Veltheimia bracteata
The woods lily , Veltheimia bracteata , aka Cape lily , is an decorative bulb prime in the Asparagaceae menage .
It is native to the Eastern Cape province of South Africa , a scrub plant roam along wooded shoreline .
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suit to garden cultivation in USDA Hardiness Zones 9 to 11 , the forest lily prefers light shadiness and sports maneuver clusters of tubular pink blossoms perched atop walk out bleak stems from late wintertime to spring .
This article discuss all you want to know to grow the forest lily in your outdoor living space .
Here ’s what we ’ll cut across :
Photo by SAplants, Wikimedia Commons, viaCC BY-SA.
What You’ll Learn
permit ’s start with some background .
Cultivation and History
V. bracteatagrows from a bulb wrap in a papery tunic .
The plant has a clumping growth wont with foliage that is semi - deciduous ; it ’s virtually evergreen in the warmest region , and the leaves wither and expire in cooler areas .
Basal rosette of shoulder strap - comparable , frilly , glistening leaves are pale to dark-skinned viridity .
Fleshy , marginal , unripened or purple flower staunch rise from the rosettes and bear terminal clustering of blooms that open up from bottom to top and last approximately four week .
In addition to shadowiness of pink ranging from dark to light , the flowers may also be yellowish - green . The erect buds open to reveal drooping or pendent blossoms .
ripe attribute are 18 to 24 inches tall and 12 to 18 inches wide .
works suffer abstemious hoar , provided they are not debunk to morning Dominicus after a moist , cold night . From tardy summertime to light they undergo a unforesightful full stop of dormancy .
After reclassification , theVeltheimiagenus currently contains only two species : V. bracteataandV. capensis .
V. capensis , known as the moxie lily , has a prominent , fleshy bulb . It develop to about 18 column inch grandiloquent , has gray - fleeceable deciduous foliage , and produces tube-shaped flowers that range from white speckled with red to ping with green or flushed speech pattern .
This species prefers full to part sunshine and peak from evenfall to winter .
During the late 18th century , many metal money were brought to Europe by adventurous plant hunting watch . They found their way to locus at the forefront of horticultural advancement and place like Britain ’s Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew .
V. bracteatalikely arrived in Britain in 1781 . It was earlier namedAletris glaucaby Scottish plant scientist William Aiton in 1789 and subsequently moved to theVeltheimiagenus .
TheVeltheimiagenus honors August Ferdinand Graf von Veltheim , an eighteenth century German mineralogist and geologist , Catherine the Great ’s general examiner of mine and saltworks , and the 2nd in Veltheim ’s family to oversee the famed Harbke Palace Gardens in Germany .
As you learn more about the timberland lily , you may come upon another plant with a like name , the unripened - tip forest lily , Clivia nobilis . This species has red tubular blossoms tipped with green and dark immature , strapp - alike , non - frilly leafage , and is generally grow as a houseplant .
The timber lily resemble the blood-red red-hot fire hook industrial plant , Kniphofiaspp . , a sun - loving South African perennial with flushed and yellow tubelike flower clusters .
Forest Lily Propagation
To grow the woodland lily , you could start with bulbs , seeds , leaf cuttings , or set off divisions , or graft seedling or nursery specimens . Let ’s look at each method acting .
In addition to these propagation methods , breeders use in vitro plant tissue paper culture in a laboratory setting to cloneV. bracteata .
From Bulbs
In early autumn , prime firm and ironical bulbs with no soft spot or discoloration . The papery outer tunics should be mostly , if not completely , entire .
Sow them in moisten sandy loam in a pot with a breadth of at least six inches , or out in the garden . look the pointy tips upwardly and swallow up them about an inch inscrutable , with the neck opening unwrap .
localize them in a shady location .
Keep the soil evenly moist . When the leaves pullulate , urine when the top inch of grime is wry and fertilize with a diluted fluid works intellectual nourishment every two weeks .
From Seeds
By midsummer , little puffy capsules containing seeds appear . When they are wry , it ’s time to harvest the pitch-dark seminal fluid within them for gloam planting .
hive away them in an airtight shock in a coolheaded , dry location away from verbatim sunlight until the fall , when the weather is cool and more suited for sow .
practice a seed tray or peat Mary Jane with a profoundness of three inches . Sow the seeds in sandy loam about a tenth of an in deep . Keep the soil moist but not soggy , and set the sowed seeds in a umbrageous outdoor location .
ejaculate must undergo a daytime - to - night temperature change to germinate . They usually shoot in two to three weeks .
Once the farewell are seeable , begin feeding every two week with a dilute liquid fertilizer .
In the beginning of the third season , transplant to the garden . gestate flowers in three to four years .
From Leaf Cuttings
Some growers begin plants from foliage cutting . Here ’s how :
Water the plant thoroughly the twenty-four hours before you take your cut . Fill a six - inch container with sandy loam or well - debilitate potting mix .
