NERINES For Autumn Flower

Press, Volume C, Issue 29505, 5 May 1961, Page 7

NERINES For Autumn Flower

Among the most popular bulbs for autumn flower are the nerines, variously pronounced ne-rine or ner-i-ne according to the particular convention to which you adhere. They are most useful plants, for they are very reliable once established, and the cut flowers have a very long life in water. There are quite a number of different sorts, and the majority of them are in flower now. Another autumn-flowering oulb sometimes confused with the nerine is amaryllis, the “naked lady”—so called be-i cause it produces flower and! leaf at different seasons.! However, the two can be told j apart quite easily. Nerine. has narrow petals which tend to curl back, and the! stamens in the centre of the I Hower project far beyond! ‘hem; Amaryllis has wide! petals, forming a trumpet! shaped flower, and the! stamens are contained within :t, not projecting outside.: Both bulbs should be planted with the neck of the bulb above ground level, and both! like a sunny position, planted in a well-drained soil. Here are some of the more 1 popular sorts of nerine: N. bowdeni is the hardiest of them, and one of the most commonly grown. The lovely pink blooms are carried m quite large heads, often 10 or 12 flowers to the head, and the stems are up to 18 inches tall. N. filifolia is the miniature of the family, for it only grows six or eight inches tall, and has rather thin grassy foliage. The blooms are slightly darker in colour than N. bowdeni. N. flexuosa alba is a tall plant, 18 inches or more, but the heads are smaller aand more compact than N. bowdeni, and are white in colour. The petals are corrugated at the edge, giving a frilly appearance. N. fothergillii has the brightest colour orangescarlet—but is less hardy than any of those mentioned, rhe heads are about the same size as flexuosa alba, and the stems up two feet m height. Although the best time for planting nerines is about February, when the bulb is dormant, they can be obtained from nurserymen for planting now.