Cyrtanthus

Cyrtanthus

This is the largest genus of Amaryllids in Africa. They occupy a vast range of habitats, from arid lowlands to snowy mountains, there are desert plants and those capable of withstanding cold and wet. In the UK they should all be regarded as tender, for safety's sake.

All Cyrtanthus need good drainage, especially the arid land species. The bigger species are better with the bulb planted above the compost. Contractile roots will pull the bulb down to the correct depth but the bigger species have thicker bulb tunics and like to be able to dry out rapidly after watering.

We use clay pots or bed them out, in a soil containing a LOT of silica sand, under glass. Never put them in peat-based compost (or similar), never use plastic pots. Most do not need much water. Let them dry out almost completely between watering. If in doubt then don't give any water.

The majority are deciduous, sometimes only briefly, but they will need a dry dormant period to ripen growth.



Available for ordering from Spring and Autumn lists.

Products

Cyrtanthus brachyscyphus

Cyrtanthus brachyscyphus

This has thin, almost slender bulbs which make narrow foliage and freely produced clusters of up to ten, small, long-lasting, very bright orange-red trumpets each about 1.5cm long on slender, wiry 30 cm stems, through the summer. They will also re-flower if watering is stopped, in summer, for five or six weeks, then restarted.

Plant in frost-free conditions, in a fertile well-drained loam soil with the necks at the soil surface, drier in winter.

Photograph © Denis Tsang, with many thanks.

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Cyrtanthus brachyscyphuscyrbrabra £5.50
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Cyrtanthus montanus

Large, wide-open trumpet flowers in an umbel in the manner of a Nerine. The flower colour is a gorgeous, light orange-red. This really is an extremely beautiful evergreen plant.

Enjoys light shade, very sharp drainage and very little water. Discovered only in the last 30 years or so growing on cliffs in the interior of Cape Province but responding well to cultivation. This remains extremely rare in the wild however.

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Cyrtanthus montanuscyrmonmon £13.50

Cyrtanthus sanguineus

Cyrtanthus sanguineus

One to four large, funnel-shaped blooms of vivid red, each up to 10cm long. Flowers can appear at any time of the year but are concentrated in summer.

This is an evergreen, moist forest species that prefers shade. It likes a humus-rich compost but one with good drainage. As a species this is both undemanding and readily clumping. It makes an outstanding display, reliably.

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Cyrtanthus sanguineuscyrsansan £14.50
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Cyrtanthus speciosus

This is the true species* with lovely elongated white trumpets striped down the length of each petal with bright red.

A superb, arid-land species for a well-drained, summer-dry, very sandy soil with very little water when in growth and none at all when dormant.

* There may be confusion as Vallota speciosa was renamed as a Cyrtanthus when Vallota and Cyrtanthus were merged into one genus. The old Vallota became Cyrtanthus elatus when this happened.

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Cyrtanthus speciosuscyrspespe £15.50
flowering size