Imagine my delight when I found a small clump of Lachenalia viridiflora blooming in my garden today. It is growing, totally neglected, from a small pile of soil that was knocked out of its pot when a flat of pots of So. African bulbs was moved. The startling turquoise flowers are unmistakable in the garden, and there's nothing else quite like it. If you haven't tried growing this little bulb I urge you to do so. Details are on the website below, which also notes that it is virtually extinct in the wild but easily grown in home gardens.

In addition to growing this bulb in pots, I also grew it in the ground at my last garden in fairly heavy clay soil in full sun. It came up faithfully each year for 3-4 years (I have since moved) and did not seem to suffer from watering of the bed it was in during it's summer dormant period.

Every August the Arboretum at the Univ. of California, Irvine has a sale of So. African bulbs, and it is well worth attending IF you get there at the very beginning of the sale, before the best stuff is sold. It is well worth the price of an annual membership (about $30), plus the 2-hour drive from my home, for me to get in at the very start of the sale. The first few years I attended I bought lots of stuff, and now that my collection has grown a little bit I still get a few things each year.

Lachenalias thrive on neglect in So. California, and will do well for years in pots. Many of them set seed readily, too, so you can share them with friends. L. viridiflora will even grow from leaf cuttings (described on the website below), altho I have not tried that myself.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lachenalia viridiflora