Jacobean splendour

One of my favourite spring flowering bulbs is Sprekelia formosissima. This Mexican bulb of the Amaryllis family is best known as the Jacobean Lily, but is also called the Aztec Lily. Whatever name you choose, this plant looks best when planted as a group in a pot.

The Jacobean Lily in flower

The plants principal common name references the uncanny resemblance the blood red flowers have to the heraldic cross worn by the Spanish Catholic Order of St Jacob of Calatrava. This species has been in cultivation for a long time. It is listed growing (as Amaryllis formosissima) at the Botanic Gardens in Sydney in 1828.

The unassuming long-necked bulbs of Sprekelia formosissima

This bulb is easy to grow in warm temperate or sub tropical climes. The long-necked, drab looking, bulbs should be planted during winter, making sure that the necks stand proud of the potting mixture. Like ugly ducklings these hardy plants sprout attractive lily-like leaves in spring, soon followed by the flowering stem. While an easy plant to grow not all bulbs successfully bloom each year, so it is best to grow in groups. Of the three bulbs shown above only one had a flower. In Sydney these plants usually flower in early November.

Veltheimia

I noticed today that the flower buds on my Veltheimias were starting to stand proud, surely a sign that we have reached mid-winter the peak growing time for this little used garden plant. I first came across Veltheimia bracteata several years ago when working at historic Vaucluse House, where it was planted in dappled-shade on a gentle-sloping bank between a garden path and some camellias.

Veltheimia bracteata flowers about to 'blow'

The two species of Veltheimia come from South Africa and are named after a certain count of Veltheim (whoever he was).  A small growing bulb, the foliage grows to about 30cm tall, and the plant looks a little like Lachenalia or small Kniphofias. While easy to grow this plant requires good drainage and a half decent garden soil. While I have used them in gardens I find that Velthemia make great outdoor pot plants, and they look wonderful growing on my antique wire-work plant stand. When grown in a container use a good quality potting mix without water-holding crystals. Plants form a glossy rosette of leaves in early winter and they flower later in the season.  While most blooms are coral pink, some varieties have cream or yellow flowers. During summer the foliage dies down and I retire my pot to a dry and shady part of the garden during its dormancy. If planted in the soil the bulbs can be left in the ground as long as they don’t get too wet. The best time to transplant or divide is in autumn. Plants can be propagated from seed or offsets removed from the main bulb in late summer.

Veltheimias in full bloom 

Every garden should have a few unusual plants and this South African bulb is definitely worth trying, I promise you will be asked about it when it’s in bloom. While hardly a rare plant, Veltheimia can be sourced from specialist bulb nurseries such as Sue and Garry Reid's rare and speciality bulb nursery in northern Victoria. The Reids have a mail order service and can be contacted at 43 Wallace Road, Allans Flat, Victoria 3691 (tel 02: 6027 1514)

On the naming of plants (part 2)

Many gardeners enjoy plants simply for their individual form and beauty and don't care about knowing the botanical name. Sadly, I need to know all the names of the plants I grow, therefore I rely on plant labels to remind me of the common name as well as genus, species, and cultivar details. Despite my love of recording plant names I hate seeing plastic plant labels left on plants after they have been planted. These nursery tags not only look unsightly but in time cause damage when the plants grow around the wire attachment. So if we eschew the tags given to us by nurseries what kind of label should we use?

While this old style plant label is clear and
informative markers are worthless when
 they are placed next to the wrong plant

I love the detailed labels used in botanical gardens. In the past these labels were large and detailed as can be seen in the old label shown above. This easy to see marker is perfect for large trees and shrubs but was expensive to make. In recent times botanical institutions have preferred  cheaper and more discrete tags. While these smaller labels work well for garden staff they are frustratingly hard to see for garden visitors. Many a time I have traipsed over garden beds trying to find the name of a noteworthy plant.

A quirky way of identifying trees

Trees need good sized labels which identify the plant by its common and scientific name. If the label is not attached to the tree passers-by may be confused over what tree is being sign-posted. One quirky technique is to make the label into the the leaf shape of the intended tree.

For the home garden large labels are unnecessary and we can rely on more subtle methods. For shrubs and small trees I like to use aluminium or copper labels. These can be etched with the plant name by using a pencil. As long as the wire attachment is loose the label can stay on the tree for many years.

An attractive durable plant label made of slate

Usually gardeners know the names of the plants we commonly use but may simply need a reminder on correct spellings and variety names. Labels are essential for bulbs and herbaceous plants whose foliage dies down during its life cycle. For perennials and and small shrubs I often don't label the plant at all and rely on recording the location in a note book.

What's your preferred type of labelling?

Worsleya procera - a miricle in mauve

On the day of the news of the election of Francis as the new Roman Catholic pope a minor miracle took place place in my garden. For the first time in its ten year life my Worsleya decided to bloom. Worsleya procera is one of the rarest bulbs in the world and is notorious for its intermittent and unreliable flowering. Yesterday morning several mauve flower buds began to open on top of this long necked pot plant. Like a proud first-time father I have been telling all my happy news.

Worsleya procera in bloom

I first became aware of this plant in the 1990s during a visit to the wonderful Bronte House garden of Leo Schofield in Sydney. Schofield had been given two thirty year old specimens from a friend and had placed them in pots at the front door of his beautiful 19th century home. In his 2002 book The Garden at Bronte   Schofield goes into rapture on the joy he got from these rare plants: 'Everything about it is sensational, from the form and the ribbed leaves, to the glorious flowers in a colour best described as fluorescent mauve.'

Amarylis Rayneri (an early name for Worsleya procera)
W. Fitch illustration from Curtis' Botanical Magazine (1871)

This rare South American bulb is known around the world by several common names, including the Empress of Brazil, the Blue Hippeastrum and Rooster Tail. While once known in the past by several scientific names, this distinctive member of the Amaryllidaceae family is now formally known as Worsleya procera. The genus is named in honour of the English botanist Arthington Worsley, while the specific latin epithet refers to the unusually large neck of the bulb.

Botanists from around the world come to worship
the miraculous blooming of the Sydney Worsleya

The natural habitat of Worsleya is a 2 km wide area near the town of Petropolis in the Organ Mountains north of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It grows in narrow basalt rich crevices 750 metres above sea level. In cultivation these plants are slow growing but long lived. They are best grown in large pots, an environment that allows for good drainage and portability around the garden. While I purchased my plant from a plant fair, specimins can also be purchased from specialist bulb growers.