in containers in a sheltered area or in a greenhouse or sun porch.

I hope to be able to add more Nerine hybrids to the Telos list in the future, although some of the prettiest have been slow to increase.

Next posting I will talk about Nerine species.

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Mystery Solved -- Pancratium

Some years ago someone sent me his bulb collection, saying he no longer had the time to maintain it.  It is a lot of work, taking care of bulbs in containers, repotting, treating for disease, keeping records and keeping them accurately labeled.  Some of the bulbs I received had lost their labels, and it was great fun figuring out what they were. 

One such bulb, seen to the left, has been in my possession for about five years and never bloomed.  It was with great excitement, therefore, that I saw a bud emerging.  I was so excited that I went to examine the said bud, and --- snapped it off by mistake!!!  Imagine my chagrin.  I jumped up and down cursing myself and my clumsiness, but took it inside and put it in water.  It did open up, and I am delighted to say that it is Pancratium canariense, so at least I know what it is now, although it would have looked better still attached to the stem.

Pancratium is a small genus found largely around the Mediterranean and in northern Africa.  The above, as you would suspect, comes from the Canary Islands.  The most common species is Pancratium maritimum, and I am growing it, but it seems to be slow to flower from seed.  My five year old bulbs have not yet bloomed.  The flowers of all species look a bit like a daffodil, with a prominent central cup or corona, and they are pleasantly fragrant.  They are in an umbel of up to eight or ten individual flowers, and all are white.  P. maritimum is often called 'Sea Lily', since it grows around the Mediterranean in sand dunes, and is often available in commerce.

In mild climates, they make wonderful additions to the dry garden, since most need a dry dormancy, or at least very little water while dormant, and must be grown in a fast draining sandy mix.  They are not very hardy, but can take light frosts.

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The Fair

When you work for yourself, you work every day, and weekends don't mean much.  So, I decided yesterday to take a few hours off and go to the Fair.  I wanted to see the sheepdog trials.  Here is a rather grainy photograph filched from our local newspaper, since the light was too poor in the covered arena where the trials were held for my little digital camera.  I was rather amazed in overhearing some conversations, that some people didn't realize that sheep were involved.  Once again, the ladies won the day with their dogs, who appeared to be much better trained than those owned by the men.  Why is that?  It's true that dog agility is also dominated by women.  Is it because training a dog is like training a toddler?  Very slow, very time consuming, done with love and patience, and sort of never-ending?  Not that I have ever had a toddler around, other than a year-long stint helping with an Indian baby (a real eye-opener, let me tell you!).

I also got there in time to see ....... the man shot out of a cannon!!  There must be easier ways to earn a living, like growing bulbs.  Although, maybe it's a simple life.  You get in the cannon, then bang!! you're off, and you either land in the net or you don't.  Here he is:

When I got home, I found I had been at the Fair for five hours, my poor dogs in their crates all that time, since leaving them loose is a clear and present danger to my three cats (used to be four cats, and I won't say what happened to the other one, but it's connected to why my dogs are in their crates).  So, off to the local park we went.  It's a beautiful wild park, up a very, very steep hill, making about a two mile loop.  The thoughtful park people have now put up a sign warning people about mountain lions.  OK, it is mountain lion country, it's true, but I have been to that park a hundred times and never even thought about a mountain lion.  Yesterday, all I could think about was a mountain lion dashing out of the underbrush and grabbing one small juicy dog.  I doubt that the dogs thought about it much, so they had a great time. I was a nervous wreck, worrying every time they got far ahead of me and out of sight.  The park people suggest making lots of noise as you are hiking.  Well, that would certainly enhance the experience, people all shouting and yelling or playing gangsta-rap while walking their dogs.  No thanks.

