Haemanthus
Early Autumn in Victoria is the time that
most growers of this genus of 22 species of bulbs from southern Africa,
including South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia, associate with. The majority of the species are summer
dormant and seem to respond to seasonal changes such as late summer storms,
cooler nights and perhaps shorter daylight hours by sending up their unique
candle like spikes of flowers encased in a usually wax like cluster of red spathal
bracts, resembling a paint brush, hence one of the common names of Paint Brush
Lily. Flowers are soon followed by
usually fleshy large leaves which remain until dormancy again commences in late
spring. This description typifies the form
and habit of perhaps the most commonly grown species and certainly the one with
the widest distribution in the wild, Haemanthus coccineus. There are numerous forms of Haemanthus
coccineus grown, most of them differentiated and identified by the collection
locality eg Napier form, Knersvlakte form, Colchester form, etc. There are also some interesting colour
variations of the forms we grow in our gardens.
