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Haemanthus sanguineus -anyone growing this bulb?


Tracy

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I found this plant growing at the San Diego Botanical Gardens and was fascinated by the large leathery leaves.  When I looked up the species name the leaves didn't seem to match although I think it is the correct genus.  Anyone growing these bulbs or another species within the Haemanthus genus?  If so please share photos and your experience.  I'm interested in trying this plant, but the next task will be finding out where to get them.

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33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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No, but it's weird and, being that I love to grow weird things, I think I NEED to grow it now. :lol: Have you looked up photos of the flower?:yay:

Naples (inland), FL - technically 10a but more like 9b in the winter :hmm:

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Tracy, i think they might have the species labeled wrong.. Look up pictures of H. coccineus compared to sanguineus..( African Plants, a Photo Guide ) Quite distinct foliage between the two.

As for growing, been on a multi-year quest myself to find these for sale. Thought there was a nursery in your area ..maybe Oceanside? that specialized in South African Bulbs. Maybe he closed??  Might also contact Huntington, think they've offered starts off a couple sp. there in the past.  / SilverHill Seeds in South Africa. 

Supposedly, from what i have read.. Winter-growing sp. ( approx 15 sp.) can take some sun, while evergreen and summer growing sp.( 2 and 6 sp., approx.) want more partial shade. Also, once in the ground, don't disturb them if you want flowers (like Amaryllis belladonna, Scadoxus, and Clivia Lilies)

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5 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

i think they might have the species labeled wrong.. Look up pictures of H. coccineus compared to sanguineus..( African Plants, a Photo Guide ) Quite distinct foliage between the two.

Yes, I had looked up after I got home, but ran with the name on their label just because it was so prominent in the only photo I took of it.  This grouping of bulbs was in a mid-afternoon sunny spot but I don't recall what else was around it as far as how much sun it would get in the am's and later afternoons.  This is something I like for the foliage, so flowers during the off season would just be a bonus!  From what I could tell there are several subspecies of Haemanthus coccineus.

33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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24 minutes ago, Tracy said:

Yes, I had looked up after I got home, but ran with the name on their label just because it was so prominent in the only photo I took of it.  This grouping of bulbs was in a mid-afternoon sunny spot but I don't recall what else was around it as far as how much sun it would get in the am's and later afternoons.  This is something I like for the foliage, so flowers during the off season would just be a bonus!  From what I could tell there are several subspecies of Haemanthus coccineus.

I hear ya,  same thing  has happened to me when jotting down names on labels at Desert Botanical, or the ASDM only to see that something might have got miss labeled when doing further research later.. Agree, really like the look of the foliage also.. Remember first seeing pictures of the species from the Huntington.. Think the L.A. Arboretum has these in their collection as well.. or did?  Will have to look into that more, anyhow.. 

Think H. coccineus has different forms, and / or ..possibly some cultivated forms? as well..  H canaliculatus, H. crispus, and H. pubescens look pretty cool also, if they can be tracked down.. Flowers remind me of Torch Gingers (Etlingera sp.) Wonder how they'd hold up when put in a Vase.

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I grow a couple of haemanthus albiflos. They are in a shady spot under an African Wild Olive tree alongside some clivias. They get morning sun. Mine don’t go completely dormant in winter although it starts to look tatty and torn. It flowers and produces new leaves in Autumn and then later the red fleshy seeds. The picture is what it looks like now in mid summer. 

They occur wild in the Eastern coastal belt of South Africa, but do quite well for me in Bloemfontein in the arid interior. 

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The Ox Tongue Lily ( Haemanthus Coccineus is a South African bulb from the Mediterranean climate zone. My mother grows them near Sydney, NSW and while not an ideal climate with its summer bias rainfall, the seem to do OK. The parent bulbs are 100 years old, having been grown by my great grandmother and passed on down through the family generations. I have tried to grow them in Darwin but my climate is a Zone ( or 3 ) too far from their natural habitat.. In southern parts of Australia they flower in March before the two large strap leaves ( up to 4' long ) appear.

http://www.strangewonderfulthings.com/254.htm?fbclid=IwAR3Sy1CU_994MSSuwBrnCD_M7wN5jvxahfl9Sx-XIbB1Ue4f-wsdRqAeXQI

The related plant ( Scadoxus Multiflorus ) or common name  Blood Lily is a great bulb for tropical and sub tropical regions. Fairly common in Darwin gardens.

 

 

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I agree, the sanguineus ID is incorrect. I grow almost every species in the genus and these are undoubtedly H. coccineus, a variable species inhabiting a huge range of climates in South Africa from Port Elizabeth to Namaqualand (most species have a more restricted range).

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11 hours ago, Morabeza said:

I agree, the sanguineus ID is incorrect. I grow almost every species in the genus and these are undoubtedly H. coccineus, a variable species inhabiting a huge range of climates in South Africa from Port Elizabeth to Namaqualand (most species have a more restricted range).

Interesting.... you manage to grow H coccineus in your climate ?  Does the modest altitude help ? I would love to try them in my tropical lowland climate, my one previous attempt I was younger and consequently dumber at the nuances of drainage, soil types and sun exposure, and my trial failed with the bulbs rotting during the Wet season. I have plenty of bulbs at my mother's place, but don't want to waste them as such. Climatic extremes at Camden NSW last year of 45c ( 113f ) to -4.9c ( 23.2f ) did not bother them.

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On 1/10/2019 at 2:52 PM, greysrigging said:

Interesting.... you manage to grow H coccineus in your climate ?  Does the modest altitude help ? I would love to try them in my tropical lowland climate, my one previous attempt I was younger and consequently dumber at the nuances of drainage, soil types and sun exposure, and my trial failed with the bulbs rotting during the Wet season. I have plenty of bulbs at my mother's place, but don't want to waste them as such. Climatic extremes at Camden NSW last year of 45c ( 113f ) to -4.9c ( 23.2f ) did not bother them.