The County Fair

The County Fair has begun, only a half block from my house.  This is one of the major events in Ferndale, and it lasts for ten days.  Compared to some fairs, it is small, but that is one of its charms.  It still has everything, horse racing; carnival; home crafts; great stunts like shooting someone out of a cannon and all kinds of food booths.  Of course, there are barns filled with animals.  The goats are wonderful, and are all dairy goats of varying breeds.  There are many breeds of cows, sheep, rabbits and pigs.  There are fluffy chickens with feathers on their feet and none on their heads, even.  The cows are so clean and glossy they look like they have been shampooed.

I can hear all the screams and cries of joy from the kids on the rides at the carnival from my office as I sit at the computer.  Last year, sitting down to tackle a pile of work, the announcement came drifting over "The sheepdog trials are about to begin".  Well, that was that, over I raced to watch the trials.  The women handled their dogs the best, and praised them even if they didn't get any points.  Not all sheep are created equal.  These were free range sheep, not tame ones, and some were really wild.

For a collage of photographs from the fair, click on this link:  http://www.vacationferndale.com/Thefair.html  This page is from the web site for my vacation rental.

Lycoris

According to John Bryan, in his book "Bulbs" (a rather terse, but descriptive title), this genus was named after Mark Anthony's mistress. Hmmm. I wonder how that happened. Be that as it may, this is a wonderful genus, coming mostly from China and Japan, with some species extending into Myanmar and Korea. It is often called 'Spider Lily" because of the narrow petals and the long extended stamens.

I am lucky in having the beautiful Lycoris aurea in my collection, seen here to the left. This is the true species, not the impostor that is marketed as L. aurea by large growers and distributors of bulbs. I have the other one too, and it is probably L. traubii or a hybrid thereof. It looks quite similar as far as the flower is concerned, but the leaves are distinctly different, and it also blooms later. L. aurea (the real one) is from China, Taiwan and Myanmar. This is not a particularly hardy species.

L. longituba, seen here to the left, is from China. Unlike most Lycoris, the petals are not spidery, and the stamens do not extend beyond them. It is a lovely glistening white with a slight flush of pink.

L. rosea, seen here to the right, is also from China.�I can't find my notes on Lycoris, but this species, I believe, is also one of the less hardy ones.

Below is L. albiflora. This one is commonly available in commerce. It is felt to have probably arisen as a hybrid, and comes from China and Japan. It is quite hardy. The color is creamy, not actually white.

Another pink one in my collection is L. haywardii. It is from Japan, and is seen to the right.

There are several other species in my collection: L. radiata (the most commonly grown species); L. straminea; L. caldwellii; L. chinensis; L. houdyshellii; L. sprengeri and L. sanguinea. They have all bloomed at one time or another, but I was without a camera for two or three years, so I don't have pictures, and they don't bloom every year.

Lycoris are reputed to be difficult to flower in containers. As you can see, mine do flower, but not very readily. They have a tendency to split into small bulbs, which then take three or four years to get up to size. I believe this is due to stress, and possibly to their not being planted deep enough. I grow mine in three gallon containers, and hope to move them into bigger pots this fall.

I had an interesting experience, though, with L. radiata some years back. I was growing them in two gallon containers, and was in the process of moving from the Central Valley of California to the coast. I loaded them up in temperatures in excess of 90F. When I arrived in Humboldt County it was the typical foggy summer season with temperatures of about 55F. I put them in the garage. When I returned two weeks later, they were ALL in bloom, albeit with rather ghostly pale flowers, since they were in total darkness. I can only suppose it was the extreme sudden drop in temperature that induced blooming. They certainly do better in temperate climates with distinct seasons, which you don't get here on the coast, although my greenhouses change that considerably.

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A Dog's Life

Someone in my agility class introduced me to her daughter a couple of days ago, and also introduced my dogs, saying "they are adorable".  Don't they look adorable here??  They aren't.  I mean, I adore them, but they are terriers, and they are dogs, and they do very non-adorable things.

