Ansellia spike

[Vivienne]

Can anyone confirm... is this a spike on my Ansellia africana? It will be the first bloom for me! Fingers are crossed!!

[Leisurely]

Sure looks like the beginning of a flower spike to me. However, this plant is a species that is supposed to bloom in the spring after a cooler drier winter rest in its native home of Africa. The bloom spike could be triggered by a cool down in your area if you have had one.

[Vivienne]

Thanks Leisurely. We've definitely had a cool down lately, but nothing too dramatic. This is a division from a very large plant that has been 'raised' in Colorado for several years. The mother plant is currently blooming (or just finished). Is it possible for the normal season to change given our rather differing seasons in Colorado? This spike is on a growth that began in May of this year... along with 4 other new canes. There is also a brand new growth starting.

[Leisurely]

I looked at my plant yesterday after reading your post and it appears to also have a spike starting. This is not the first thing I have read of plants blooming out of their normal period. Maybe it's the crazy weather we have had this year.

[Vivienne]

Hmmm... I thought I heard some place that the spikes take a long time to get to the bud and bloom state. How long have you had your plant? What has your spike to bloom experience been like?

[joan gero]

Perhaps I shouldn't jump in here with a non-Ansellia africana note (and I don't even have an example of this plant -- didn't know what it was until Vivienne taught me!!!), but about the spike-to-bloom line, have you ever heard or noticed that the longer the spike takes to mature to blooms, the longer the blooms last? It seems that way to me, across the different genera that I keep trying with. The ones that take FOREVER also last for months!? Is that something that is known??? Thanks for your thoughts...

[Vivienne]

Hi Joan - I've never actually read or heard that before, but now that I think about it, with my own collection, that does seem to fit their habit/pattern. Can any of our resident experts give us that info??

I'm sure I've heard before that Ansellia take a long time from spike to bloom... and I know that I've read that they are very long lasting blooms.

[Leisurely]

Hi Vivienne, the plant that I have is a seedling that I purchased two years ago from Carter and Holmes. It is variety nilotica which is a smaller plant. This is its first blooming. A few years ago I had one of the large varieties that became a giant and I sold it at our local society plant auction. I never paid much attention to the flowering process because it hung under a tree in the back yard where it thrived on neglect. Older plants grow this peculiar root system that is made of very thin roots that grow straight upward several inches to form what looks like a birds nest and absorb needed moisture from the air.

[Vivienne]

Yep - I have that going on too... plus a new little growth.