The MGS Forum
Plants for mediterranean gardens => Bulbs (including other geophytes with corms, tubers, rhizomes etc) => Topic started by: Cali on April 07, 2012, 06:39:16 AM
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The Freesias I have had since time immemorial are referred to as "Wild Freesias" around here. They are scentless, creamy white, and multiply prolifically through tiny cormlets above ground. They're in flower now, and for the first time I've noticed one pink one among them. It's about time I looked into them. My standard Med reference books do not mention Freesias. Any ideas? How about the pink one? Is it worth saving the cormlets apart to reproduce, or are they an aberration?
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Cali
It seems to me like Sparaxis bulbifera rather then a Freesia.
I think it is worth separating the pink form, it is unusual.
Oron
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Thank you Oron! That's a relief to know. They never matched any freesia descriptions. I'll certainly save the pink.
Cali
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Sparaxis grandiflora is a very variable South African species, growing between a few inches and about a foot high. The photo, taken today, is of S. grandiflora subsp. fimbriata. It's one of several plants growing in pots under glass in mediterranean conditions, here in Sussex, UK. There are three other subspecies, with flowers in other colours - from cream to violet, yellow or (very rare in cultivation) a deep vibrant plum red.
Like Cali's plants, S. grandiflora does best in mediterranean climates (it does well on rather alkaline clay in our hot Greek garden, where it was flowering a couple of weeks ago), but can tolerate more maritime conditions too. S. grandiflora has the biggest flowers of the genus. It increases well, the many bulblets growing to flowering size quite quickly.
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Every year I find myself saying "What an unusual year!". Now I just think the Mediterranean was created simply to perplex and frustrate gardeners. Sparaxis is a case in point. I rarely have success with them. I dot them around each year (bags of them are very cheap in supermarkets here) and usually that is the last I see of them. This year, the wettest winter I can remember, they are popping up all over!
Even more perplexing is the pot with just leaves showing. I bought some S. 'red' and some S. 'Skyline' at a plant show in Oct 2019. I planted them in different pots and hoped for something the following spring. Nothing. A few weeks ago I found a pot at the back of some shelves and started to throw out the soil in it. Luckily, I noticed some corms just starting to sprout new shoots. A full year without any water and only watered when I saw the shoots already sprouting. I think they are the S. 'red.' Time will (might) tell.
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I hope they manage to make flowers before it becomes too hot
I am quite tempted to try Sparaxis next winter
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David you are correct. Gardening in the Mediterranean area is challenging. We did not have a heavy winter, we had a hot February and in between a few stormy and heavy rainy days and now Spring time we can see the snowy peaks of Olympus. There was snow on Friday night. We had hail and wind with some rain this morning. Despite all these changes things are flowering. We had bulbs coming up in places where we don't remember planting them. We do have Sparaxis that have come from Sparosa and they flower but later on in the Spring. I have admired Fermi's bulbs and his patience for years now and decided that I will try growing some Hippeastrums, that my cactus friend recommended. The snails were eating their leaves so John dug them up and put them in pots. Once they got bigger he has returned them to the ground. This is called ' Royal Red'. It is in fact a deeper red then it shows in the photo.
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I noticed some corms just starting to sprout new shoots. A full year without any water and only watered when I saw the shoots already sprouting. I think they are the S. 'red.' Time will (might) tell.
They turned out not to be Sparaxis at all. Tritonia laxifolia. Another plant that rarely flowers for me. I suppose the 2 flowers I got this year are better than none :)