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Tigridia Pavonia
Guernsey Donkey2
Posts: 6,713
in Plants
Just how delicate are these bulbs/flowers. Do the flowers only last for a day? I have read that they like full sunshine - is that true?
Would I need to dig them up each autumn here? Will they grow successfully in a pot, and if so how many can I plant in each large pot?
The flowers looks so unusual, which is what attracted them to me. Something a bit different.
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Thanks Philippa for passing on your experience with these plants/bulbs/flowers. I have 15 bulbs in the packet, so enough to do as you suggest and see which are more successful. If I remember I will update at the end of the summer.
Hi GD, I have these gorgeous flowers in my garden here in Sheffield and they have thrived. They are in a west-facing garden and get full sun for most of the afternoon and are shaded by a large oak in the late afternoon/evening.
It's true that they thrive in full sun and that they produce a single flower daily. My plants produce about 4-6 flowers each in succession. They are semi-hardy and the recommendation is to lift them before the first frosts but I have left them in the ground. However, the last few winters have been mild with temperatures not really dropping below -3C.
They are not fussy about soil, mine are in clay which has been enriched with compost. They do require free-draining soil so I added a little grit when planting them.They also produce a lot of seeds and when planted they produce flowers in the first year.
Here's a photo' of one of them.
What a beautiful flower - I am looking forward to having the same in a few months time - so thanks for sharing your Tigridia experiences with me soulboy. I don't really think I will lift the bulbs either - we should be safe here (?) for the winter. Do they produce big leaves - I ask because as much as I like daffodils the leaves take ages to die down and do take up a lot of space in their area.
Hi, sorry about the delay in replying. They don't produce leaves as large as daffodils, nor as many. So I leave them in place until they're just about dead. I then collect the seed heads when they're ready in autumn.
With my daffodils and crocuses I cut down the leaves after about 6 weeks, which is the recommended minimum you should give them. I have to do this as they are all in borders and I need the space for the annuals I seed, such as sunflowers.They've never suffered as a result.
Yes that is my dilema too Soulboy - too many daffodil leaves, taking an age to die down, and I also need to plant annuals in the narrow borders in front of the daffs. I go ahead with the planting and just work my way around the leaves or sometimes I tie them in knots, which look odd but keep them from flopping all over the place.
Pleased that the Tigridia leaves aren't so bulky, so they shouldn't cause any problems.
Hi GD, a lot of people on this forum and elsewhere say it's not a good idea to tie up your leaves. As I mentioned, as soon as the 6 week minimum is up mine all get chopped. Good luck with your tigridias, I look forward to some photo's.
I didn't know that soulboy - what is the thinking behind that (tying of daff leaves)? The tigridea bulbs (8 of them) will probably be going in a bed that has established roses growing in it.