The MGS Forum
Plants for mediterranean gardens => Bulbs (including other geophytes with corms, tubers, rhizomes etc) => Topic started by: Fermi on August 29, 2014, 03:24:29 PM
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Another genus of South African bulbs which does well here!
Babiana pygmaea is one of my favourites,
cheers
fermi
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You are weeks in front f me with this one. Mine are not even showing buds yet. But it is a huge favourite with me.
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Here's Babiana cedarbergensis
cheers
fermi
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Apologies for the poor pic, but this is another species, Babiana villosa in a dark red form,
cheers
fermi
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Does anybody have the names of any suppliers in Europe? I have found a couple of species on offer but not a great selection. I found one supplier in Greece with bulbs selling at around €10.00 each which might indicate their scarcity in Europe. After seeing the pics here I looked through pics of as many as I could find on the internet. I would be interested in finding any of the following.
Babiana
stricta (white),
rubrogynaea,
villosa,
hirsuta,
thunbergii,
pygmaea,
ecklonii,
purpurea and
framesi.
Thanks
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These are probably hybrids of Babiana stricta which are quite common in gardens in Southern Australia
cheers
fermi
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We were in the Clare Valley on the w/end and saw scads of Baboon Root naturalised in heaps of places - on road verges, in vineyards, old churchyards, cemeteries, municipal parks, railway cuttings etc. Mostly between the two Fermi showed BUT SOMEWHERE in this garden are white ones I rescued from Summertown cemetery about 40 yrs ago. Such willing and beautiful Spring bulbs. I've also rescued some samples from the great drifts of them around Keyneton in Die Alte Barossa where an early settler family must have planted hundreds of them in the early 1840's - the family are McGloughlin's, still there on their original estate.
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I have found seeds of the following at http://www.rareplants.es/shop/search.asp?strKeywords=babiana&submit=SEARCH
Babiana odorata, pygmae, villosa & thunbergii There are some others too. Thanks to all who posted the photos which have prompted me to try them :)
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... Thanks to all who posted the photos which have prompted me to try them :)
Glad we could help, David ;D
Also have a look at http://www.silverhillseeds.co.za/ (http://www.silverhillseeds.co.za/)
cheers
fermi
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Babiana spathacea is long and lanky and I have 2 forms, one cream and the other white, both with purply-red marks (bee-lines) in the throat,
cheers
fermi
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Two weeks later the Babiana spathacea were in full flower - they've taken a few years to get to this size,
cheers
fermi
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The first of the Babianas in our garden this year are some seedlings of Babiana odorata, but they may've been hybridised with B. pygmaea which happens a lot for some reason!
cheers
fermi
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They look beautiful.
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One of the most unusual species is Babiana ringens which has evolved to be pollinated by sun-birds by developing a perch for them to hold onto while searching for nectar!
cheers
fermi
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Fermi, I saw this last week in South Africa, in a recent burn site, growing in pure granitic sand. Usually as you can see from the second picture they were flowering in or close to the skeleton of a burned bush, and one or two beautiful malachite sunbirds were flying from bush to bush then flying down to the top of the aborted flower stem, then hanging upside down to sip the nectar (thus also pollinating the flowers)...
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Alisdair,
that must've been a wonderful sight!
Will you be posting more pics from South Africa?
It's some place I would love to see in spring!
cheers
fermi
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Yes, I hope to, Fermi. Today's MGS Facebook cover picture (http://www.facebook.com/mediterraneangardensociety) is of a Romulea we saw flowering in a recent burn site, but at the time couldn't decide on the species (even though I was with Brian Mathew and Oron Peri, as well as a few other friends).
But it'll take me time to sort out some pics!
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Last year we had severe frosts and all the flower buds on Babiana odorata were killed, but they have survived this year to produce some lovely blooms
cheers
fermi
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Is that light hoar frost on them now, Fermi? Looks it from the second two pictures.
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Hi Fermi, odorata suggests there's a scent. Is it easily discernable?
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Is that light hoar frost on them now, Fermi? Looks it from the second two pictures.
Hi Alisdair,
I think there had been a light frost and those are the residual dew-drops.
Hi Fermi, odorata suggests there's a scent. Is it easily discernable?
Hi Anita,
it has a lovely sweet scent which is quite pleasant.