I was in the barn this morning, and noticed a really bad odor.  Really bad.  I thought something had got in a died, and moved a lot of stuff, but couldn't find it.  I couldn't really locate the smell either, it seemed to be here one time, then there another.  I went into the kitchen, and it even seemed to be there, like it was following me around.  Well, then I looked down, and there they were, both of them covered from head to toe in very fresh horse poop.  They were smiling, and looking very happy.  There should have been wavy lines emanating from them like in a cartoon.  Then they saw I was staring at them, and their expression changed to one of apprehension, like "uh-oh, we're in trouble.  Oh, s--t".  Exactly.  So, I had to stop packing bulbs for Taiwan, and give them another bath (they had had one two days before).

My previous Wire Fox Terrier, Simon, used to do something similar.  After a bath he would find some fox poop (very pungent) and roll in it, then he would seek me out and stand there looking at me with a defiant look on his face.  What was he saying "this is what I think of you, after what you did to me"?; "it was worth it, even though I know I'll get another bath"?; "you made me smell terrible, so I had to do something"?  You really wonder what is going on in their little heads.  They are smarter than we think. 

A Native American friend once said to me "Animals are perfect, they are perfect.  They weren't thrown out of the Garden of Eden".  Indeed, and in most ways they are still there, unburdened by shame and guilt, but still full of joy. 

Of course they are surrogate children.  I feel like a soccer mom, driving them to class twice a week, practice (80 miles round trip) once a week, dog trial weekends, home schooling them here, and getting them out of trouble.  We also go to the beach, redwood forests, camping trips, etc. etc.  But at least they don't end up on drugs.  We have them around for ten or fifteen wonderful years, then they die on us and we go through misery, but do it all again.  Maybe it's like Simon and the fox poop.  We know we'll suffer later, but it's all worth it.

Hymenocallis

Hymenocallis is a large genus, with species that come from the southeastern part of the United States, Mexico, Central America, and a few in South America.  They are mostly from regions that get year-round rain, although the Mexican species are from drier habitats.  I have quite a few species, some of which I have not been able to identify.  Their lovely spidery flowers appear for me from June onwards.

To the left is H. eucharidifolia, with broad green leaves and substantial flowers.  It is from Mexico, and grows about 12-18" tall.  It is easy to grow, and can be treated as a houseplant given bright light indoors.  Here, below is a close up of the flower.  I am growing these, and most of the moisture-loving species in plastic wading pools that I fill to about six inches with water, then allow to dry a little between refilling them.

Hymenocallis maximiliani, seen to the left, is a much larger plant, very suitable for the garden in warm climates, where it will form large clumps.  It is from the Mexican state of Guerrero. The flowers are sweetly fragrant, and are produced freely throughout the summer.

There are much smaller versions of Hymenocallis.  H. palmeri, seen to the left, only grows a few inches tall.  These bulbs are growing in a two gallon pot.  The flowers, however, are very large, the petals (tepals) being green and spreading to about five or six inches.  It is commonly known as the 'Alligator Lily', since it is from Florida and grows where alligators are found!  I wouldn't want to try to collect this one.

Another large clumping Hymenocallis is H. littoralis, with elegant spidery flowers.  It is seen here to the left, and comes from Mexico and Guatemala.  It loves heat and moisture, and does well in my greenhouses.

H. harrisiana also comes from Mexico, where it grows in grasslands at elevations up to 6000' .  While the species from Florida and the southeast like wet conditions, usually growing in swamplands or along slowly moving streams, those from Mexico prefer drier conditions.  This is a medium sized plant, with very delicate fragrant flowers.  It is seen here to the right.

H. sonorensis, comes, as you might imagine, from the Mexican state of Sonora.  It has grey leaves that are only about six inches in height, with a flowering stem that is short.  Again the flowers are large, and this species also prefers somewhat drier conditions.  It is seen here to the left.

And last, but not least, is a tiny Hymenocallis that remains unidentified.  It has grey narrow leaves and a rather unique profile, with the cup held above the tepals which are very narrow.  Here it is to the left.

