The Bulb Maven

Griffinia

There are about ten to fifteen species in this Brazilian genus.  Most are blue flowered, and since they come from warm moist forests, the ones I have grown seem adapted to low light, making them suitable as house plants.  I have only three species, Griffinia espiritensis, seen here, Griffinia liboniana, having somewhat similar flowers and spotted leaves that are very attractive, and an unidentified species.  All three in my possession are small plants. and have been easy to grow.  My G. espiritensis blooms several times a year and offsets modestly.  the pictures I have taken of all of them simply don't do them justice.  The delicate flower, the shade of blue, and the lovely glossy leaves don't seem to come out well when photographed.  I have taken many pictures and discarded most of them, but this is the best I can do at present.

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Hippeastrum cybister

This lovely Hippeastrum is found in Bolivia and Argentina. I have four different accessions of Hippeastrum cybister in my collection, and they are all pure species, grown from seed by me, but are all a little different. This is not too surprising, considering the wide range this species occupies. Unfortunately, I do not have collection data on each accession, the seeds being sent to me by friends. One multiplies readily, while the other three offset to some degree, but not as vigoroursly. Here are two, in bloom now. The color and width of the tepals are distinctly different.

I am often asked if I have the one called 'Chico'. I don't know if this one is a hybrid or not, and have never seen it, but it is commercially available.

Once these have reached blooming size, they are very reliable, blooming in the spring after their winter dormancy.

I have several crosses in my collection between other species and H. cybister, and they are all very nice, but don't come close to the unusual beauty of the pure species. Here is my favorite. It is a cross between H. papilio x psittacinum and H. cybister.

 

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Urceolina microcrater

Returning home from a recent trip, I found my first bloom on Urceolina microcrater, a rare species from the eastern slopes of the Peruvian Andes.

 

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Pamianthe peruviana

Pamianthe peruviana, the stunning bulb from Peru, is in bloom.  These incredible bulbs grow as epiphytes on tree branches, and I grow mine like orchids in indirect light.  The flower tube is about 10" (25cm) long, and the flowers are heavily scented.  I used to have many bulbs of Pamainthe peruviana, but suffered a catastrophe that killed most of them and all of my seedlings.  I still have four bulbs, and the most mature is in bloom now.  In the past my mature bulbs have supported a pair of the enormous fragrant flowers, but this year there are four.  Something strange has happened, though.  The anthers have split, but they look dried up and there is no pollen.  This has never happened before, as you can see in the other photograph from a previous year where the pollen is obvious.  The temperatures at night have been colder than usual, and we have recently had rain, so maybe this is because of environmental factors.  Unless I can find someone with a blooming bulb who will send pollen, I doubt there will be seeds from this year.  I have moved it from the greenhouse to my kitchen in the hope that the warmer temperatures will induce the remaining anthers to produce viable pollen, but so far things look grim.  I will post a question on the bulb forum of the Pacific Bulb Society (www.pacificbulbsociety.org) to see if anyone has any ideas about this.  I should mention that PBS is a great resource for information about bulbs.

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Hippeastrum aulicum

This beautiful Hippeastrum is from southern Brazil where it grows in forests on fallen trees and rocks.  It is often described as an epiphyte, and I thought it might be difficult to grow because of this, but I have found it remarkably easy.  My other ephiphytic species, like Pamianthe peruviana, I grow in an orchid mix, but Hippeastrum aulicum is grown in my usual mix of perlite, pumice and potting soil (about one third of each), and is not at all fussy or prone to fungal rots.

Since Hippeastrum aulicum blooms now, I have relied on it for Christmas gifts and decoration for Thanksgiving.  There is something very appealing about a Hippeastrum that will bloom in early winter.

There is a fair amount of variation in form, color varying from an almost ruby red to bright orange, and petals (or tepals) that are narrow or broad, sometimes wavy along the edges, and with variable amounts of streaking or netting present.  Some have given rise to cultivar names.  Here is my usual form to the right, and one with broader petals to the left that are strikingly netted.  They are all lovely, and will increase nicely if happy in their home.  I should add that I grow them in cool conditions since my greenhouses are not heated and the winter temperatures are only about 35-50F.  They flourish in these conditions, and I wonder how well they would do in warmer temperatures.

 

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Hippeastrum

Although hybrid Hippeastrum are available everywhere (called Amaryllis in the horticultural trade), pure species are extremely difficult to come by, and I only have a small collection of species.  I have never been very interested in producing crosses from the few species I have, but some years ago a bulb friend sent me seed of several crosses he had made.  One package was labeled 'Hippeastrum neopardinum x sp.'  I have long wanted the species H. neopardinum, but these beautiful hybrids are hard to beat.  The flower from each bulb is slightly different, there being genetic variability in a cross.  I believe this group of closely related hybrids from one cross would be called a grex.  Here are three.

