Albuca Species, Pregnant Onion, German Onion, Onion Lily, Snake Flower

Great plant for little care. Provide potting soil, and leave it out on my patio year round. No special care. Gets watered when other pati...Read Moreo plants get watered. Winters here in southern Louisiana are mild so it stays on patio all year round. Produces a pleasant flower stalk and lots of little bulbs. Baby bulbs grow quickly when transplanted. I like this plant.

This has to be one of the easiest of all the 'succulent' plants there are to grow in my climate (southern California). I got one many ye...Read Morears ago and somehow it has spread to every single planter box and many many pots all on its own. It is incredibly drought tolerant, but extremely tolerant of wet, sloggy soil conditions as well. I have been unable to kill this plant, and I am pretty hard on plants. A 1cm baby becomes a flowering adult in less than a year, and then more babies... I still don't understand how they jump from one planter box to the next, though... probably is making seed, too, that I don't notice and that is making its way around the yard. At least, for a weed, it is a very easy one to pull out of the ground.

My grandfather had a bunch of these growing in a pot and I thought they looked interesting. He gave me about 5-6 little baby bulbs off hi...Read Mores and I put them at the top of soil in a pot that was about 12-14 inches across and maybe 8 inches deep. I figured since it produced babies so easily, I wanted room for them to grow. My grandfather gave them to me spring or summer 2010, and they've been in the pot since then. They survived 110 degree heat last summer with very little attention or watering given to them. They also made it through the so. California winter with very little attention or watering. I water them when I remember, which is maybe once a month or less. They just continue to grow. I have never had a flower as of yet, but I read in some posts that it flowers once root bound, which will probably take a long time considering the size of the pot I put it in. I am considering taking some and putting them in a hanging pot with water reservoir as recommended earlier in these posts. It will be interesting to see how much better they can do that way.

As of August 2011, I have my first bloom on this plant, and there are some seed pods that I will be saving. Yay!

I had one of these I was starting and suddenly the leaves were eaten off or rotted off at ground level. I'm still watering it and hope i...Read Moret comes back, but would love to get some more to start if someone that has plenty would share. Thanks!

My plant was my GRANDMOTHERS and I am 64. Her plant came from Poland When I was a child it lived in the bathroom Don't know why When ...Read Morewe moved 13 years ago, it went on my laini and bloomed for the first time ever I bring all my plants in To spell the family name we called it I will do so by sounding it out We called it a
MOTZ ZATT ZIBBLE All the people we have given babies to have named the mother plants, we have Motzie, Willerd, Fred, Snotty and Bulb L head. When we were kids and got a sliver or bug bite, Mom would cut off a piece of leaf, chop it up getting it slimy and put it on the injury covering it with a band aid Half to an hour later, itching like crazy, the sliver was usually closer to the surface or gone and the bug bite on the way out. Part of this plant resides in Plainfield Illinois, Inverness, Crystal River and Homosassa Fl, , Oklahoma City, Findley Ohio, Madison Maine and Milton Ky and more. We love Motzie!

I grew up with this plant but only knew it from it's
German name. My mother's plant was originally from my great great grandmothe...Read Morers and came over with her from Germany. Also
Mom would use the leaves on cuts and burns.

I just recently received one of these as an impulse buy from one of our favorite local plant dealers, the Cactus Man. He had a few small ...Read Moreones, about 1-2 inches in diameter, and I just couldn't resist it. He did show us one that was much larger, but it didn't have any flowers. That was a pleasant surprise to discover! I'm really looking forward to watching this guy grow and get large, it seems like such an interesting plant! Glad I found all of this info, too, because I had already been watering it incorrectly! Will start watering from the bottom the next time it shrivels up on me! :)

I've had this plant in New Mexico for almost forty years. Quite by accident, I discovered that if I planted it in a hanging pot with a re...Read Moreservoir base that's filled from the bottom rather than top-watered, it went crazy: leaves six feet long, flower stems seven feet long. (The delicate white flowers smell like Johnson's Baby Powder.) It grows so happily I have to divide it annually or I'd be crowded out of the house.