628m asl may not seem like much in the way of a cooler climate but here we're surrounded by deep ocean waters that are much cooler than of what surround most tropical islands, this plus the relatively high latitude means that 600m is more like 1600m in Ecuador (ideal for Dictyocaryum!) This altitude doubles as a semi-Mediterranean (subtropical) analogue (temperatures only, not rainfall or humidity), sort of like Auckland but with much more rain and a degree or so warmer (C). I grow most of them under cover out of the rain, but some summer rainfall species can actually bear the rain given full sun exposure and entirely inorganic (pure cinder or pumice) growing media.

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks to a tip from Nathan ( Silas_Sancona  ), I was able to find some bulbs online.  I just got them in and planted them.  I'm trying 4 different species of Haemanthus: pauculifolius, deformis, coccinius and unifoliatus.  I decided to start with them all in pots for now.  Depending on how successful I am over the next year, I will then assess for putting some in the ground.  I'm looking forward to watching these grow!

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33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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:greenthumb: 

Nice starter sized specimens they sent too!   Will be watching to see how they perform for you also. 

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My friend's favorite story is how she stuck a broken off Haemanthus flower stalk into a pot and it started to grow.  Here's a pic I recently took of her Sxadoxus puniceous...

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Oh, now that I'm thinking about it, I think you met her at Sunset Valley Orchids.  She has quite a few different Haemanthus and Sxadoxus, I'm sure that she'd be happy to share some with you.  

Last fall we tried crossing Scadoxus membranaceus and multiflorus.  We got three seeds, mine has put out a root but no shoot yet.  It might not be a cross though since it was hard to avoid accidentally self-pollinating the flower.  

I've been growing a Scadoxus membranaceus epiphytically for quite a while.  It was a seedling when I attached it to the mount, and it's still pretty much the same size.  The seedling that I potted is much larger.  

So far the best bulb for growing epiphytically is the pregnant onion.  But it's not like I've tried to grow many bulbs epiphytically.  

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  • 9 months later...
On 2/24/2019 at 8:25 AM, Silas_Sancona said:

Will be watching to see how they perform for you also.

Haemanthus unifoliatus in the orange pot and a coccineus in the adjacent black pot after about 9 months.

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33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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1 minute ago, Tracy said:

Haemanthus unifoliatus in the orange pot and a coccineus in the adjacent black pot after about 9 months.

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Nice!,  Was about to shoot you a PM to see how these were doing..

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In the light blue pot a pair of Haemanthus pauculifolius, while the ones planted as solitary plants are Haemanthus deformis.  These are the plants I posted above that I got in February.  All have survived and seem to have gotten a little bigger.

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33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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My weekend trip to the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park and seeing these in bloom prompted me to take photos of my own plants.  I'm still a ways off from having a colony like the ones they have there but I certainly enjoyed seeing them in bloom.

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33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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  • 1 month later...
On 12/4/2019 at 5:03 PM, Tracy said:

Haemanthus deformis.

 

On 12/4/2019 at 5:03 PM, Tracy said:

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No flowers but good growth on the H. deformis.  What appeared to be lips opening above was new leaves emerging and it is still retaining the old leaflets.  Hopefully I'm getting closer to flowering age with these!

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33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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  • 11 months later...
On 2/24/2019 at 7:51 AM, Tracy said:

decided to start with them all in pots for now.  Depending on how successful I am over the next year, I will then assess for putting some in the ground.  I'm looking forward to watching these grow!

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23 months since I planted this Haemanthus deformis and I'm wondering if it is getting close to flowering size.  As you can see, there is something that appears to be pushing up in the middle of the new leaves that are emerging.  This species holds the leaves for me through it's dormancy period of summer so the two largest leaves were from last year's active growing season.

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33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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  • 10 months later...
On 2/24/2019 at 7:51 AM, Tracy said:

I'm trying 4 different species of Haemanthus: pauculifolius, deformis, coccinius and unifoliatus.  I decided to start with them all in pots for now.  Depending on how successful I am over the next year, I will then assess for putting some in the ground.  I'm looking forward to watching these grow!

20190223-104A2552.jpg

 

It is about 2 months shy of 3 years since I acquired these original bulbs and I'm just now getting my first bloom.  This is on one of the Haemanthus deformis.  The blossom isn't fully opened yet, but this is a progression of 4 days.  I transplanted this and the other H deformis a couple of months ago into flatter containers.  Our puppy had done some damage to the leaves prior to transplanting... the joys of a puppy.

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33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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  • 3 months later...

I have to thank a friend that came by and suggested that I plant the Haemanthus deformis into a larger flat pot to give it room to stretch.  Even though each bulb only holds two leaves, I like their look: big round and flat.  It makes for a nice container plant.  While other species go dormant for periods with no foliage, this species is always holding some leaves.

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33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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  • 1 year later...
On 12/4/2019 at 5:03 PM, Tracy said:

In the light blue pot a pair of Haemanthus pauculifolius, while the ones planted as solitary plants are Haemanthus deformis.  These are the plants I posted above that I got in February.  All have survived and seem to have gotten a little bigger.

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I received the bulbs of Haemanthus pauculifolius back in February 2019 and planted them in this pot.  While the bulbs have multiplied over the intervening years, this January 2024 is the first blossoms I have had on them.  I have had the pot in this same spot in the garden for the last couple of years, so it was unlikely a change in lighting that triggered the flowers, so I'm not really sure if they were just this slow to mature to blooming size or if it was something else lacking in the prior years.

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33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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