Noble Nerines

I love late fall, for it is when the Nerines begin to blossom. The only problem is that the enjoyment of seeing the blooms is somewhat dampened by the chillier, shorter days. Nevertheless, these bulbs from South Africa have found their way into my heart. I must admit that I was never big on Nerines, until I travelled to SA. Well now I'm smitten. Nerine bowdenii is the  hardiest, to -15° Celsius. This fall, found my N. bowdenii to be almost one month behind schedule. We have had a cooler than normal fall accounting for this delay, however on the upside the other Nerine species I have in my collection have lasted quite long, 4 weeks plus due to this cooler weather. There are 23 Nerine species all occuring in Southern Africa. They are all well suited to cultivation in containers.


N. undulata - Summer growing- 30-60cm- spider-like undulating petals. This species is almost evergreen, as it  has a short dormancy.
 

N. huttoniae- Summer Growing 30-40cm- Cradock, Eastern Cape, SA. Photographed in habitat-The most unusual Nerine, and one of the rarest.
 

 

N. bowdenii- Summer growing- 30-70cm

N. humilis - Winter growing 15-45cm- has crisped tepal margins