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Re: Bulbine fruticosa

David in one of my books I've found Bulbine frutescens (syn. B. caulescens)
which sounds like your plant.
It's described as a "fibrous-rooted subshrub" which forms spreading clumps
30cm  high.  Leaves are 15cm long, succulent, cylindrical, hollow, glaucus.
It flowers in spring, summer and autumn on 45cm spikes, and flowers are
orange, yellow, and sometimes white.  Zones 9-11.
There is a general note for cultivation of Bulbine sp. - they like full sun,
with well-drained, gritty soil. Water well during the growing season but
after flowering let them dry off.  Most species tolerate only light frosts.
In the wild they usually flower after rain.

Mary

-----Original Message-----
From: David Poole <dave-poole@ilsham.demon.co.uk>
To: medit-plants@ucdavis.edu <medit-plants@ucdavis.edu>
Date: Sunday, April 26, 1998 3:56 AM
Subject: Bulbine fruticosa


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.

TIA

David Poole
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