Its present pot (plastic) has three hollow legs that extend down into the reservoir water: this means that water is constantly available, but the bulk of its roots remain above water. When I repot I find the hollow legs have become a solid mass of roots, whereas the earth and upper roots stay only very moderately moist. For those of you who have plants that are slow growing, "dull," or seem hardly to grow at all, try a reservoir pot. (Then stand back.) With this "only toes in the water" approach, my plant--hung in the shade on a patio in the summer--goes through almost a liter of water a day, puts out a waterfall of dark green leaves and three or four of those astonishing flower stalks. In winter it hangs in an east window, wants far less water (I fill the reservoir about once a week) but never stops blooming. I do fertilize it (when I remember to) with some ordinary house-plant liquid fertilizer. I have it in ordinary potting soil, whatever's cheapest.

About the flowers: They must e pollinated by some local insect, because indoor blooms won't produce seed, whereas outdoor ones always do. In fact, if the plant is blooming when I bring it indoors in the fall, seed formation will stop precisely at the place on the stalk where blossoms were unopened!

I've never had a problem with skin irritation. The plant is utterly unkillable unless it freezes, when it will deliquesce. The only issue I've had with it is that when it splits and offshoots, the roots are very entwined and impossible to separate; I end up simply slicing the root ball vertically, which does mean temporary trauma to the plants. They always recover, though they may lose a layer or two.

It will have billions of babies, glamorous foliage, and an amazing long flower stalk that will astonish the postman...IF you put it in a reservoir pot rather than leaving it to languish in dry terracotta!

I bought a pregnant onion plant ir has 3 babies.. I love it. Do I take the babies off the mother plant? or wait till they fall off?the ba...Read Morebies dont have leaves yet. thank you from north carolina.

I didn't realize that this plant was not that well know. My father-in-law gave me several ,probably, 35 yrs. ago. I have kept them and g...Read Moreiven my children and lots of friends and others some and still have some left but haven't done much with them and they are pretty small now but still multiplying..I do put them in the greenhouse in the winter because they are in a pot.

I love this plant! This amazing plant from africa is just beautiful. Here in Montana I have it in a West facing window and it has grown ...Read Moreto be 6 in in diameter in 7 years, it was slightly smaller that a golf ball when I recieved it as a gift.
I tried putting it outside during the summer and it went into shock and lost about 1/2 an inch in diameter. It has produced over 100 babies in 7 years ( there are some picture I uploaded) and produces a flower stalk about every 6 weeks. I have propagated over 80 offspring off of the mother and 100's off of her offspring. I water every for days and soak the 14" pot with 1/2 of a gallon of water. The babies are easy to propagate if they are kept in a moist environment. I haven't experienced any rash but since this plant is a lily, ingesting any part of the plant can result in heart, liver, or kidney failure.
But don't let that deter you. I would love to share with another plant enthusiest!

When I got this, it was actually two bulbs connected together at the root ball with a few babies clinging to them. I repotted them as ...Read Morethe pot they were in was much to small. The root ball was so tightly twisted I was afraid to seperate the bulbs for fear of tearing apart and damaging to many roots, so I just planted them as is in a larger pot and will hope they can untangle themselves in time. Very excited to see how they grow I have read so much about pregnant onion on this website ! Will post new experiances as they occur.

I started out with 2 small bulbs & now I have 2 large pots of them. I'm thinking of repotting one of them in a hanging basket as the lea...Read Moreves tend to turn brown once they hit the ground. Recently, I trimmed one of the leaves & the juices of it got on my arm, causing a rash. It's not severe, but it feels like a giant mosquito bite. Apparently I'm allergic to it.
I still feel no malice towards this plant however. The blooms are gorgeous & it feels great to have exotic plants. As a gardener I am very happy to have this plant, but I just have to be more careful.

