Bulb

Ultimate Easy-Care Houseplant

Written on January 7, 2010 at 3:12 pm , by Denny Schrock

If you’re looking for a unique houseplant that’s easy to grow, consider the veldt lily (Veltheimia bracteata), also known as cape lily. This bulbous plant is a mid-winter bloomer, with a cluster of tubular pink blossoms that bear a resemblance to a bottle brush or the perennial flower red-hot poker. One of my plants is just starting to color up now. Another, which spent more time in the chilly greenhouse, will be several weeks behind.

Even before it blooms its undulating glossy green leaves make it an attractive foliage plant. The leaves are so perfectly shiny that many who see my plants think that they must be artificial. After the plant finishes blooming, cut off the flower stalk, and keep the plant in bright light, watering frequently enough to keep the soil evenly moist. By late spring, the foliage will begin to die back. Withhold water at that time, and let the plant go dormant. (As a native of South Africa, it’s programmed to grow on an alternate cycle to most of our Northern Hemisphere plants.) Set the plant aside over summer–I stick mine in the garage. In early fall, resume watering. You’ll be rewarded with an abundance of blooms in midwinter.

This plant is a survivor. Back in my college days, I left my veldt lily in the care of my mother while I studied abroad for two years. Because I departed in July, the plant was dormant and sitting in her dark fruit cellar. I came back 2 years later to find the plant in the same spot, and still alive! It had not been watered or moved to a sunny window in that entire time. As I recall, it didn’t bloom that first year, but grew beautiful foliage, and by the following winter was back on schedule with it’s reliable display of colorful flowers. Now that’s what I call one tough plant!

You probably won’t find the plant for sale at your local garden center, but it is available from several on-line mail order houseplant specialty nurseries and bulb growers.

Amazing Amaryllis

Written on November 9, 2009 at 5:09 pm , by Justin W. Hancock

Now that we’re well into November, I guess I have to face the fact that the holidays are coming. (There’s a part of me that really doesn’t want to think about Christmas until December starts.)

But amaryllis help me overcome my curmudgeon instincts. I delight in their ease of growth and rich colors.

Happily, there are more amaryllis than ever on the market — from the traditional reds and whites to pinks, oranges, and multicolors.

To show off the wide world of amaryllis, I’ve put up a slideshow here on BHG.com displaying 23 different varieties and links to be able to purchase many of them right now so you can enjoy their beautiful blooms at your holiday gatherings.

If you take a look, I’d love to hear which your favorites are! (My top two are ‘Benfica’, slide 6, and ‘Santos’, slide 17.)

This End Up

Written on October 28, 2009 at 7:18 am , by Justin W. Hancock

One of my friends is getting more and more excited about gardening. She bought her first batch of spring-blooming bulbs this year and was really excited to start 2010 with a show of tulips, daffodils, anemones, and crocus.

All was well until I got a worried call from her. She said she wasn’t sure how to plant the bulbs and how deep to plant them.

If you’ve run into this question, there’s happily a pretty easy answer.  Plant most spring bulbs about three times deeper than the bulb is tall. So if you have a 3-inch-tall tulip, you’ll want to plant it about 9 inches deep.

And as far as which way to plant, the pointy side is generally up. For types that don’t have a point, plant them on their side — they’ll send their roots down and their shoots up.