Beautiful Glen, the hippie blooms are such a vibrant color!

I think it's beautiful Glen. Love the color & ribbing.

Thank you!!! Another one flowering today.

This one I bought form a nursery. It is a small flower.

The nursery's label said 'Hippeastrum Red.'

G'day all, just a few sparaxis that you may like--all spring flowering bulbs and easy!!

Sparaxis grandifolia


Sparaxis grandifolia ssp. acutilobia


Sparaxis elegans


Sparaxis maroon (unsure correct specie name)

Lovely sparaxis Paul! Makes me wish they would grow here. I've tried them, but weather turns hot too quickly and the developing buds fry, so I will content myself with enjoying yours

Beautiful, Paul - I'm going to check if they might be happy in England - I particularly love the first one and the maroon. Thank you for sharing.

Appreciate the post Paul; like Neil, no success growing them here.

I'm drooling over them Paul, especially the S. elegans. I have never tried them here. I must research & see if I think they will thrive in my locale.

Mika, I think you may have better chances of success with them in your garden in France. I think they would like the sandy soil and isn't it milder in winter there?

Ann, you may have the right conditions for them. They're usually inexpensive little bulbs, so it would be a fun experiment!

Thanks, Neal - I just looked them up and you're absolutely right. Yes, winter here (France) is frost-free (zone 10a), in England we are zone 8b and the recommendation for sparaxis is minimum 9a, max 11. So France it is!

I've brought the rembrandt tulip bulbs to France with me, so I'll plant them in a container today or tomorrow and wait to see what happens. My reasoning was that since we had no tulips or lilies here, there was no real risk. But I've just remembered that we do have surprise lilies here (lots of them, in fact) - do you think they would be vulnerable? Is a surprise lily (lycoris) a true member of the lily family?

gemini_sage said:Mika, I think you may have better chances of success with them in your garden in France. I think they would like the sandy soil and isn't it milder in winter there?

Ann, you may have the right conditions for them. They're usually inexpensive little bulbs, so it would be a fun experiment!

Thanks Neal. I found this:
"Sparaxis are adapted for areas where there are fall, winter and spring rains and dry, hot summers." From:
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/p...
If that's true then our summers are not what sparaxis like so I would have to put them in pots only.
Still, I think I must give them a try, they are so lovely!

Mika, lycoris are in the amaryllis family, so I don't believe they would be at risk.

Thank you Neal, thank you Ann.

I've been looking for sparaxis and it seems they are only sold in mixed colours. I would much, much prefer individual colours - there's something called a 'jumbo sparaxis' that is sold in individual colours, but the only place I see it is at a Dutch wholesaler... So I may well have to wait until I see them (if ever) for sale in individual colours.
Unless someone can point me to a European seller of single colour sparaxis?

Hopefully more choices will be available later on as sparaxis usually are spring planted.
However I did find some: http://www.thompson-morgan.com...

Thank you, William! I'll definitely be ordering some.

I've placed a sparaxis order. It seems that spring planting is recommended for cold-winter areas; autumn planting for warm areas. If other choices become available later, I may get some more!

Mika, I truly can't remember how common (or uncommon) it is with sparaxis in individual colours, but as all of this got me thinking of UK nurseries and their often spectacular assortment of plants and various bulbs I remembered kevockgarden: http://www.kevockgarden.co.uk/...

Not sure if you know about them or not, but in their catalogue last year they sold sparaxis in these colours:

Sparaxis 'Bright Star' pack of 70 bulbs £11.00
White stars with yellow centres, purple and white on the outside.

Sparaxis 'Moonlight' pack of 70 bulbs £11.00
Starry flowers, white with pinkish red markings inside and outside.

Sparaxis 'Skyline' pack of 70 bulbs £11.00
Very pale pink with a prominent dark red zone at the centre.

Sparaxis 'Sunshine' pack of 70 bulbs £11.00
White flowers, shaded pink, with red and yellow centres.

It wont let me post link directly to the old catalogue, but you'll find a link to it, if you first click bulbs on the left side menu.

Obviously no guarantee that they will be available when the new catalogue is published in January. On the other hand they may have even more cultivars . In any case I think you might enjoy browsing their selection. Some of the packages are a bit big, but the selection is superb. Please note that I have never ordered from them, so don't know how well behaved they are!

Wow, that's great, William - thank you! A much better range of colours, and the prices are better - at T&M I paid £15 for 60, and that was described as a 'special offer' (down from £20). And with the order confirmation, they say the bulbs won't be sent until late in January. Still, as it never freezes here I guess I can plant them whenever they arrive.
I'll let you know how I get on!

Mika, those Sparaxis are all species from South Africa, so try Silverhill Seeds.

Glen you are lucky , you have a few Hippie nurseries in Queensland where an enormous range are bred.Would love to visit them, but don't like the heat and humidity up that way.
Here are two of mine in bloom just now
Apple Blossom


Kalahari--just opening