I was surprised to discover that the flowers have a light, sweet fragrance in late afternoon.

Amusingly, I found a pregnant onion for sale for $1.00 at Lowes the day my daughter found out she was pregnant. I had never heard of a pr...Read Moreegnant onion before. At the time the leaves were only about 6 inches long and skinny. My daughter's baby is due in 3 weeks, the onion has already put out 2 babies, bloomed it's beautiful blossom on it's 2.5 foot spike, and the leaves are18-25 inches long. The information tag that came with the onion said it was from Africa. I love it no matter where it originated.

I was given this and told it was a Ponytail plant but I had a ponytail already and knew it was not a ponytail. Have been searching for ...Read Moreover a year for the name - meanwhile, was told to let it dry and water "just a little" - have also seen overwatering as a no no, BUT when I was watering just a bit, the leaves browned and almost died, so I moved it to my kitchen window - morning sun - and when I take my meds - which is 2 times a day - it gets a little drink BOTH times. It is now a huge beautiful, healthy plant with a very large "teenager" and 2 smaller babies. Since I had no idea of what it was, I just did what ever made it grow and a drink 2 times a day seems to work.

mah00c
News Update: Have 3 babies and mother plant is going to bloom!!! It is just 3 years old!!

Love this plant. Bought it at home depot, where it was so shriveled it didn't even look like it had a bulb. brought it home and it perk...Read Moreed up after a couple of days and a good soaking. Now the bulb is almost three inches across and producing lots of babies.

This thread contains plenty of info on the pregnant onion already. I just want to say pass on the babies(this can be a fun activity, and ...Read Morethey make perfect presents), and visit the Graptopetalum paraguayense page. This plant makes babies also, and is a very cool plant.

I have only been keeper of this unusual plant for two months. I didn't realize it even bloomed until it decided to do so 6 days ago. Bu...Read Moret for some reason the leaves have been looking poorly since the bloom stem started, is this normal? It looks terrible.
I have also noticed that it starts to get mushy but if I give it water it fills out again, is this normal?
It seems to do better out of the east sun on the balcony (where it resides). Floridas' sun may be just too hot for it.
?Am I supposed to put pebbles on the surface of the dirt? I noticed most of the pictures of this plant on this site have pebbles on the surface.
I noticed that the juices from it seem like an alloe plant and I don't seem to be allergic to it - thank goodness.

I got mine years back from a famous old estate.
Mine's "mother" is well over 100 years old.
Interesting plant :-)

I have no idea how I got this plant, and came to DG to find out what it was. It is one of the most carefree and attractive foliage plants...Read More I have ever owned. I'll be giving some babies to my kids soon, and I know I don't have to worry about them killing it!

I found this plant by accident at a plant sale. I would like information on how to keep it going, so far mine is doing great and I'm just...Read More facinated to watch it grow.It does some of the most interesting things, like one shoot growing through another like threading. GREAT , love it.

I've had one or 2 for about 5 years. Mine has even bloomed and when I looked in a flower Encyclopedia it said it was a Jersuleum Star pla...Read Morent.
I have approx 8 babys growing right now also.

Lavina

I have had a few of these growing for several years. Every year I bring it in for the winter and put it outside again in early spring. <...Read Morebr />
This year it got put on a shelf for the winter, and was totaly forgotten. I would say I didnt water it for a good 6 months maybe more. When I finaly did go look at it , it was a shrivled up mess. I put it outside to let the rains take care of it...3 weeks later she is bigger and healthier than I have ever seen her.... its obvious to me that these guys like to have long dry periods...

Chris

One of the few plants in the yard I do not like so much, only because it's leaves die off so easily and it becomes messy. Two neglected ...Read Morepots must have trillions of babies them!

This plant is great as a houseplant, even in Wisconsin. Mine have some strange brown growths on the leaves. When I remove them they have...Read More a white powder on the inside. I can't tell if they are mold or something laying eggs on my plant.

