Babiana hybrids
3 comments
Babiana is one of those South African bulbs that start growing in the fall and bloom in the spring. They also like a dry summer rest, so my climate is perfect for them. They have sprung up as volunteers around my garden as I don’t do a lot to them other than clean up the area after they have died back. They have started blooming in several colors, often having variations on the same flower stalk.
In one area there is this nice, solid one,
Then, scattered around are these multi-colored ones.
There are 49 species of Babiana, but finding any other than the hybrids types is difficult. I managed to find seeds for B. rubrocyanea from a dealer in Bulgaria; and will start them this fall.
30 Mar, 2017
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Babiana requires a dry summer. Many of the species come from the South West Cape and Namaqualand, which have no rain in the summer. And then they need to be kept above freezing, but receive lots of light.
My weather is close to South Africa in the winter, so I can grow bulbs that come from there with minor adjustments to soil conditions.
31 Mar, 2017
that's why mine didn't come back, wet and cold winters :o)
31 Mar, 2017
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31 Mar, 2010
I had some Babinia but they didn't come back the following year. I remember thinking how pretty they were.
30 Mar, 2017