{"id":3379,"date":"2019-03-06T20:43:09","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T20:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/?p=3379"},"modified":"2019-10-07T19:16:46","modified_gmt":"2019-10-07T19:16:46","slug":"explore-south-african-bulbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/?p=3379","title":{"rendered":"Explore South African Bulbs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During the current dormant season, cleanup work is ongoing. This is a good time to take a hard look at each part of the garden to consider needs to prune or remove plants. While evaluating my garden\u2019s bed of South African perennials, I focused on two plants that are members of the Amaryllis family. They both grow best under partially shaded conditions, and appreciate regular watering during the summer months. Here is a closer look at these plants, remember that I’m constantly learning about Fastline<\/a>, I find their tools to be the best for Agriculture projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Clivia miniata (dormant), \nPhoto by Tom Karwin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bush lily (Clivia\nminiata).<\/strong> This plant, which we might call \u201cClumping Clivia\u201d grows from\nrhizomes and slowly spreads through offsets. The genus name honors Lady\nCharlotte Florentina Clive, Duchess of Northumberland; the specific epithet\nmeans \u201ccinnabar-red.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The genus includes five species: C. miniata, C. nobilis, C.\ngardenii, C. caulescens, and the recently discovered C mirabilis. Hybridizers\nhave produced numerous interspecies crosses, some with variegated leaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bush Lily produces deep green, shiny evergreen leaves in\nclumps up to two feet high, and very attractive trumpet-shaped flowers in\ncolors that range from yellow through orange to red. Bloom times vary with the\nspecies: C. miniata generally blossoms August through November, but can also\nproduce blooms at other times of the year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This plant can be propagated by dividing a large clump, or\nby transplanting offsets. Divisions might take two seasons to bloom. The Bush\nLily has a reputation as a \u201cspectacular\u201d container plant, given a well-drained\npotting mix with compost added, regular watering and fertilizing during the\nsummer months, and a semi-shaded location. My clump already has offsets; one option\nwould be to lift one to plant in a container. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Crinum moorei in Longwood Gardens – Photo by Foljiny, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Crinum moorei (dormant), Photo by Tom Karwin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Natal Lily, Lily <\/strong>of the Orinoco<\/strong> (Crinum moorei).<\/strong> This genus\nincludes some 180 species of bulbous plants. C. moorei (one of the more popular\nspecies) develops bulbs that are five-to-eight inches in diameter, and flower\nstalks up to four feet high. In the summer, each stalk can produce five-to-ten\nlarge, open, white to pinkish red, open tubular flowers. The light\ngreen-to-green, strap-shaped leaves can be up to three feet long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The genus name is derived from the Greek krinon, meaning\nlily, and the specific epithet honors Dr. D. Moore, director of the Glasnevin Botanical\nGardens in Dublin,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its native habitat, the Natal Lily goes dormant in the\nwinter and the leaves die off after flowering. In the Monterey Bay area,\nhowever, the leaves persist during the winter, while the stalk lean over and\nbecome bedraggled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Propagate the Natal Lily by digging the\nlarge bulbs and replanting them about two feet apart. They need good space as\nthey will develop additional bulb. My plant would benefit from dividing in this\nmanner, as crowding might result in fewer blossoms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have recently planted nearby the bulb\nof an Orange River Lily (C. bulbispermum) \u2018Striped\u2019, a cultivar of a species\nthat is characterized by blossoms that are white with red stripes. This bulb\ncould require two or even three seasons of growth before producing blossoms,\nbut it will in time provide an interesting contrast to the related Natal Lily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the course of reviewing my garden\u2019s bed of South African\nperennials, I removed two shrubs that had grown rangy due to insufficient exposure\nto the sun. This action released an area for new plants, so I am considering\nthe many good and interesting bulbous plants from South Africa\u2019s Cape\nRegion. Some of these plants are already familiar to gardeners: Agapanthus,\nAmaryllis, Dierama, Dietes, Freesia, Gladiolus, Kniphofia, Nerine, Watsonia,\nand Zantedechias (Calla Lily). Dozens more exist that can be hunted down with a\nlittle effort, and will grow well in Monterey Bay area gardens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good reference books include The Color Encyclopedia of Cape Bulbs<\/em>, by\nJohn Manning, Peter Goldblatt, and Dee Snijman (Timber Press, 2002), and Bulbous Plants of southern Africa<\/em>, By\nNiel Du Plessis and Graham Duncan (Tafelberg Publishers, 1989). A helpful\nonline source is the website of the South African National Biodiversity\nInstitute (PlantzAfrica.com). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explore South African bulbs! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During the current dormant season, cleanup work is ongoing. This is a good time to take a hard look at each part of the garden to consider needs to prune or remove plants. While evaluating my garden\u2019s bed of South … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[203],"tags":[34],"class_list":["post-3379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-essays-2019","tag-bulbs"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2WCVL-Sv","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3379"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3509,"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3379\/revisions\/3509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}