I love plants of this nature, when I lived in Chino Hills, in Southern california, I had bought one, had it in the house for about a year...Read More, kept making babies, so I planted it outdoors, I never took care of it, it flourished, and made so so many babies, I would just trow them all over my flower beds, cut back the extra long leaves, they would never die!!! Before We moved North, I forgot to bring some with me, sigh, I would love to grow again, anyone have any they would'nt mind parting with? lol

I live in Indianapolis and grow this lovely plant as a houseplant. I had no idea that it could bloom, but last week I noticed a long 'ste...Read Morem' growing out of the top of it directly towards it's sunlight source. I can't wait to see what it's "bloom" is going to look like!

We have one of these in the yard and suprisingly, it is not invasive.

My mother gave me a little one that is only about an inch wide and its already giving off babys, it was root bound are what ever you call...Read More it when the roots have grown as far as they can so i put it in a big pot and now its going crazy growing. i not have babys growing and its become a fun little project growing them. its like having a family or a rabbit family cause you'll have babbies every where,

sun/shade in West central Georgia

My grandmother gave me two bulbs she had pulled up from her garden. I planted one in my back yard,in the ground, in full sun , then gave ...Read Morethe other to a friend.
They seem to like abuse because her dog took a two inch chunk out of hers and it has just gone crazy! I have since moved mine several times and spread the "babies" around to my naiehgbors. I love this plant, I havent killed it yet and it is propigating quite nicely. We now have several plants.

I had my frist Pregnant onion for 25 year sit set in 1 spot for almost 15 year I want to shear this I took it out of the pot it was in ev...Read Moreery 2 yreas and cuts the root and the green leathers so it would not get so root bound .When she bloomed it green stalk that came out grew to be about 6 to 7 feet and would have littles white flowers with purple stripes. 10 years ago I started traveling across country took my onion with me in our mother home I saw not change in the grouth pattern till I got to oklahoma in June where i set it on the Deck gave it water like always in just a few short days I noticed it was in bad shape it rotted not sure of what happen I lost it and all my babies until just a few days ago I was able to find anotehr one no one ever heard of it thank U for your Information on it Jeanie Klamath Falls OR

I live in Tyler Texas and was given one of these plant about a year ago. The plant was in good shape when I got it...but since has flour...Read Moreished. It has dropped babies in the pot and they have sprouted and have began to grow. I began another pot of this from the extra babies. I have also repotted the original one 3 times and with each time the bulbs increase in size. I really enjoy watching the plant grow.

i alos have one of these plants in kilgore, texas I have repotted once but it does not seem to get any bigger. I need to know what i a...Read Morem doing wrong?/??? I have a few babies growing under it but when it spits babies it begins to shrivel a little bit but then it comes back to life again .. My ? is what do i do with the babies and should i pick off the babies and plant them or what? an d how do they need to be planted? thanks for any help

I have had this plant for close to 30 years and have never developed rash or anything but then I am not allergic to poison ivy either. I...Read More did not know it was used like aloe but I will stick to my aloe. I have neglected this plant, mistreated it. basically considered it to be a weed it has grown and multiplied so well. Last summer I divided my 1 big hanging basket into 2 hanging baskets and this month it is blooming like crazy. It also looks like the bulbs must be about 2-2.5 inches in diameter before blooming - at least mine anyway.It is a fascinating plant. My animals (parrot and goat) don't seem to be affected by it. The goat REALLY likes the flowers.
Didn't give the bird a chance to fully taste it. He nibbled.

found out that when there are more than 1 bloom stalk on the plant it develops seed pods on the bloom stalks. this is the first year that I have had 5-6 bloom stalks on each pot so was surprized to discover the seed pods dried out & little tiny black seeds in them. I don't need to plant them since I am overflowing with pregnant onions.

Having read so much about this plant I would like very much to try growing it in AL. I have been unable to locate one and none of my fri...Read Moreends have any so can't share with me.

