Elephant Ears flowering

[fred]

I am not sure of the Technical name for this plant as I got this one from my Father 5 years ago and he called the plant elephant,s ears.







another one I grow for my Father..

[BunnytheOrchid]

Wow I would like to know the technical name for it too. I haven't seen an orchid like that before! Neato

wait...

is it an orchid???

[BunnytheOrchid]

I guess I'm answering my own question. The thread was started in "other plants"

[digitalgate]

that is definately not Phalaenopsis gigantea -elephant ear..(as least that is what it is
called locally)

[patticake]

The plant that we grow in the garden called elephant ears, is all huge leaves. I've never seen one bloom! The top where the bloom is coming out, looks like an amaryllis with the wrong bloom! I'm going to research this a little- It's a cool flower!

[janet_a]

that's very cool.

[Bolero]

I have seen a few with the big leaves but never in flower. Must be a hard one to get to that stage? Anyway you've done a stellar job, beautiful!!!

[fred]

thanks Bolero
they are not that hard to get to flower to be honest.
this one is in my side shade house all year round.
no direct sun light fertilized twice a year with chock poo.
no water at all from the start of winter till the first day of spring.
it does well each year.

[evagentry]

t\That is very pretty Fred, does it flatten as it opens? If so it might be Haemanthus, it looks simular.

[fred]

no evagentry
the flower stays the same until it starts to die off.

[tizzycat]

very unusual - I love it.

[pikevi]

I thought 'elephant ears' is actually Colocasia (esculenta?). I have two of them with dark green leaves. Very very pretty leaves

I think they produce some sort of an edible tuber which is eaten in some parts of the Pacific.

May be there is an orchid also named as elephant ears.

[digitalgate]

Originally Posted by pikevi

I thought 'elephant ears' is actually Colocasia (esculenta?). I have two of them with dark green leaves. Very very pretty leaves

I think they produce some sort of an edible tuber which is eaten in some parts of the Pacific.

May be there is an orchid also named as elephant ears.

Phalaenopsis gigantea is known as elephant ear in chinese..If that is what
you mean.

[Miki]

Hi Fred,
That is beautiful!
I have one of those in my garden. It is still sleeping (dormant).
I wonder if I will get a flower this year?

[Miki]

The name of this bulb:
HAEMANTHUS COCCINEUS

[LeftCoastAngler]

Wow! Thanks fer sharin' Fred.

Not quite the 'elephant ears' I'm used to seeing either folks... Itchy sap those buggers have!

Very cool bulb...

~LCA.

[BillC]

Hi Fred, got this from wikipedia since so many geeks seemed to have interest in your plant :

H. coccineus is widespread throughout the winter rainfall region in South Africa - from the southern parts of Namibia to the Cape Peninsula to the Keiskamma River in the Eastern Cape. It is an adaptable species growing in a wide range of soils derived from sandstones, quartzites, granites, shales and limestones, and will survive annual rainfall ranging from 100mm to 1 100mm. Changing altitude does not seem to stress it unduly, and it can be found from coastal dunes to 1 200m mountains. It is a gregarious species and can be found in clumps of hundreds, from the shelter of bushes on flat ground to shady ravines and rocks.

Cheers mate, Bill

[fred]

thanks for the information

its almost flowering time

[katrina]

Definitely not the Elephant Ears we have in the US. That is really cool fred!!

Thanks for detailed plant info Bill and Miki!! As I was looking at Fred's pics, I thought it sure looked to be in the Amaryllis family...but couldn't find anything. So...again, thanks for filling in the blanks there.

[PhalPal]

Wow Fred - How cool is that!!!! Very unique.

Patti what we call Elephant Ears are a type of Staghorn fern; I think that is what you are thinking about. They LOOK like elephant ears!

[tizzycat]

wow, Fred I can't wait to see them flower.

[Ron]

Hi Fred.
Bill hit the nail, Haemanthus coccinius
Very nice flowers, Haemanthus coccinius.
One of the mos beautiful South African bulbs you could have.
You Dad must have been a very keen gardener to collect them.
The different Haemanthus spp. come in an array of different colours.
Pinks in several shades, white, yellow, orange etc.
Very easy to grow from seed will flower in about 4 years from sowing them.
I have about 6 different Haemanthus species and most of the big Elephant ears type leaves.
Cheerio
Ron
b

[Ron]

Hi All
Just a quick update.
Mine are in flower now.
see first photo and second is of the leaves.
I just love them
Cheerio
Ron

[fred]

very nice Ron
I have 2 orange ones ( both Dads ) and yeah he was a very keen gardener
I guess one could say I am a chip off the old block

I also have the white one as well it is starting to get its leaves now all the green leaves had to be cut off to allow the bulb into the state

[NancyG]

very beautiful. I'd never seen those before. Does anyone in the US have them?

