Romulea bulbocodium
Romulea bulbocodium
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
Requires a well-drained very sandy soil in full sun[1, 2]. Easily grown in a bulb frame but plants are not very long-lived outdoors in Britain[1]. Plants are fairly hardy, tolerating short periods of temperatures down to about -10°c, or perhaps a bit lower[2]. Plants need to be kept dry in the summer when they are dormant[1, 2]. Very variable in flower colour and size[1]. Individual flowers are short-lived, lasting about 3 days and only opening from midday to early evening[2]. Flowers can be of 2 sizes, the smaller ones being pollen-sterile[1].
Propagation
Seed - sow the seed in spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division in late summer when the plants are dormant[2]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Romulea+bulbocodium>
Pollinators
Insects
References
- [1]Bulbs — Phillips. R. and Rix. M. · Pan Books · 1989 · ISBN 0-330-30253-1 ↩︎Superbly illustrated, it gives brief details on cultivation and native habitat.
- [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
- [3]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
- [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