Albuca spiralis
I love getting mail. Love it. And what could be more exciting than getting garden related mail? Not much I say. Today marked the safe arrival, in the mail, of my latest bulb purchase – Albuca spiralis.
Albuca spiralis with flowers
These bulbs are from South Africa and have the odd habit of developing corkscrew-like leaves. An interesting curiosity which I just had to have as soon as I learnt of it. Yes impulse bulb shopping at its best! It also has pretty greenish yellow nodding flowers as shown in the picture.
Not always easy to find. I found mine on ebay and have been anxiously checking the mailbox every day waiting for them to arrive. Today once I’d finished ripping opening the packaging I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed when I saw these rather uninspiring bulbs. Not quite the grand entrance into my life that I’d anticipated! Still I will pot them up this week and keep you posted on their development.
PS Don’t forget to check out The Plant Addict Shop while you’re here.
You’ll find great gift ideas for garden lovers and fellow plant addicts!
[...] first blogged about this bulb back in November 2009 when the bulbs arrived. Read the blog here. I have to confess that I felt a bit conned when the leaves first emerged and they weren’t [...]
just wondering what is the best way to grow this plant. and watering it.
Hi Tonya,
Albuca spiralis is actually a very easy bulb to grow. All it wants is well draining soil and to be kept dry over summer when it is dormant. If you live somewhere where the summers are mostly dry then have a go at growing them directly in a garden bed. They are frost tolerant.
I live in Sydney where summers are too wet to have them planted in the ground. Instead I grow them in pots. Fill the pot with a good quality potting mix and add a bit of sand or perlite for additional drainage. In early autumn I put the pot outside and give it the occasional watering. When the leaves emerge I water it just like any other potted plant. It grows happily over winter and flowers in spring. I cut back on watering as the leaves start to yellow and die down. Once it has completely died off I move the pot into my garden shed and keep dry over summer. Then the cycle starts all over again in early autumn. Every couple of years I replace the potting mix as it tends to compact over time and the drainage quality deteriorates.
I fertilise a couple of times during the growing period with organic pelleted chicken manure.
They are truly a very easy bulb to grow and very rewarding. Read my later blog on them if you want to see some more pictures.
I’ve got two Albuca Spiralis as a present last week and I am very curieus what kind of plant it is, but there is no dutch website what gives any information about Albuca Spiralis “Frizzle Sizzle”.
Thank you for the information on Stevefalcioni.com.