Am I being to adventurous?

I brought some seeds and bulbs home from my hols:

Lirio Misto.

Estrelicia.

Nerine pink.

Ixias.

and

Massaroco.

The problem is they are from a warm climate, so i think I may struggle to do them justice.

Considering i only paid 5 euros for the lot I haven' got a lot to lose.

If anyone has grown these or knows what I should do to give me the best chance of succeeding,

I would be most grateful. :thmb: 02

 

only one i can comment on is nerine - I grow mine in pots in a very gritty mix they do very well....or did the pots been frozen solid for two weeks one of many plants im crossing my fingurres about

 

Good on you - go for it.

First try to find the latin names - then you can Google all about them. I don't recognise Lirio Misto. Estrelicia - you will find more under Strelitzia. And I think Massaroco is Echium candicans - which I am hoping to grow from seed this year.

Nerine lilies are probably hardy, but the others are probably not. I would grow them in large pots, so that you can move them to somewhere more protected over the winter. You can plant the bulbs anytime, but should be prepared to keep them under glass until the weather is better. The seeds, coming from a hot climate, will probably need some bottom heat to germinate. I had no problem with Echium pinana and E wildpretti seeds with bottom heat. But it may be worth leaving them for a bit, because even if you get them to germinate now, you will have a problem growing them on with low light levels and low temperatures.

Echium candicans can grow pretty big - so you may eventually have a problem in how to overwinter it. Most Echiums will take some frost - but they don't like the wet.

You should have a lot of fun - good luck.

 

The only ones I can help you with is the Nerines.
You can plant them in the ground in a well drained, sheltered part of the garden and leave them undisturbed. They will multiply to form a big patch and they make very good cut flowers standing for weeks in a vase. Good luck with the project.

 

You can't be too adventurous with gardening. If it fails, it fails! I try sowing everything and anything.

Try and find out what they need with bit of googling and a visit to the library or bookshop. If you can't find the right information, then just sow in moist compost in a warm light place in spring, and cross your fingers hoping for the best!

 

With the Echium don't use a peat based compost - it causes the plant to rot at the base of the stem. Use a soil based compost with added grit.

 

Lirio appears to be the Spanish name for Lilly.
So no problems there, unless its something thats not actually a Lilly and maybe a calla Lilly, so I'm not going into that one, too confusing.

Estrelicia is probably Strelitzia, the Espanish really do like to put a E in front of anything that starts with an S.
Nerines like a good summer baking so dont plant too deep and find a hot spot.

Not tried Ixias so cant comment.

Massaroco. as Peter says appears to be Echium candicans, not hardy I have found but a very nice plant even when not in flower, it does get big however and is not good as a pot plant for long.

 

once you got all the latin names sorted so you know what you deaçing with i recomend finding those species on jellitto seeds website and follow their sowing instructions as you probably know all seeds need different temps to germinate and some need a period of warm then cld then warm again or a slow increase from slow to warm.......anyway i have had better results sice ta?ing advantage of their sowing guide. Sorry on mobile cant post link

 

Thanks for that reference theplantsman - thats a site that I hadn't come across. It appears to have a lot of useful information. Here's the link https://www.jelitto.com/haupt_en.html.

 

no problem peter the seed list is huge even more extensive than chilterns and the quality is excellent they are a great company to deal with. And thanks for posting the link

 

Hiya Pete the pic on the Lirio bulbs look like an iris (yellow and white). Its looking like most of the seeds and bulbs i bought are from sub tropical places meaning dry hot conditions Ha, If I should be so lucky :hehe:. So ve have problemo!! I dont have a greenhouse. So Im thinking Sheltered south facing. After a lot of research they seem to do well in loam and grit. I think maybe the bulbs should have gone in, in the autumn. I will give this some consideration and give it the best Ive got. :thmb: Cheers.

 

Thank you everyone for all your helpful tips. I think this might be quite interesting.

I will be giving these seeds and bulbs the best Ive got. I just hope it is enough.:flag::hehe: 02

 

The Estrelicia (bird of paradise) will well and truely be a challenge.

I am growing from seed and apparentley, even if I manage to germinate the seed,

it can take 3 -5 years to produce a flower!!! Now that would be something :thmb: :D 02

 

Dont give up on the strelitzia..
Grow it to a good size before planting out near a hot wall.
There after a blanket on frosty nights may well be all it would need and in about 5 or 6 yrs you might get this happen.



But it will require a bit of dedication.