[BillC]

Freddie, as soon as that bud is fully open please post a pic or several pics. It looks as if it will be a cracker! Many geeks waiting to view.

Bill

[patticake]

So COOL!!!!

[hulaorchid]

Wow! how unusual! Very pretty Fred! thanks for sharing! Great color! You too Ron!

[fred]

here are a few more pics for you to see
the bloom is almost open

[hulaorchid]

Hey looks like it has prickles in that one shot! hehe!

[tizzycat]

Thanks Fred, keep 'em coming, they're great. I love the second pic with the succulents in the background. They all look nice and healthy too.

[fred]

yeah I should have moved that cacti
but I was too lazy
sorry

[tizzycat]

Oh no don't be sorry, It was nice to see those too. My son collects cacti.

[chaidi46]

its stunning !~!~ i have never seen anything like that....good job...di

[Ron]

Hi Fred.
Thanks for the photo, very nice.
Join the club of elegant bulb growers.
Cheerio
Ron

[fred]

its almost open

[mitko]

I have haemanthus albiflos , first cousin of yours elephant ear . I haven`t seen it in bloom yet. It has to be white-yelowish . Your red flowered elephant ear is beautiful !

[fred]

I have the white one as well it has not bloomed as yet either
As its an ever green when I brought it into my State quarantine cut all the leaves off the bulb
I have new leaves coming now

[fred]

just an update on the bloom for you
its fully open now

[patticake]

I just can't get over how cool these flowers are! I've never seen them over here on this side of the pond! Beautiful!!!

[fred]

thanks Patti
O by the way Congrats with getting 5,000 posts

I hope next season I will have my other red one in bloom as well
yeah I have 2 reds and a white

we might have to put one in a life raft Patti

[patticake]

Originally Posted by fred

thanks Patti
O by the way Congrats with getting 5,000 posts

I hope next season I will have my other red one in bloom as well
yeah I have 2 reds and a white

we might have to put one in a life raft Patti

OMG! I hadn't even noticed on the posts! It just shows that I like to yak! I would love to see the white one! Those are so cool...

[fred]

Patti I am waiting for the white one to come on for me
when I brought that one back here Quarantine cut all the leaves off and guess what its an ever green I have 2 leaves growing now
Am I pleased with that I thought I may have lost it for it has taken ages for the new leaves to show signs of growing

[LauraGR]

I was particularly interested in this discussion because I have a plant a friend gave me a few years ago that she didn't know the name of but knew it was from Africa. It bloomed last year for the firt time, and darned if I can find the pictures! But - I started to do a web search when you came up with the name Haemanthus, and found this great website:

Pacific Bulb Society | Haemanthus Species One

There on top is the one I have - Haemanthus Albaflos. The bloom came up on a thick stem like its family, an amaryllis-like stem that is fluid-filled and hollow, and produced the white flower in the picture. The leaves grow phalaenopsis-like, Amaryllis-like, except that they are fatter, thicker, and there are two ridges running the length of the leaves, like folds. Because I had my plant indoors and it bloomed in late fall, it never got the berries on it the link site shows, but the single flower was about 3-4" and lasted about 3 weeks. And, unlike your blood-red one, the leaves never died back. The flower stem came out of the middle of the largest center plant, and it continues to grow new leaves from that plant as well as the side shoots.

[fred]

this one is interesting
the first attachment is the bulb the flower has finished and the new leaves have started

the second on is the white one
I am very happy to see leaves growing on this one
after quarantine cut all the leaves off so I could bring the bulb into the state

[benetay]

This plant look exotic and i'm inclined to think that it doesn't come easily. I'm speechless.......

What can i say but great growing!

Cheers!

[kmarch]

The Aussies seem to know this plant well. Hmmmm....I rarely try non-orchids, but maybe I should try this one. It really is so cool.