I have about twenty other species, some of which have not yet bloomed.  These are lovely plants, not difficult to grow, with some suited for the garden, others as container plants, and some even suitable as houseplants.  The leaves are attractive, and they are very trouble free as far as pests and disease are concerned.

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Scadoxus

There are only nine species in the genus Scadoxus, and they used to be lumped together with Haemanthus.  Apart from the 'shaving brush' form of the flowers in some species, it is hard to imagine why it was thought they belonged in the same genus, since the leaves and the rootstock are very different.  Scadoxus would be classified as having bulbs, but the plants actually grow more like leeks with the leaf bases wrapping a long neck, and the bulb type formation sitting in the top layers of the soil.

The showiest member of this group has to be Scadoxus multiflorus ssp. katherinae, seen here to the left..  It comes from the eastern part of the Cape Province of South Africa where it rains in summer, and it is huge, growing about three feet tall in a large container or in the ground.  It has large bright green leaves that are very attractive and hold well all summer.  The flower stem is a little taller than the leaves, and holds a six to eight inch umbel of beautiful satiny salmon flowers.  It isn't at all difficult to grow, and I have mine in large containers in my greenhouse, where they are starting to bloom now.  They are dormant in winter, and do not need to be kept dry at that time.  They must be protected from frost, but are ideal for the garden in southern California or coastal California in general where they would make a dramatic statement, and look good all summer long.  I grew them in the interior valley where summer temperatures reached over 100F, and they were very happy, but they grow well here too, in cooler conditions.  They don't seem fussy about potting mix or soil, although I use a mix high in humus and I fertilize regularly, and they (like most of the other species in this genus) prefer light shade.

Another species I grow in this genus is Scadoxus puniceus 'Magnificus'.  This is a much larger cultivar that the regular species, with stems almost as thick as my wrist that grow 12-24" tall.  Here it is to the right.  I have some white S. puniceus, but they have yet to bloom.

Other species are smaller and not as showy.  I only grow a couple, one of which is Scadoxus membranaceus, seen here to the left.  It is about six inches tall. 

The larger members of this genus are at least equal in beauty and suitability for the mild garden as Clivia, but have received far less attention.  Let's hope that changes soon.

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Ammocharis

I always tell people that there isn't much going on in the greenhouses this time of year, then I find an exciting surprise awaiting me.  Ammocharis is a small genus of South African bulbs.  I grow two species, A. coranica, seen to the left, which blooms reliably for me every May, and A. nerinoides.  This morning I found to my delight my Ammocharis nerinoides in bloom for the first time.  The seeds were sown in 2003, and this is a much smaller species than A. coranica, so it has matured in a shorter time.  Both species are summer growers, and have leaves that look like they have been cut off at the tips, but A. nerinoides has very thread-ike leaves, so it isn't so obvious.   Here it is to the right.  It is quite fragrant, and each flowering stem hold just two buds or flowers, but as the bulbs increase in size, so may the number of buds produced. 

I also grow another very closely related species, which many believe should be moved to this genus.  It is Cybistetes longifolia, and my six year old bulbs have not yet bloomed.   These are not difficult bulbs to grow and flower.  I grow them in a very gritty mix, and keep them dry in winter when they are dormant.  Only patience is needed, and the long wait from seed sowing is amply rewarded.

www.telosrarebulbs.com 

Mexican Bulbs

I said I would post a picture of the purple flowered Bessera elegans when the buds opened, and here it is.  I have wanted this lovely bulb for a long time, so acquiring it was a real thrill.  It is far more beautiful than I could have imagined.  The dainty flowers are in an umbel, and hang down like little parasols.  Here is another picture that shows the inner markings.  You can see from my hand the scale.  My red Besseras increase slowly, but the orange ones make a fair number of offsets.  Usually I get seed from both, so we will see if my single bulb of the purple form will be self-compatible and produce seed.

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