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Re: Bulbine fruticosa

At 06:48 PM 4/25/98 GMT, 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.

Hi David - 

These succulents are easy in our area.  The cuttings root quickly
merely stuck into a loose, wel-drained mix (though they will also take
a heavier, clayish soil).  I used them in last year's SF Garden show,
merely stuck into the decomposed granite used to hide the pots of
other plants - they rooted and flowered profusely during the entire
show!!  After a couple of seasons, they usually need to be replanted,
dieing out in the center showing lots of 'woody', bare stems.  Then
they are off again, growing quickly and blooming well all year.  The
growth pattern in like a slender, delicate Aloe, running along the
soil surface, rooting if touching the ground or in mulch.

There are the following varieties in our area:

The 'yellow' form is the most vigorous, covering a number of sq. feet
in a season if in optimal conditions.  The leaves are bright green to
yellow green.  Flowering is havy in spring, with 'waves' later.  Seed
is often produced copiously, and a fair bit of sprouting occurs for
me.

The 'orange' is a cultivar called 'Hallmark'.  It is slightly less
vigorous, and the foliage often becomes a little 'bronzy' in color.

I also know of another yellow form which has more glaucous leaves
the the common type.  It also seems like it might be a bit more
floriferous, though my testing on this trait is perhaps not complete.

I have growing various other forms with other colored flowers (white,
cream, bicolored yellow/orange, white/bronze, white/yellow, white/orange,
etc.) but all of these seem to be less hardy and tend to die out after
a time.  Could be that they need to be 're-struck' more frequently than
the yellow form, but they are also not as 'strong' in general.  I am
currently testing a bicolored yellow/orange form which was a sport off
of 'Hallmark' - maybe I'll have something to report on that later.  If
anyone knows of strong growing forms in different flower/foliage
colors, please let me know!

 Sean A. O'Hara                     sean.ohara@ucop.edu
 710 Jean Street                    (510) 987-0577
 Oakland, California 94610-1459     h o r t u l u s   a p t u s
 U.S.A.                             'a garden suited to its purpose'
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