[fred]

Kevin I saw them for sale for the first time at my friends orchid nursery when I got the nice Coel
40 dollars each in bloom oops that is the orangy red one

I got my two from my fathers I have no idea where he got them from
I have seen the white ones at a market that is where I got my white one

[patticake]

Fred, when you set one off on the life raft, let me know! We can run over to the coast to fetch it!

[fred]

good one Patti

the life raft is called Tasmania

[tansyflower]

You can buy them on ebay, they have the one Fred has (blood lily) and one called the paintbrush lily.

Also Nurseries online (Aus site) has listings.

[fred]

I am pretty pleased at the moment my ever green one that had all the leaves cut off so I could get the bulb into the state is moving well now
so I have a few pics of the white one for you all to see

first attachment was taken yesterday and the others today

[hulaorchid]

Those things really like you Fred!! They look very happy!

[flowerchild]

Fred those are so cool, I need to get me one or two or three of these eh????

[fred]

I agree with you Cindy
please keep us posted if you are able to get them

[sara 2009]

hi Iam sara

[lmartiny]

Hi Sara. Make a post under Intro or Newbie so people see you. Or one of the monitors will move your thread for you probabaly.

[fred]

this one is growing pretty fast now and is starting to look good
this will be my first bloom of the white one and I am excited

[dorothea]

white one is a bit hairy? I didn't notice it on the red one

[fred]

yeah I have noticed that as well
all the green leaves were normal before they were cut off
maybe its because of young leaves

[dorothea]

anyway, it's cute, even if it needs waxing

[benetay]

I love it even if the hairs are there. It's certainly nice to feel when you run one finger on it & it will start shouting, stop molesting me!

Thanks for sharing!!

Cheers!

[okianer]

I have Haemanthus albiflos but my never lose leafs?!

[Ron]

Hi Fred.
Looks nice, can not wait to see a photo of it open.
Ron

[fred]

Originally Posted by okianer

I have Haemanthus albiflos but my never lose leafs?!

okianer
Quarantine cut the leaves off so I could bring the bulb into the State

state quarantine laws any green on a bulb the green comes off or the bulb can not be brought into the state
that is with a permit

[psyc1210]

LOVE this plant Fred!!!

[Loki]

Hope it's OK to bump this thread, but this is such a unique plant; I love it. I am definitely going to have to source one of these from somewhere... beautiful!!

[fred]

gosh I don't have any photos of the white in bloom

I noticed this today on my Fathers plant
I can hear my father saying "well done son'

the attachments are the start of the flower

[fred]

here is an update of the flower starting to show
one can see the amount of groth from my last post

[fred]

here is an update for you of Pict's I took today
starting to look nice

[LauraGR]

I have the white one. It flowered last year, and appears to be losing its leaves right now. What kind of light do you have yours in? Mine is in bright, mostly indirect light, gets filtered sun maybe half the day.

[fred]

I grow them indirect sun light in a fully enclosed orchid house
they can take full sun as well.
the white is an evergreen
I would be looking at the potting mix it might need repotting or look at the bulb.
I don't know a lot about them myself.

here is another update of the flower I took today

[Ladyofthelakes]

That is one beautiful flower Fred. Red being my favorite color it got my attention.

Some of the other plants in my home and yard are Peony, which bloomed several years then the Deer ate them. A gorgeous Stargazer Lily, which the deer ate. Parrot Tulips, which the squirrels and deer ate. Wigelia Rosa (sp), which the deer ate. A beautiful red-veined Viburnum, you guessed it, the deer ate.

So, I got very interested in culinary herbs, the deer never ate any of them. I had Ginger mint, invasive, Chocolate mint, invasive, Greek Oregano, very invasive. So I pulled all of that out. My all time favorite is still Lovage, I put it in eggs, light brothy soups, sandwiches and even make a tea to drink. I have chives, garlic chives, chervil, thyme, cat nip, they were volunteers, they just appeared in my yard 4 years ago, Lavender is in the herb garden, Oriental Poppy, Delphinium and usually get plants for my raised flower bed at the front porch. One of my favorite grasses is Sweet Grass, just for the sheer beauty of the sheen it has, sparkles in the sun.

House plants, Pothos, African Mask, 2 Hoyas, and a big cactus collection, which I won't go into the names.

Plants, cooking, reading, hiking in the woods, keeps me company on this island.

Good to read all your interest, I apologize for not knowing the latin names of plants. That just started in my joining this group.

Vivienne