Last Updated 28/01/2004
Mainly Amaryllids Garden
PO
Box 173, Barnawartha, 3688, Victoria. Phone/Fax:
02-60267377.
Email: plants_man@bigpond.com
Brunsvigia cultivation tips.
Greetings. Brunsvigia has around 20 species* and these grow in all parts of Southern Africa and extend into Topical Africa. Species and varieties include winter and summer growing bulbs. The foliage can vary from dark or medium green, grey-green, wide, undulate, upright or prostrate. Very variable indeed! The flowers can be small, medium or large in umbrel size and many glowers go to make up the whole flower. They come in varying shades of white, pinks, reds, cerise and crimson.
Seeds usually form quite easily on this genus. The seeds are sown as soon as they are ripe and are fleshy in nature. I press them into a sandy medium and leave them alone, checking that the weeds have not grown over the small seedlings. These will be ready to plant into a permeant position in their third year and left alone until they flower.
There
is a great deal of work to do in the genus Brunsvigia. This is my small, but,
growing part. It is only through the continued help, of many like minded
enthusiasts, that a major part of my collection would not exist. Seeds
sources and other gardeners link here.
Brunsvigia species can vary greatly in size of bulbs and requirements in pot
size. The small bulbs of Brunsvigia comptonii need quite different cultivation
compared to the quite huge bulbs of Brunsvigia josephinae. Although the soils
used may be similar, the pot size is not. B. comptonii will grow quite nicely in
a 10" pot long term. Larger species like B. josephinae needs at least a
30" pot for long term growing.
In
most species, the bulb grows underground. Some species will like to grow with
1/2 or 2/3rds of the bulb growing above ground. When in doubt as to how deep to
plant the bulb, a good rule of thumb is plant the bulb higher instead of deeper.
Bulbs can grow down easier than upward. By
doing this, they will grow into the position that the bulbs want to.
Brunsvigia species require a very well drained soil, preferably a sandy medium. Here in our climate, I can sow Brunsvigia seeds straight into the ground with very good results. I use at least 60%sand in the medium to help it drain well. I tried using a heavier soil but the bulb rotted out in the dormant period (this heavier medium held to much moisture, when it rained on the pots, over the dormant period). Small species (B gregaria, B. comptonii, B Port Elizabeth form) are well suited to pot cultivation. The larger species (B. grandiflora, B. josephinae) as suited to the open garden and can become quite a spectacular sight in time.
Brunsvigia
species need to be planted and left in that position until they flower. These
bulbs resent moving from one location to another and can be set back 2 years
from flower if the move is too upsetting.
Be
sure to provide a large pot from the bigger species. The roots on this genus, as
in many other Amaryllids, are large and fleshy. Persistence of these roots will
mean flowering year after year.
I
have tried many different types of food for these gems. I found that a simple
feeding of finished or fully composted cow manure place on top of the medium to
do the trick nicely. This is done when the bulbs are first noticed initiating
for the growing season. I also place on a thin layer of straw on the medium.
This holds the thin amount of cow manure to the soil when watering. The straw
also helps in keeping frost at bay around the bulb on frosty mornings. It should
also help maintain soil temperature fluctuations too! All these things
contribute towards growing better Brunsvigia.
You
have the final say at just how your bulbs will be cultivated. Your garden, like
most, is specific in its needs and you have control over how the plants grow.
The more observations that you can make the better. This all goes towards a
better bloom next season. Also, these notes can apply to the Brunsvigia hybrids
that you can create crossing Amaryllis belladonna back to Brunsvigia. I grow my
Amaryllis belladonna the same way as I treat the Brunsvigia. If you have
anything to add to this, please contact me with your notes and we can compare.
Who knows what we learn? Learning together, with other like-minded bulb
enthusiasts, is what it is all about!
Happy
growing,
Dash.
*(Duncan/DuPleiss, Bulbous plants of Southern Africa)
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