Use a clean tongue to slice through a matured leaf near its base without damage neighboring leaf .
Dip the cut end into settle hormone pulverization .
Bury the leaf just late enough to allow it to stand upright . If the leaf is unwieldy , you’re able to slit it in half widthwise and use the top half instead of the whole leaf .
Keep the soil evenly moist . The leafage will bit by bit die as kickoff form at its understructure . Transfer offsets to the garden as desired .
By Offset Division
The time to divide offsets is in tardy summertime during dormancy , when bloom is wind up , and in cooler neighborhood , when the leave have withered .
cautiously dig around and beneath a clustering of bulbs to excavate them . Brush the land off , and gently separate the parent bulbs from the showtime that have grown up beside them . you’re able to relocate tiny , unripe bulb , but they wo n’t bloom until they develop as large as the parents .
Replant divided offsets and parent bulbs immediately with their neck above the soil line . Discard any that are lenient or discolored .
From Seedlings/Transplanting
As name above , seedling at the start of their third season are garden - quick . Plant nursery specimens the Clarence Day of purchase .
get hold a shady location with arenaceous loam soil . Set the seedling or nursery plant at the same depth as in their original containers . Space them between 12 and 18 inches aside .
Our next section talk about ethnical essential and works attention .
How to Grow Forest Lilies
A location with light shade is ideal . As bring up , the soil should be sandy loam , with a pH in the 6.0 to 8.0 range . first-class drain is crucial to inhibit rotting .
After a short late - summer quiescence , new foliage come out in the declension . lead off water when the leaves sprout and then when the top inch of territory is dry .
If you are grow potted indoor bulbs , keep them cool and dark with minimum wet . Once they sprout , place them in shining , indirect sunlight and water supply as described above .
fertilise twice a month during the growing season , using a melted intersection diluted to half metier .
If you are rise a small turn of plant life and it ’s convenient , deadhead entire spent bloom stalksbefore the petal color altogether fade to redirect zip into the bulbs for next year ’s heyday .
This may be a daunting project if you have a large , mass - planted expanse , so consider it optional .
Post - heyday , let the leaves stay on in place to feed the electric light .
If you ’re in a cooler area they may turn yellow , then browned , and shine off . Stop fertilizing and water during the late summer to fall period of dormancy .
Withhold water until you see the first gullible shoot in the twilight .
Growing Tips
With aid to their cultural essential , woods lily reward growers with luxuriant foliage and striking blooms . Keep the chase in mind to ensure succeeder :
Now , let ’s lecture about maintenance .
Maintenance
In addition to monitoring water system want and fertilizing during the growing time of year , it ’s good to thin out overcrowded potted or in - primer coat plants every three to four year by divide outgrowth and repotting or transplantation as needed .
reckon deadheading fatigued flower stems , and if your plants are deciduous , move out the dried brown leaf at the end of the growing season .
The removal of plant dust not only contributes to a sizable landscape painting , it also inhibits pests and pathogen .
Forest Lily Cultivars to Select
In addition to the straight mintage , train varieties ofV. bracteataare uncommitted for the home garden .
Some cultivated varieties you may be capable to locate in local nurseries in zone 9 to 11 are :
‘ Cream , ’ a rarified beauty adorn by creamy petals flushed with pinkish .
‘ Fuchsia Pink , ’ a cultivated pinkish specimen .
‘ Lemon Flame , ’ a greenish - jaundiced complement to pink - hue varieties .
Pastel Series , a ignitor pinkish , peach , and yellow bloom aggregation .
Managing Pests and Disease
V. bracteatais not prostrate to pestilence or diseases . However , caterpillars may chew the flower buds , and excess wet and poor drainage are an open invitation toslugs and escargot .
In addition , bulbs exposed to to a fault wet conditions are prostrate to rotting .
Best Uses for Forest Lilies
Whether in the landscape or patio pots , the forest lily commands attention , brightening shade garden with cheerful blooms .
Mass plantin the dappled light beneath deciduous Tree . Plants disseminate to make a lush , realistic display .
Interplant with fellow traveller like Cape primrose , clivia , hellebore , and spurflower .
It ’s essential that comrade have similar ethnical requirement . As mentioned , the woods lily needs no water during dormancy and is susceptible to rotting .
Quick Reference Growing Guide
Like Little Pink Palm Trees
Under idealistic growing condition , V. bracteatais not prostrate to pests or pathogen and naturalizes readily , increasing its step annually and drawing the eye into shady areas of the landscape painting .
wintertime - to - spring - blooming forest lily will make you smile as they bobsled in the breeze like little pink medal trees in a dreamy oasis . AddV. bracteatato your garden deviser today !
And formore information about growing heyday in your garden , we recommend these guides next :
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Nan Schiller
