As many of you know already , I am gaga about Lachenalia – the rarely grown South African bulb genus that make me jazz wintertime even more ( yeah , remember – I am a winter lover ! ) . They are quite growable , and I palpate that they are as easy as paperwhite narcissus , as long as you keep them cool , which for many of use of goods and services with old houses , is not that difficult in the wintertime . An icy , draughty windowsill that is gay in the winter can be their perfect location .
On this snow-clad day ( snowy weekend , in reality ) there are currently eight pots in bloom in the cold greenhouse , so I thought I might pick a few to share with you . It ’s easy to see that they are cousin of our common spring medulla oblongata , the hyacinth , but sadly , aside from a few , these have no fragrance .
By far the most commonly found Lachenalia for home growers are those classified under the species aloides . Lachenalia alpides have the showiest blossoms , some with three or four coloring material each , and others with only a single people of color ( like yellow in L. aloides ‘ nelsonii ’ ) . There is even a greenish teal colorize species with striking dark , stippled leafage , ( my specimen pot will bloom in a few more weeks ) . The terminus ‘ aloides ’ comes from Aloe , for the blossoms appear very aloe - like , not that they could ever be bedevil with the many aloe coinage which are also South African , these bulbs are humble get , with spot leaf and brilliant when in bloom .
Lachenalia are by no means new , and many of these same species were arise under glass in the 18th hundred after being introduced by ships returning from the Cape of Africa with one accounting list as 1652 ( the Dutch East Indian Company ) but the early account of flora being grown in England in 1752 . ( Lachenalia orchioides ) . In the United States , I have a book from 1805 which lists nearly a twelve species available for cold glass houses . For whatever rationality , the genus remains rare in the trade , but one can easily happen bulb ( and seed ) every autumn , with a simple Google lookup .
These are easy bulbs to get , the greatest challenge may just be come up some . I seem to send a Lachenalia mail a few times of year – seach this site for more articles , and look for bulb of any type in bulb catalog . Just remember – they are not hardy , mean that they can not freeze , so they are salutary as menage flora bulbs where winters are fierce . Grow them in commode in fast - draining soil , and plan on potting medulla in the belated summerif you last in the Second Earl of Guilford . Water them in before weather becomes cold , and work them indoors before hoar . plant life will start up growing shortly after , and can be grown quite well on stale windowsills , unwarmed porch that remain unfrozen , in cold , sunny greenhouses , or in the wintertime garden if you survive in California .
Bulbs can be lifted once they go hibernating in the give to avoid summertime wetness ( which they can not care ) or , if you are prosperous enough to have a greenhouse , allow the pots to go bone dry during their hibernating period , which hold up from June until other September . I exhort anyone take to go and try a pot of lachenalia next autumn , they are delicious , and they make winter oh so bearable .
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