Does anyone here grow Bulbine frutescens? I know it's winter hardy in
milder areas, but how about the London suburbs, or further north? I don't
have a proper greenhouse, but share an upright mini-greenhouse with my cat,
Cheetah. I'm sure she'd let me put a couple of plants in (!), but it's
really little more than an upright coldframe, so perhaps not cosy enough.
I've read that it's hardy to 5deg C, but would really appreciate some
anecdotal info from more experienced growers.

I'd love to plant it permanently in the garden (bee's love it), but I don't
want to lose it. Is it easy to propagate, so I can produce little
'insurance policies' and pressies for friends?

With thanks .. and fingers crossed :~)

Spider

As a hardy S. African plant, it ought to cope with London [which is generally warmer than the country]. What it won't like is constant wet. Make sure it is very well drained.

Apparently several people grow both the orange and yellow forms with
considerable success in London and I know it is being grown in at
least one Essex garden. Very, very sharp drainage is the key to
keeping it going. All the plants that I know of are grown amongst
hardy cacti and succulents in prepared beds. Pile plenty of coarse
grit on and around the rhizomes so that if the main shoots are killed
by frosts, new growth can arise from the protected parts of the
stems. Bulbine can grow very quickly and a few, sparsely rooted
pieces become a sizeable flowering clump in just a few months. Here
on the south coast, it can become somewhat unruly, developing into a
sprawling mass after a year or two. I found the lifting and dividing
into small pieces every spring kept it under control.

Oh I forgot to mention that it is very easily propped by taking
sections of rhizome with a growth or two and pushing them into some
coarse grit. Quite often Bulbine obliges by producing roots along the
rhizomes, so all you need to do is plant 'Irish cuttings' in situ.
It's a bit late for all of this now though, so keep your plant frost
free until next spring and then you can pull it to bits!

"Dave Poole" wrote in message
...
Oh I forgot to mention that it is very easily propped by taking
sections of rhizome with a growth or two and pushing them into some
coarse grit. Quite often Bulbine obliges by producing roots along the
rhizomes, so all you need to do is plant 'Irish cuttings' in situ.
It's a bit late for all of this now though, so keep your plant frost
free until next spring and then you can pull it to bits!


Thanks, Dave. That is really helpful! I shall probably keep them both (one
yellow and one orange form) in my chilly garden room, then, with a min/max
thermometer. I've got a fan heater with a frost setting on it for really
icy days.

Thanks also for the prop advice. I've looked at my plants again and can see
that one already has two strong roots anchoring the lower stem above the
rhizome to the soil layer in its pot. Most encouraging :~) Can't wait
for spring now!

Thanks once again for great advice.
Spider

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 1 Oct 2008 13:35:34 +0100, "Spider" wrote:

Does anyone here grow Bulbine frutescens? I know it's winter hardy in
milder areas, but how about the London suburbs, or further north? I don't
have a proper greenhouse, but share an upright mini-greenhouse with my
cat,
Cheetah. I'm sure she'd let me put a couple of plants in (!), but it's
really little more than an upright coldframe, so perhaps not cosy enough.
I've read that it's hardy to 5deg C, but would really appreciate some
anecdotal info from more experienced growers.

I'd love to plant it permanently in the garden (bee's love it), but I
don't
want to lose it. Is it easy to propagate, so I can produce little
'insurance policies' and pressies for friends?

With thanks .. and fingers crossed :~)

Spider

I don't actually grow them myself, but B. frutescens (aka B.
caulescens) is a S. African bulbous plant with a tuberous fleshy root,
which allows it to cope with long periods of drought. My books on SA
plants say that most bulbine species tolerate cold winters although
the foliage may die back, but I suspect that's cold and dry rather
than cold and wet.

As you say, it's easy to propagate, so plant it outside in a sheltered
dry spot and take a few cuttings for insurance.

--

Chris

Gardening in West Cornwall overlooking the sea.
Mild, but very exposed to salt gales

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net



Thanks Chris. I shall certainly nurse it through this winter indoors but,
come spring, will start spreading cuttings in well-drained spots around the
garden. I'm on heavy London clay, but have a number of raised beds where I
can experiment with drainage and even shelter from direct rain, as one
raised bed is partly in a rain shadow.

My only other concern is slugs and snails, which have decimated my garden
this year. We've had a plague of them, but especially slugs. UGH! {:~(

Thanks,
Spider

On Oct 2, 6:05 pm, Chris Hogg wrote:

I don't actually grow them myself, but B. frutescens (aka B.
caulescens) is a S. African bulbous plant with a tuberous fleshy root,
which allows it to cope with long periods of drought.

Hmm. Well I have grown it on several occasions and will do again once
I can clear away some shade-causing plants which have dramatically
reduced sunny spots in the garden :| It is not a true bulbous plant
nor are the roots tuberous. When it enters drought induced dormancy,
the terminal growths can become somewhat thickened, but to classify
them as bulbs is stretching terminology somewhat. As a garden (or
greenhouse) plant, this Bulbine usually remains evergreen and is a
sprawling, semi-succulent with eventually woody, creeping,
adventitiously rooting rhizomes at or just below the soil surface.

"Dave Poole" wrote in message
...
On Oct 2, 6:05 pm, Chris Hogg wrote:

I don't actually grow them myself, but B. frutescens (aka B.
caulescens) is a S. African bulbous plant with a tuberous fleshy root,
which allows it to cope with long periods of drought.

Hmm. Well I have grown it on several occasions and will do again once
I can clear away some shade-causing plants which have dramatically
reduced sunny spots in the garden :| It is not a true bulbous plant
nor are the roots tuberous. When it enters drought induced dormancy,
the terminal growths can become somewhat thickened, but to classify
them as bulbs is stretching terminology somewhat. As a garden (or
greenhouse) plant, this Bulbine usually remains evergreen and is a
sprawling, semi-succulent with eventually woody, creeping,
adventitiously rooting rhizomes at or just below the soil surface.



Thanks for adding this, Dave. It's really interesting. Since I'm keeping
mine indoors for now, I think I'll pot it on into a trough in the hope that
it will layer itself by spring. I know it will slow down a bit soon, but
the current soil looks too heavy and is a bit mossy, so some improvement is
called for. It will better support the leaning and top- heavy growth, too.
I'll be very interested to see what the roots are doing.
Thanks.
Spider