At the moment, I am unable to offer any surplus bulbs, but I am definitely inspired to propagate these three lovely hybrids.

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Rauhia

Rauhia is a small genus of bulbs that all come from Peru.  There are three species, Rauhia decora, R. staminosa and R. multiflora (also called R. peruviana).  All are fairly large bulbs with green flowers that are held in an umbel, and thick succulent paddle shaped leaves, usually in pairs.

I have had all three species for several years, but none had ever bloomed for me until now.  I probably wasn't growing them correctly, since there is little information available on the growing conditions of these fascinating bulbs.  The climate here is very cool, although my greenhouses heat up in the daytime, but night temperatures can dip to 40-50F, even in summer, so I put them on heating mats that keep them around 65F, and potted them all in pure horticultural pumice.  They have thrived under these conditions.  I was, however, bitterly complaining to a friend that they didn't bloom, when just a few days later I noticed a fat bud emerging on my R. multiflora.  I was thrilled.  Here it is to the left.

Of the other two species, it seems that R. staminosa is somewhat similar to R. multiflora, and hopefully, one day, I will have a picture to post.  R. decora, however, is felt to be the most beautiful of the genus, with pale jade green flowers and long protruding stamens.  Here is a picture (not mine) to the right.

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Paramongaia weberbauerii

As if a lunar eclipse on the solstice wasn't exciting enough, my Paramongaia weberbauerii decided to open its first bud on that date.  This is a thrill I have long awaited, the bulb coming from a friend in New Zealand.  The flower is almost like an extremely oversized daffodil that measures 18cm (7 inches) across, and about the same from the ovary to the large corolla. It is only very distantly related to Narcissus, and comes from a completely different part of the world.  The scent is heavenly.

Since, so far, I have only one blooming bulb, I put out a call for pollen to pollinate my flower, with the hope of getting seed.  This was very successful, so I have more than one batch of pollen, which has been duly applied to the stigma.  If I am successful in getting seed, I will return some to the kind people who sent me pollen from their flowers.  This kind of sharing is one of the great things about the bulb community enabling propagation of rare species when you only have one clone in your possession.

Paramongaia weberbauerii is from Peru.  It is found on the slopes of the Andes, and also in coastal locations.  The coastal form grows in the winter, and is dry in the summer, so it seems I have this one, rather than the Andean form that reverses this growth pattern.  Our climate here is very cool even in summer, so I have kept this treasure on a heating mat along with some other Peruvian species, where it has flourished.  It is most closely related to Pamianthe peruviana, and you can see the resemblance in the photograph above.

It will be a while before I have bulbs to share.  I am not sure how long seed takes to ripen (with Pamianthe it is 15 months!), but I hope to find out.

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Tecophilaea cyanocrocus

Some bulbs have achieved almost legendary status, and this can be said of the beautiful Tecophilaea cyanocrocus.  It is known as the 'Blue Chilean Crocus', although it is not a crocus at all.  This lovely bulb is a true alpine species, growing at around 10,000' in the Andes near Santiago, Chile.  It is a snow melt plant, appearing in high alpine meadows with the melting of the snow.  Such plants are often extremely difficult in cultivation, but Tecophilaea cyanocrocus is not that hard to grow.

Its desirability is mostly due to the incredibly intense blue of its flowers, and also to its rarity.  There are actually three color forms, T. cyanocrocus with dazzling sapphire blue flowers; T. c. leichtlinii, paler blue, and with a very large white center, and T. c. violacea, with lovely violet flowers.  Here they are, left to right.

This beautiful species was thought to be extinct in the wild, since the meadows that it inhabits are very heavily grazed, but recently some new colonies have been found.  It has been established in cultivation for many years, however.

Tecophilaea cyanocrocus should be grown in a gritty medium, protected from excessive rain, and given a dry rest in summer.  In these conditions, they will bloom and even increase, albeit slowly, over time.

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Chlidanthus fragrans - Peruvian Daffodil

The common name of this delightful Peruvian bulb can be forgiven.  It is only distantly related to daffodils, being in the same Family Amaryllidaceae, but the flower is somewhat daffodil like having a central cup or corona and a ring of outer petals, plus it is bright yellow.  This lovely little bulb produces its leaves in the summer, unlike the daffodil, with the blooms appearing in mid to late summer (for me).  It has the reputation of being hard to bring to bloom, and some seasons it does take a break, but it has not proved difficult for me.  The blooms are quite large for the plant, and the scent is heavenly.  Deep planting is needed otherwise the bulbs tend to split up into many smaller non-blooming ones.  This is a delightful addition to the garden in milder climates, and should be planted more often.

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