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Tulbaghia violacea
Amaryllidaceae FAMILY

Tulbaghia violacea

Tulbaghia violacea

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Perennial
Growth—

Tulbaghia violacea is a plant mainly of subtropical and Mediterranean climates. It is somewhat cold-hardy, tolerating temperatures down to about -10°c[1]. Plants have proved reasonably hardy in the UK, with some reported to be hardy as far north as Edinburgh botanical gardens[2]. Requires a well-drained, fertile soil in a sunny sheltered position[1, 3]. The flowers are very fragrant at night, the whole plant has a garlic-like aroma[1]. Plants can flower all year round when growing in warm climates[4]. There are some named varieties, selected for their ornamental value[1]. 'Silver Lace' is a dwarf clumping plant that grows well in containers and is more attractive with larger flowers than the type[5, 1]. Members of this genus tend to hybridize freely in cultivation or if their wild ranges overlap[6].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the greenhouse[1]. Sow stored seed in early spring in the greenhouse[1]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots once they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. If planting them outdoors, this is best done in late summer when the plants are dormant. Division of the dormant plants in late summer. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Tulbaghia+violacea>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]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.
  2. [2]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.
  3. [3]Tropical Flowering Plants. A Guide to Identification and Cultivation. — Llamas K.A. · Timber Press; Oregon. · 2003 · ISBN 0-88192-585-3 ↩︎A terse guide for the gardener to almost 1,500 species of ornamental tropical plants with brief details on their cultivation and, usually, a small photograph of good quality.
  4. [4]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  5. [5]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.
  6. [6]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  7. [7]Tropical Ornamentals; A Guide — Whistler. W. Arthur. · Timber Press Inc. Oregon. · 2000 · ISBN 0-88192-448-2 ↩︎An excellent little guide to some of the more commonly cultivated ornamental plants of the Tropics, often giving some information on the plants other uses.
  8. [8]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.
  9. [9]African Flowering Plants Database — Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. · http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php ↩︎Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
  10. [10]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  11. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