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Bulbs question: Tritonia, Babiana, Ixia, Triteleia

mmacphail
17 years ago

Does anyone have experience growing any of these bulbs in Eastern Canada.

I planted Tritonia, Babiana, Ixia and Triteleia last spring. I didn't have great success with any of them. Ixia and Triteleia did not come up at all. Tritonia only started to send up leaves this fall, but I had to unearth it to store it for the winter, therefore, no blooms. Babiana grew but did not bloom.

Are any of them worth another try?

Thanks,

Malcolm

Comments (2)

  • vetivert8
    17 years ago

    Each of the bulbs you've mentioned actually does most of its leaf-growing over winter. They commence flowering in mid to late spring. They need a good dryish period after that and then go dormant over the summer.

    Babianas need to be planted fairly deeply - more than you'd think from it's dainty size. 3-4", but they can drop themselves down over the season if you've provided a deep enough container.

    Each of them requires free-draining soil - and they all grow/flower in pots.

    The Ixias resent having a lot of rain over their growing seasn and respond with tatty leaves and spots on the flowers so under shelter is probably best. Ensure you have some sort of leaf-support system in the pot because they grow anywhere between 14-24"+ and are prone to flopping in the wind. They open their flowers on sunny days and stay closed on the dull ones.

    Tritonia (in my garden) flowers with and after the main Ixia flush - coming out with the blue, green, and white varieties. They're hardier than Freesias.

    All of them will take 1-2 degrees of frost but look askance at any freeze that's not gone before lunchtime.

    You mentioned that you moved the Tritonia in the autumn. You might want to bring in the whole pot and water/lightly feed over winter while giving frost protection.

    Usually I leave the bulbs/corms in the pots over the summer so they get a baking but don't actually dry out to the point of becoming soft to touch. They all get sorted out in autumn - spawn potted up for growing on and the flowering sizes potted up/labelled.

    My reasons for keeping in pots are: I can choose the bigger 'bulbs' to get reliable flowering; and I can ensure they don't proliferate in the garden (a zone 9 problem...)

    Bright sunlight for all of them.

    If you have a shelted spot near a brick wall, soil with excellent drainage, you might want to try outdoors; otherwise, in pots, in a glasshouse or similar where the temperatures stay above freezing mostly, watered over the winter - it's probably worth another go.

  • diggerb2
    17 years ago

    are any of those bulbs hardy enough for zone 4?
    i don't plant them in my area (zone 5) because i don't think they are hardy-- could be wrong.

    i just read a great book on bulbs darned if i can remember the name: Bulbs for garden habitats`???

    I'll check at the library and post name & author-- but it should answer many, many bulb questions

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