Topic: Eucomis vandermerwei

[woodypecks]

This is a beautiful little variety of Eucomis that I picked up earlier this year . I had a go at propagating bulblets by cutting a leaf into 3 segments and planting them into gritty compost in flowerpot inside a polybag ...... it worked !   
  But what I want to know is ...is it possible to cut the flower stalk off and root up the little plantlet that is on top ?  Has anyone been successful in doing this...it kind of makes sense .....but I haven,t found anyone doing this , so maybe a waste of time  ? 

[blackkitty2]

Best off doing what you are doing with the leaf cuttings. We have had great success with growing from seed and the beauty of Eucomis is that it crosses very freely so you could end up with some interesting hybrids. Save the flower stalk as it might have some viable seed if you let it dry out. But remember if you do grow from seed then it must be labelled a hybrid. Only the leaf cuttings will be true to the parent plant.

Have a look at Trecanna Nurseries if you want some more Eucomis types as they have a good selection and some new forms such as 'Baby Opal', 'Eudun' and 'Lotte'. Some are reasonable prices but be prepared to pay a little extra for others. Now is a good time to buy the bulbs from them.

[Robert_Brenchley]

As blackkitty says, it's easy from seed. I hadn't thought of leaf cuttings. Lovely plants!

[woodypecks]

Thanks I will look up Trecanna Nursery , blackkitty , and see what other little beauties are out there .
Robert I dont think the flower will go to seed since the sun has gone and the rain has returned yet again , but I will keep an eye on it . Thanks : )