As our April meeting is an outdoor one the flower of the month will be carried over to the May meeting where we will have TWO flowers of the month – Abutilon and Nerine.
KINGDOM: Plantae
FAMILY: Malvaceae
GENUS: Abutilon
ORDER: Malvales
GENUS: Abutilion
A large genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australia.
Common names include Indian mallow and velvetleaf, ornamental varieties may be known as room maple, parlor maple, or flowering maple.
Thanks Wiki
If you would like to know more about growing Abutilon please visit Yates for how to grow in a garden.
Nerines
What are Nerines?
Nerines are flowering plants native to South Africa, that belong to the Amaryllidaceae family, even though they are called lilies, they are not true lilies and resemble Lycoris and Amaryllis.
Why do I need to grow them in pots on the Coffs Coast?
While Nerines are very low maintenance – there is not much to do apart from maybe do a clean up of the dead foliage and flowering stalks once they die, Nerines do not like to receive any water during the summer months. Not good news here on the Coffs Coast as we can get a LOT of rain over the summer months. So by growing in pots water can be controlled quite easily by simply moving the pots.
Can I propagate by division?
Yes, but remember that these bulbs do not like to be disturbed and if bulbs are lifted and replanted they will not flower for two years, so patience is needed!
Characteristics of Nerines
The bulbs have a very short neck and they have the common name of Guernsey lily or Bowden lily. The flowers appear before the leaves during the winter. Each spherical umbel contains 6 or 8 individual flowers, with each flower having 6 colourful narrow recurved petals that radiate outwards with pretty wavy edges.
The different colours of Nerines
Nerines can be are found in a variety of shades from pure white, pale pink to deep rose pink through to crimson to scarlet red. They have glittering gold and silver dustings just like some daylillies and this can be seen on the red petal forms.
To see the range of Nerines on sale at Tesselaar with gorgeous images please visit their site here.