Sadly it crosses easily with Babiana pygmaea so there are hybrids around the garden and I didn't notice that they are in flower now so seed will most likely be hybridised. However if you're willing to take the chance I'll try and collect some seed for you,
cheers
fermi
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Hi Fermi, I'm no purist - happy to take the risk of hybrids. Would love some seeds. Thanks!
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Here are some pics of the hybrid between Babiana odorata and B. pygmaea
cheers
fermi
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It looks as if you have wonderful growing conditions for those Babianas, Fermi!
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Alisdair,
it's been a good season for these sorts of bulbs because of good winter rain.
These Babiana seedlings have sown themselves into raised beds as well as on the edge of beds where they have "good drainage".
We don't water the areas where they grow if we can help it during the summer.
The seedlings have been quite variable and the best open up wide and have a creamy yellow colour, but the two parents are excellent in their own rights,
cheers
fermi
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Babiana pygmaea is now in flower,
cheers
fermi
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The Babiana odorata x B. pygmaea hybrids are making quite a show in the rock garden!
cheers
fermi
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Babiana villosa "Red Form" flowering nicely this year,
cheers
fermi
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Terrific, Fermi!
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Here's quite a different one - it looks like one of the "orchid gladiolus"!
Babiana sinuata, grown from seed from Being Seed, R.S.A, 2012, first flowering this week,
cheers
fermi
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Another Babiana villosa, a slightly lighter in colour,
cheers
fermi
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"New" for us is Babiana scariosa growing in a sand-bed which had been over-shadowed for the last few years until a hedge was removed a few months ago,
cheers
fermi
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When these South African bulbous plants suddenly flower en masse after a wildfire, I wonder how much it's the effects of the fire itself, and how much simply the removal of the overgrown vegetation around them - like your hedge here?
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I think this is Babiana patersoniae flowering for the first time this past week having been sown about 2 years ago.
It's in a "community" trough after a tray of seed-pots was upended and I swept up the debris into a foam box!
I don't think there was any other babianas but I'd better check!
cheers
fermi
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Lovely - this white form shows off the anthers so well. (Pacific Bulb Soc says it normally smells of cloves, strongest at night....might be a useful check).
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Babiana spathacea grows quite upright when growing in full sun!
cheers
fermi
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First flowers of Babiana tubiflora for this year
cheers
fermi
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Fermi they are all so beautiful. Thank you for sharing. Our bulbs are shooting up as there was some heavy rain last week and also a drop in temperature
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Lucky escape for the Babiana patersoniae Fermi. They are very pretty and it just shows one should never give up when accidents happen. :)
Glad to hear you have had some rain at last Charithea - we too are experiencing a drop in temperatures after a warm October and the forecast is for a wet start to November. The garden is still looking good though with Salvias the stars of the show.
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Lovely - this white form shows off the anthers so well. (Pacific Bulb Soc says it normally smells of cloves, strongest at night....might be a useful check).
Hi Alisdair,
I couldn't smell anything but my partner says it has a scent but he couldn't say it was cloves.
There are 4 babianas which are going to flower but they are doing it in succession!
Here's the next to bloom - interesting green tips!
Thanks, Carole,
yes, I'm glad I was able to save this lot - another trayful ended up getting swept onto a neighboouring bed!
Charithea,
you're welcome! Glad you are getting rain - we had an inch over the last few days - as the bulbs are dying down I've been moving pots under cover to prevent them getting wet as the weather gets hot,
cheers
fermi
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Babiana patersoniae is in flower again - I must remember to give them a sniff
cheers
fermi
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Babiana cedarbergensis is sweetly scented - because the flowers stay at soil level I prefer to grow it in a pot
cheers
fermi
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Babiana vanzyliae
cheers
fermi
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When re-potting the Babiana cedarbergensis I found a curiosity - some stems had little clusters of small cormlets developed below the surface of the potting mix
cheers
fermi
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I get little bulblets just like those in your photo on my hybrid Freesias. They come on the stem below ground level. Great way to double your stock.
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Well, this is proving to be a strange year for me, Having had considerable success with Sparaxis for the first time, I now have Babiana stricta hybrids coming into flower. I have tried several times with these and never had leaves, never mind flowers!