Imagine my surprise to find my "unique" onion plant so widely known overseas! I am in South Africa and mine was given to me by a friend,...Read More hers was given to her by her mother when she had her first child, and she has kept up the tradition of giving it to new mothers.
I have done the same and when friends fall pregnant I give them their baby onions at the stork parties!
It is such a lovely looking plant, and again, a real conversation piece!
The babies are sturdy and root quite easily, and because they are so easy to grow it is okay to give them to new mothers as even they can remember to water it once a week!

I first saw this plant this summer when my husband and I purchased one at a church bazaar. It is great! We have it outside, in a contai...Read Morener, in part sun (Sacramento, CA), and water it every day -- but will do so less often as the weather cools. The flower stalk broke when I repotted it, and the remaining stalk dried. I pulled it out from the center of the bulb, and now a new one is growing. We have not had any problems handling the plant, or any negative reaction to the liquid in the leaves -- we've trimmed them when they've torn and they are fine. It grows very fast, and the babies develop quickly.

I love this plant. I Lost my original one because I was in the hospital for an extended period of time last fall and my daughter over wa...Read Moretered "daily" which is a big no-no! The roots rotted, but I was able to save 4 babies on it. Now they are beginning to blossom.

Very poisonous plant and one should wear gloves when touching it because it can cause a severe rash especially from the sticky sap inside the leaves. My mother once had a rash that extended her whole arm and all over her face from trying to cut down the plant then touching her face afterwards.

My Mom's original plant was smuggled over the border from Mexico by my Aunt many many years ago as this plant originally was illegal in the states due to it's toxicity. (Just a little trivia here.) Now they seem to be fairly abundant in many places, however I have never seen one sold in any stores here in New England.

The plant runs in a cycle. The leaves can grow very long sometimes as long as 6 feet. When the plant becomes pot bound it will shoot out a flower stem, sometimes 2 from one onion head. This stem can grow up to 10 feet long. ( I had two shoots on one plant once and one flower stem was 10 feet long and the other was 6 feet.) Once the flower stem has reached it's almost full growth state the flowers which are at the end of the stem will begin to bloom. As the flowers start to die off the flower stem begins to die as well. Once the flower stem has turned brown you can actually "pluck it" out of it's center orifice on the onion head. After this sometimes the leaves begin to turn brown, but it is very important to never cut all the brown off the leaves. Always leave at least 1/4 inch of brown on the leaves or you will lose the leaves entirely. This is the same for spider plants. Leaving the brown on seals the leaf so only a minimal of brown will continue to develop.

If you should lose all the leaves, just cut them down to about 1 inch above the onion bulb head and new ones will grown. don't over water but make sure you water it as soon as you notice it is dry, but again don't over water it or the roots will rot. That is a very smelly process combined with the rot and the smell of the onion.

Sometimes it will immediately start another bloom process with another stem shoot showing up immediately after you have "plucked" out the old one, but it must complete it's bloom process before a new one begins. Conditions have to be just right for a new bloom cycle to start immediately again. Warm humid summers are best. The blooming usually starts in the late winter to early spring but can happen any time during the year depending on your climate. It can get rather dormant in the winter in the 4 season states. I have had mine blossom from spring to Christmas time before. It loves filtered light and humidity. Fertilizing with all purpose liquid fertlizer works, but make sure to dilute to 1/4 strength. I buy the crystal type fertilizer that you add water to.

Propogation is fairly easy by picking off a baby onion that has a new baby leaf started on it. I usually let the new babies grow for a while in the original pot before I remove them with their tender roots to start in new pots. I have also see where you can start new ones by taking the babies and just sitting them in a very shallow pool of water such as on a pie plate for a couple of weeks or so. I have not had luck doing that.

I have never heard of using it like an aloe plant as all the information I have says do not allow the sticky sap from the leaves to touch the skin or else a severe rash could occur. Keep it away from pets too because it is even more toxic for them.

