Bulbs , whether they live indoors or out , are often like remote get it on relatives , they visit , only ride out for a while and then disappear from our lives for a year or so , only returning , sometimes more healthy and vibrant , even grandiloquent and more mature , or sometimes not . The best ones get better each year , as they maturate . Some have children , some mature into impressive specimens , and others , are just nostalgic reminders each year , when their return front seems to make the time of year all over .
And so it is with these bulbs which I share with you today . Some uncommon , some ludicrously coarse , so just unmanageable to find . The first one I divvy up comes from South Africa – Massonia jasminiflora . One of the twin - will adpressed Massonia ’s . this one is only late draw , being classified only recently in the twentieth Century . Known only to serious collectors who can grow it under coolheaded ice , this gemstone spends most of its life underground , but extends it ’s two beautiful patched farewell during the summer in the southern hemisphere ( wintertime , here in the Union ) , where in the wilds of the veldt it is pollinated by gerbils who can nuzzle their whisker around in the flowered office which reek nothing near jasmine , but more like Clorox to me . But then again , I am no gerbil .
The second lightbulb I divvy up also come from South Africa , but it is not precisely rarified , just hard to find today . It ’s paring brush blossoms are common enough in most cool - grow greenhouse collecting , and this is one of those bulb plants which never goes dormant , with odd specimens often filling turgid bathing tub in one-time indoor garden collections . genus Haemanthus albiflosis worth seeking out if you are see for a uncompromising window sill house plant life , for this is one South African oddity which will prosper on neglect . I divided my mother works this twelvemonth , and now have dozens , which once I get a retail vista of my site up in the bounce , I will offer for sale if people are interested .
MyHaemanthus albiflosblooms every December like clockwork , carry dozens of bottlebrush blossom anytime between Thanksgiving and the third week of December . There are nicer and rarified Haemanthus species , but this by far is the easiest to grow .
The third light bulb I am sharing is indeed rare – Strumaria unguiculata , which is one of those flora which I can only assume is rare as when I Google it , my lightbulb photo ’s keep coming up each year . For three years I have only had one , simple leaf emerge each crepuscule , but this year , I have two . I live , not very exciting , but one of these years , this piffling known species in a genus which is even more rare may bloom for me . Until then , I grow my bulb in gumption , in a petite pot with a tiny folio or two , and wait .
The 4th bulb of this Christmas season is once again , my trust Cyrtanthus cross which is still a mystery to all of us . Purchased ten years ago at a rare bulb vendue at the annual confluence of the International Bulb Society at the Huntington Garden , this seedling from an Amaryllis stock breeder has bloomed for me ever year since . I do recognize that it is one one-half Cyrtanthus elatus , but the other half may always be a enigma . I could muster a guess and say that it was crossed with another Cyrtanthus perhaps one with a dangling bloom , but regardless , I adore this cross , and I have finally divided my works into a few dozen which I hope to start sharing next year . It always blooms for the Holidays for me , which is a squeamish fourth dimension for a cerise , great heyday . This division has three blossom stalk on it , and each flower is nearly 4 inch long .
WIth Thanksgiving over , it ’s meter for Paperwhites . Traditionally , I always recollect planting paperwhite narcissus with my mom on the weekend following Thanksgiving . I never fag out of the scent and the sound of the gravel being poured into ceramic bowls , pans and throne when the weather is cold out of doors . Like many plant life , especially at the Holidays , nostalgia factors into the use no matter how simple the works may be .
Lastly , Amaryllis . If one want flowers for Christmas or the New Year , bulbs of the earliest florescence varieties must be potted now . I endeavor to commence a few other , and then stagger bulbs throughout the wintertime . The finest miscellanea I feel are those which blossom in mid wintertime or in late winter – the wanderer flowered cybister form , and the newer hybrids . Still , a simple blood-red and ashen Amaryllis is charming , with large fertile bud emerging each wintertime , who could spend a twelvemonth without these annual treats ?
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