Hesperantha/SA climates and plants

At 04:53 PM 1/22/99 GMT, Tim Longville wrote:
>
>The spp concerned are all Heserpantha. Viz: Hh. backmannii, cucculata,
>erecta and falcata. What I most want to know is: which of these are
>summer-growing spp whose seed I need to sow in the spring and which
>(if any) are winter-growers whose seed I need to sow in the autumn?
>Any further tips (soil/compost? conditions required in cultivation?
>hardiness levels?) would be much appreciated. 

Hi Tim - 

How are you?

In 'Cape Bulbs', but Richard L. Doutt, it sez the following:

Hesperantha (Iridaceae)
   The Greek name Hesperantha means "evening flower".  Many of the
species have flowers that open all too breifly in the late afternoon.
Some of the are sweet scented and probably moth pollinated.  Flowers
of Hesperantha have a characteristic stigma divided into three long
branches seen at the mouth of a relatively long perianth tube.  The
corms are truncated.  Hesperantha is a rather large genus with about
60 species in Africa, of which at least 22 occur in the Cape region.
   Hesperantha bachmannii has white, fragrant flowers on 12 inch (30cm)
stalks.  It is widespread and fairly common in the Cape.  The flowers
become recurved when they open in the late afternoon.
   The flowers of Hesperantha cucullata and H. falcata are also white
but with red to brown on the reverse.  Hesperantha falcata is a common
species in the Cape, and it flowers open in the late afternoon and
close at dawn.  Hesperantha erecta, which particularly like sandy soil,
is more stingy with its white flowers, which open around noon and close
in later afternoon.
   (he then goes on about a couple of othe species)


Seems like all the species you have seed of are winter-growers.  He only
mentions germination of seed with Hesperantha vaginata, which he states
as being more difficult than the others (57 days for germination).  I
have heard this genus is relativelyt easy from seed, so perhaps you
won't have any problem with these.

It is often a real challenge to figure out which South African plants are
suitable for our mediterranean climate.  The western part of the country,
the Cape, is very similar and there are several species which adapt
easily.  The eastern part is winter dry and summer wet, and very much
sub-tropical - a very different situation.  I locally transplanted SA
native landscape designer has observed that it is many of the 'eastern
cape' plants (the area between the two afore mentioned climates, where
rain might come at any time of year, or not) that have become the
mainstays of the SA flora we grow ubiquitously.  Since these plants
need to adapt to situations that can change from year to year, or from
area to area, they also adapt well to a variety of garden situations!
Also, I note, that those species with a very wide distribution in SA,
perhaps across some of these climate zones, are also very adaptable to
garden culture.  Species with a limited area of endemism are, of course,
adapted to very specific niches whose criterion often must be carefully
met in order to be grown in gardens.

Good luck with your seed, Tim!
Regards,
Sean O.

Sean A. O'Hara                       sean.ohara@poboxes.com
h o r t u l u s   a p t u s          710 Jean Street
'a garden suited to its purpose'     Oakland, CA 94610-1459, U.S.A.
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