Phycella (Phycella ignea)

Phycella
Phycella ignea

Phycella ignea

Is this a bulb forming plant? If so, how large is the bulb? It is beautiful!

Joseph

Yes, this is a bulb plant (please check my comments on this lovely Chilean native species). The only Phycella bulbs I have seen had the size of a daffodil bulb.

The bright color of Phycellas is amazing!

Ursula

Thank you, Ursula, I need to put this one in my "want to get" list.

Joseph

One last note, I have fallen for many of the natives from your country, Ursula, and recently I purchased some seeds of bulb forming species and am looking forward to growing them out. I guess I may see flowers on them in a half a decade if I am lucky. I grew out some Amaryllis seeds, started them in 2001, and now the bulbs are maybe 2 inches in diameter.

Do you grow these plants from seeds? I was so excited to get my hands on seeds of the fabulous blue Chilean Crocus, Tecophilaea cyanocrocus from a vender in the NW of the USA, and wondered if you had experience starting seeds of this genus out?

Joseph

Joseph, unfortunately i have never been able to see a Tecophilea cyanocrocus ...... except for pictures on European seed catalogues.

This beautiful plant is nearly extint because of foreign plant hunters.

The only Tecophilea I have found in the wild is T. violiflora, a tiny beauty in heavenly blue with just one leaf and one or two flowers. Unfortunately, this year I did not visit the place in time to take pitures.

When you buy seeds from Chilean native bulb plants, check our Plant File to see if I have added any comments. If not, let me know and I will check my reference books that will tell me how long they will take to bloom when grown from seeds. A few flower the very first season, others take two, three or four years to bloom.

Saludos,

Ursula

Thank you for this information, Ursula, I will keep in touch. I will keep notes as I go about germinating these seeds, for future use. That is encouraging that some of them may flower in the first year.

Have a great day!

Joseph

I usually add information on 'comments' when there is an existing file for a Chilean native plant, as well as when I make a new entry (this is usually associated with a picture(s) I post).

Unfortunately I will not be able to tell you exactly how hardy each plant is, since we do not have such evaluation method.

I wish you a great day as well!

Ursula

I will treat each one I germinate as a tender perennial. They would be too precious to risk trying to overwinter outdoors.

Besides the native Chilean bulbs, I have been a fond admirer of the Lapageria plants. They are such a challenge to get the seeds to wake up. I have read that you have to have very fresh seeds in order to have good germination success. Is this true, do you know?

You are right, only fresh Lapageria rosea seeds will produce a good germination rate. Quite tricky, I understand. That's an endangered species and our National Flower.

Good night, Joseph.

Ursula