Sparaxis bulbifera
Sparaxis bulbifera
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
Requires a light well-drained soil in a hot sunny position[1, 2, 3]. Prefers a rich soil[3]. This species is not very cold-hardy in Britain, when grown outdoors it is best planted about 15cm deep on a south facing wall in November[1]. Apply a mulch over the winter to protect the corms from cold[2]. The corms must be kept dry after flowering, at a minimum temperature of 10°c. It is best to lift the corms when the leaves die down, store them in a dry place and to replant them in November[1]. In areas with cool summers the plant might not manage to develop adequate corms for subsequent growing[4]. This species is often found growing in moist or wet soils in the wild, and is more tolerant of wet conditions than other members of the genus[5]. Plants produce bulbils on the flowering stems, when plants are grown in a greenhouse these bulbils can sow themselves around freely[PFAF].
Propagation
Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse in a light potting mix. The seed usually germinates freely within 6 weeks but the seedlings are liable to damp off so make sure you give them plenty of ventilation. It is best to sow the seed thinly so that it is not necessary to prick out the seedlings in their first year of growth. If necessary, give them some liquid feeds during the growing season. Divide up the small bulbs when the plants have become dormant at the end of the first growing season. Grow them on for at least another year before planting them out. This species often flowers in its second year from seed. Division of offsets. This is best done when the dormant plant is lifted in summer. Larger bulbs can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller bulbs and grow them on in a cod frame for their first year, planting them out when dormant in late summer. Bulbils. These are freely produced on the flowering stem. Pot them up when they start to fall off the plant, keep them fairly dry until late autumn, then water them lightly through the winter. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Sparaxis+bulbifera>
Pollinators
Insects
References
- [1]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
- [2]Hardy Bulbs.; Including Half-hardy Bulbs and Tuberous and Fiberous-rooted Plants — Grey. C. H. · Williams & Norgate. · 1938 · ISBN - ↩︎Rather dated now, but an immense work on bulbs for temperate zones and how to grow them. Three large volumes.
- [3]The World of Iridaceae — Innes. C. ↩︎Deals with many of the plants in the Iris family giving brief details of habitat and notes on cultivation. Well illustrated.
- [4]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.
- [5]The Color Encyclopedia of Cape Bulbs — Manning. J. Goldblatt. P. & Snijman. D. · Timber Press, Oregon. · 2002 · ISBN 0-88192-547-0 ↩︎Excellent treatment of these plants, with good descriptions, habitat etc. Lots of high quality colour photographs.
- [6]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
- [7]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
- [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