[Fleur Pavlidis]

We have a photo of this on the MGS website but I couldn't resist posting another one since all these flowers have appeared in the last few days. This Haemanthus coccineus
is growing in the MGS garden having expanded from a single bulb over many years. The dappled shade seems exactly to fit its needs.

[Alisdair]

... and for John Fielding's photo of a potful, click here.

[JTh]

It's quite a while since the last posting here, but in spite of warnings, I'll see if I get some response to my question. Several years ago I saw Haemeanthus coccineus in  flower in the MGS garden in Paeania, and I immediately put it on my wishlist for plants to try in northern Greece.  Haemanthus is not very hardy, but I read that it may take some short cold spells and light frost, and Fleur wrote that it has been growing in the MGS garden for several years. I can't resist picking seeds whenever I'm travelling, and I now have some tiny seedlings, but it may take a while before they  are ready to be transplanted.


IMG_20190619_194958.jpg by Jorun Tharaldsen, on Flickr

I have Haemanthus albiflos growing indoors in Norway,  the pot was  so so full of bulbs that I finally had to divide it, so now I have more plants than I have room for on my window sills. I would like to try to grow it in northern Greece, do you think it is possible to keep it alive?

[Alisdair]

Jorun, though I have no experience of growing it, I'd be strongly inclined to hope for success. Most Cape bulbs seem so happy in the unwatered part of our own Greek garden that I feel they're always worth trying unless they are real bog-dwellers. I know our own Greek garden faces very much milder winters than yours, but Haemanthus albiflos must face occasional frosts in the inland parts of its range. Given that it's evergreen, you might have a better chance with it (relative to H. coccineus) than someone in a hotter part of Greece anyway. Presumably you've got somewhere suitably shady for it. Give it a try!

[JTh]

Thank you, Alisdair, maybe I'll succeed? I have more bulbs than I need here in Norway, anyhow, so I'm not taking a big risk if I bring a few bulbs to Greece. Finding a shady place for them is not a big problem.

[Fermi]

I got seed of Haemanthus barkerae from SilverHill Seeds in 2003 and in 2017 I got the first flower. This year the flower looks a bit stronger!
1) first flower 2017
2 & 3) in 2020
cheers
fermi

[Alisdair]

Fascinating how much South African bulbs/geophytes vary in how quickly/slowly they come to flower, with many producing flowers almost immediately but others tantalisingly taking so many years as your Haemanthus, Fermi!