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I love stumping the experts, and when it comes to
Bulbous and South
African plants, there is no better expert in my mind
than Brent Heath of
Brent and Beckys Bulbs in Gloucester VA. So when I asked
Brent to ID a photo
of Kniphofia thompsonii snowdenii in my booth at the
Perennial Plant
Symposium last July in Lansing MI, I was delighted
that he misidentified
it as Watsonia or Lachenalia.
That's how
unique, this
hardy, easy to grow, rhizomatous member of the
Liliaceae family
is.
I obtained the seeds over 10 years ago from the
Alpine Garden Society
Seed Exchange in the UK. Since then the clump has
spread to about a 3 foot
diameter circle. I noticed yesterday that it was just
starting to send up
its 3' - 4' flower spikes. The individual florets are
about an inch
apart, leaving just enough room to showcase them as
an individual
performers cloaked in their warm, soft orange
color.
They
last for weeks and make a great cut flower.
I've
tried desperately for
years to get a seed set, but alas, my efforts,
which included some
contorted antics with pipe cleaners, Q tips and paint
brushes have been in
vain. The plant puts out a good bit of new plants
yearly and they can be dug and transplanted very easily.
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