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Re: Bulbine fruticosa

David Poole wrote:
> 
> I've just returned from my favourite nursery clutching yet another
> boxful of 'goodies'.  Amongst the things that caught my eye today were
> plants of Bulbine fruticosa.  I know that it is a South African member
> of the Liliaceae and slightly close to Ornithogalum, but that's where
> I come to a full stop.
> 
> It has succulent, slightly  flattened, 6" long rush like leaves and
> appears to be a mat forming plant, the stems rooting as they go.  The
> very slender flower spikes are terminal, causing the stem to branch
> after they have appeared and the small, crowded flowers are a pleasing
> shade of yellowish orange.
> 
> I'm told that it very easy in an unheated greenhouse and flowers more
> or less continuously throughout the year.  However, I'm not sure
> exactly how frost tender it is and whether it is best placed in light
> shade or full sun, out of doors. Our minimum winter temperatures
> roughly correspond with USDA Zone 9b - 10.  The glaucous colour and
> succulence of the leaves and stems as well as the coarseness of the
> few roots, suggest a well-drained soil in full sun, but some South
> Africans confound by requiring the opposite of what might appear to be
> obvious.   Can anyone 'fill me in' on this together with its
> approximate range of habitat.

 David 
Bulbines, as you correctly say, are South African liliaceous plants.
They are closely allied to the better-known and generally more
garden-worthy Bulbinellas (a few of which are native to Australia and
New Zealand as well as SA). 

In your climate zone there should be no need at all to grow any of the
members of these two genera indoors.

What they do need is typically Mediterranean conditions with winter rain
and a really dry period in late summer. They also need full sun and a
light  somewhat sandy soil. 

Having said all that, I really wonder if your Bulbine fruticosa is
properly named. I cannot find the name in any of my reference books, and 
the epithet "fruticosa" (meaning shrubby) seems quite out of place for
plants in this group.

Fromm your description it sounds quite like one of the NZ species of
Bulbinella, either B hookeri or B angustifolia (more probably the
former, as your description suggests the leaves are quite wide). Either
of these would be cast-iron hardy with you, as they come from montain
and low alpine areas of our South Island  between 1000 and 1500
metres(Say 3 and 5 thousand feet)

Even the South African species are pretty hardy. I can grow them easily
in my garden and my zone is about 8. I had Bulbinella nutans (a large
showy S African species) in my garden for many years.

Moira
-- 
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Both Retired. Moira - botanist/horticulturist; Tony - "Jack of all 
Trades" and computer programmer.
Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
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