Sorry to have rambled but I find this a fascinating plant. It took me a few years to discover it's full cycle, then I found some literature on it that justified my findings.

Charleen

One of those fun odd plants that puts on a real show. Begins flowering in January and the stems can last for 8-9 months. Offsets readil...Read Morey and the pups can stand alone almost immediately.

I was fortunate enough to buy one of these plants at a yard sale for $2.00. It had already bloomed and has several babies. We happened ...Read Moreto have it identified by a relative, who called it a "Pregnant Onion"

After my grandmothers passing I took the job of keeper of this plant. Not until a year after I had it did I look into what it really was....Read More I had only known it as Meritz Wiebel (german for healing onion). I also never knew it bloomed, grandma always kept the leaves curled with bobby pins. I don't think she ever knew it bloomed either. I put it outside in the summer and inside for winter. I never curled the leaves and it bloomed! We grew up whenever a cut or burn a small part of a leaf was mashed and put under a bandaid, works good! Last summer I put some out in the garden at our new house and the rabbits got them all, I still have lots of rabbits so it didn't kill them!

My mother had gotten one of these from her cousin in California, who had gotten it from New Mexico. I have had them for years. They mul...Read Moretiply very quickly, and I have found that they start shriveling up when they need water. I have only had one flower, and shortly after that it died. But my mother passed on two years ago, and I acquired some more "babies" and now I have eight "mothers" and about forty "babies" I have given these to all my relatives that have houseplants, and they are fascinated with the way they have "babies".
Has anyone had an experience where their dog ate one?? It says in the description that it is toxic if ingested, but my eight month old german shephard decided to chew on one of mine, so far she is OK, but obviously I am concerned. Any info on this might help.

Growing up in Chicago, we always had what was called a mutz zat zibble, or onion plant. The original one I still have is over 80 years o...Read Moreld. I sumggled it into Fla 4 years ago and has Mutzi gone wild. She has hundreds of new family members all over Citrus County. She bloomed for the 1st time in my lifetime and everyone I meet wants one of the babies. One of the babys is called Willard and has out produced Mutzie. If you have a cut that ets infected, chop a piece up, slap it on the area, cover with p[lastic wrap to keep it moist and tape it closed. Leave it on for a day and check it, the infection should be drawn out, if not go for another day. My sons in the mid west are trying to keep up with their own crop. I just found out that they are a draping plant. All of their lives we have kept them caged up like a tomato plant. Hope they enjoy their new life style. Joyce in Fla

We had the pregnant onion growing near the house, but my wife found the plant rather ugly, with its enormous onion-bulb sitting on the su...Read Morerface. We threw it out over the back fence, where it took root in the shade of a large Blackwood tree (Acacia melanoxylon) and it now flowers there every year. The flower spikes are enormous, about 1.5 metres long, twisting through the other plants and flowering over a long period as the patch of open flowers moves along the spike.

Have had this plant forever and has taken place of my old aloe plant, if milked and applied quickly to burns not only does it remove pain...Read More and blistering it also prevents scarring. Very resiliant, can go for a long time without watering, even sitting on my windowsill above the sink it gets enough moisture from the sink to last.

Actually it has been an awesome experience! I always remember my grandmother having pregnant onions when I was growning up. She gave me...Read More one last spring, and as usual I was not very good at keeping it watered. It set out in a pot on the sunny side of my house for months, and I thought that I had, once again, lost another one! That's when I noticed it had a baby on it! So I moved it inside when the weather turned cold and give it a half cup of water every Wednesday and Sunday. Now it is blooming!! No one in my family has ever had, or even heard of them blooming! We are having so much fun watching a new bloom open almost every day! Some of the first blooms are just starting to close, but they have been open for about a week! It still has tons of buds to open! It is just way to cool!

Interesting plant! I got one in trade and didn't know it was supposed to be a house plant, so I plunked it down in my zone 8b garden in ...Read Morefull sun and it survived for many years! Until I forgot it was there and the liriope smothered it out.