We have now Postponed Meetings until July 2020 at the earliest - Stay safe all

Due to the current circumstances, we will review our meeting schedule in July 2020. 

Stay safe all.

TUBEROUS BEGONIA, AMARYLLIS BELLADONNA & HAEMANTHUS x HUMILIS

HAEMANTHUS  x HUMILIS The photo is of a seed-grown hybrid involving H. humilis, which comes from summer rainfall areas of South Africa, and has only a short dormancy. The hybrid is a dwarf plant and grows happily in 10” squat pot. There are 22 known species of haemanthus, which are distinguished by their attractive brush-like flowers. Most are reasonably easy to grow.

AMARYLLIS BELLADONNA This is not anything like the ‘belladonna’ or Naked Lady known to just about every gardener. It was a chance find somewhere in the country by a keen bulb grower in WA, who then kept it and encouraged it to multiply. He called it ‘Hot Lips’, probably after the well-known salvia cultivar of the same name. A few bulbs were then sent to the bulb grower in Victoria.

TUBEROUS BEGONIA If you like big and bold, then you might grow tuberous begonias, although the hanging varieties have smaller flowers and are easier to grow. They all come from South America and like mild growing conditions, neither too hot nor too cold, and low humidity. The large flowered cultivars are usually grown from named tubers, but the photo is of a plant grown from US seed, and took about 4 months from sowing to flowering, and was obtained through the grower’s connections with the Melbourne Begonia Society.