I am sure this is the plant I was given years ago by someone who brought it from their home in Romania, but had no idea what to give as i...Read Morets name. I always suspected it was a type of Amaryllis, and have never found anything else that resembles it so closely as this. Folliage is medium-dark green leaves, kind of rippled They are 2-3 feet long, but since they lay outward from around base of plant, forming a circle,they do not stand more than about 2 feet high- the flower stalk does stand straight up above them, perhaps to 3 feet. As many as 10 flowers may open from that stalk over time, and have a pleasant, light fragrance. Apparently if you keep snapping off spent flowers, it will make even more than it first 'planned' to- but then you won't get the seeds to grow more plants. The leaves of mine in zone 9b never all die completely back, although outer tips may freeze a bit now and then when it is unusually cold here. It is apparently deciduous in some areas- or at least some of the types are. Both leaves and flowers will sun burn if in a very hot area (it gets up to over 105ºF here now and then and one plant is in a narrow area about 6ft wide that gets some reflected heat- doesn't kill it, but it does ruin its beauty. Once established, they don't need a great deal of water. The bulbs get very large: 7-8 inches in diameter. They can be dug and separated although I would not bother them often, and try to disturb the parent bulb as little as possible- if possible, separated bulbs do best if planted immediately & not allowed to dry out as they have year-round roots, unlike some bulbs. The best time to lift and divide bulbs is when they are dormant. New plants can very easily be grown from the seed pods that form after flowering, which should be sown fresh- mine do it on their own often. Although it will take a couple of seasons before they bloom, they will still look nice in the garden with their foliage. They are a woodland bulb, native to South Africa, becoming rare in the wild there, and like dappled shade. Over there there seem to be 3 types which are found in different locales in S. Africa: a variety with medium pink colored flowers produced in September to October, a white suffused with pink flowers in late December, or one with white flowers produced in November. Keep in mind they are southern hemisphere, so seasons reversed. I have the white with the faintest pink blush which is actually blooming now where I live. In my opinion they are very easy to grow, not the least fussy, and a lovely plant with no draw backs, except I have read that ingesting parts of them may give an upset stomach. They actually are used medicinally in S. Africa for some things; I have not read what part of them or just how, but the sort of alkaloids in the bulbs are highly toxic if ingested in quantity- wouldn't want a dog to chew or play with one, I am sure. I hope this information helps some of you to easily raise more of these lovely bulbs and share them so they are not lost- I have given several to friends, family and neighbors. I pop all seeds into transplanting pots and let them grow in an out of the way area until I choose someone to give them to.
I am sure this is the plant I was given years ago by someone who brought it from their home in Romania, but had no idea what to give as i...Read More
All parts are poisonous