Haemanthus

Haemanthus albiflos

Fat, succulent leaves with a slight pink infusion are held over green bulbs.

The leaves sit below a curiously attractive, white, tufted flower-head resembling an old-fashioned shaving-brush. This is eventually followed by red berries.

This easy species likes light shade and will take more water than many of the species. Winter flowering.

Haemanthus deformis

A rare, localised species known only from a few populations in coastal Transkei in South Africa.

The species is very unusual, in that the flowers appear in between and with the existing leaves rather than before or after them.

Don't let the name deformis put you off, it is nothing to do with how it looks it simply refers to this unusual occurrence of leaves and flowers together.

The flower spikes appear in the middle of the winter. These have totally white bracts, long white petals and filaments, contrasting with lovely yellow pollen.

Haemanthus deformishaedefdef	£18.50		1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Large view

Haemanthus hirsutus Selected

An extremely beautiful form, possibly the best, that occurs only on dolomite - this is very rarely recorded or seen. These are rescue plants from around the Klipspringer Diamond Mine.

The slightly 'angular' leaves are covered in fine, dense, incredibly long, silken hairs on both surfaces, but most notably on the top surface. These hairs can reach about 1cm long, (usually less) but impart a silky sheen and unique appearance to the grey-green leaves.

The flowers, borne with the leaves, are of a slightly yellowish white, sometimes with the faintest of subtle pink infusions, held in a tight cluster.

Haemanthus hirsutus Selecthaehirsel	£34.50		1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Large flowering sized, about 4cm, diameter by about 3cm tall. Large view

Haemanthus humilis Dwarf form

The plants have short rounded leaves closely pressed to the ground. The flowers are held in a 3cm ball atop a stem 7-10cm in height and are soft, pale pink. Flowering time is just as the new leaves of the season emerge at the beginning of the summer.

A little elf! Excellent in a pot, as the entire leaf pair covers only the area of a 2p piece! The smallest and most charming of all of the species that we grow.

This attractive dwarf form is so far only recorded from one hill near Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape where it is now endangered by habitat degradation and urban expansion.

Haemanthus montanus Focheville

This has remarkable foliage consisting of two narrow, blue-green leaves, with a spiral twist about one quarter of the way along the leaf - unique in the genus. The lower 3-6cm of each leaf is richly marked with numerous, fine pink spots. This is a very elegant form of this plant.

The inflorescence is crammed with pale pink flowers, or rather pale pink reflexing spathes surrounding masses of almost white flowers that soon turn pale pink. The effect is charming

Useful for beginners as this is very tolerant and it will bear water well in the dormant period. In a well-drained, loam-based soil with plenty of light, this is not only a lovely species, but it is not a difficult one to grow.

Haemanthus sanguineus

This has leathery leaves, edged with scarlet hairs borne throughout the autumn and winter but vanishing in summer when the plant becomes dormant.

With the advent of autumn rains the plant makes spectacular crimson-red stems topped by a flower head surrounded by small, but striking coloured, vivid crimson bracts. Inside the bracts are masses of quite wide ,bright red, tubular flowers all crowded together. These have filaments sticking out from each flower, carrying the yellow anthers.

Our present stock is raised from material of a very attractive and ornamental dwarf form with rounded leaves. The foliage is heavily spotted and peppered underneath in pinkish red brown. Seed originally from coastal grasslands near Port Elizabeth.

Tender and Greenhouse bulbs :-

A listing of all of the tender genera that we grow