PLANT AVAILABILITY AND ORDERING INFORMATION:-

Hardy Bulbs    S. African Bulbs    Succulents    Summer Bulbs    Ordering Info    Order Form

SOME USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT SOUTH AFRICAN BULBS AND SUCCULENTS:-

Growing Conophytums    Growing S. A. Bulbs    Growing Lithops    Resources    Photo Gallery

WELCOME TO MY WEB SITE

Starting in 1965, I have put together an extensive collection of succulent plants and bulbs and having ceased to be a research scientist, now have the time to propagate some of these and produce surplus material for distribution to other enthusiasts. My particular interest is in South African plants, with the succulent genus Conophytum being the big favourite, followed closely by Haworthia and Gasteria. Among the bulbs, I have a penchant for Lachenalia, the Massonia group, Haemanthus and Strumaria. Visitors may view my collection that is located in Surrey, England, but this can only be strictly via a prior appointment.

I only have a tiny back-garden nursery and most of the spare plants on the lists are available in very limited quantities, so please check before ordering more than three of any item. Plants from many genera are available in too small a quantity to list, so please E-mail if there is anything in particular that you are seeking. Almost everything has been propagated by myself and the plants are fully in phase with the northern hemisphere seasons. This is particularly important for the South African bulbs which when offered in European nurseries have often been recently imported from their country of origin and can take a long time to readjust to our seasons. The average age of plants on offer is 2 - 4 years which in many cases means that they are flowering size, but with some of the larger amaryllids in particular, quite a few years of good growing will be needed.  I cannot provide Phytosanitary Certificates or CITES documentation, therefore plants can only be sent with confidence to destinations within the European Community. Some countries outside the EC do accept “dry bulbs", please check with your authorities before ordering.

WHAT'S NEW ON THE SITE?

The bulb lists have now been published on this site. I will be able to mail these until the end of August, when I start watering again for the new season. My succulent list will be posted towards the end of August.

COMING EVENTS

There will be a Mesemb Study Group event this autumn. It will be held at the usual venue: Banstead Community Hall, Park Road, Banstead, Surrey, SM7 3AJ on Saturday 27th September, 2008.There will be displays of mesembs, plant sales and a lecture. The Event is open to members and non-members alike. I will be selling plants at this event and also the Oxford "other succulent" show at Witney on 12th October, 2008

.CONO DISCOVERIES

There has been a marked decline in discovery of new conophytums in the wild so far this century, but there are now three taxa lined up for christening. A tiny purple-flowered member of the C. minusculum group grows in profusion on a single hill a little NW of Bitterfontein. It tends to form small mounds rather than flat mats like C. albiflorum which grows not far away. Plants that are best regarded as a subspecies of C. tantillum were found west of Gamoep by Anthony Mitchell in the 1980s. This material is now in cultivation and it was initially thought that it might actually be the long-lost C. tantillum ssp. tantillum. However the latter was rediscovered on a van Jaarsveld expedition last year to the Skaaprivier gorge, south of Steinkopf and along a possible donkey route that Rev. Meyer, the original discoverer, might have used to travel between the missions at Steinkopf and Komaggas many years ago. The third taxon was found by Steve Hammer last year SW of Kliprand. It forms small open clumps of tiny elongated heads with rounded tops and red lines. The diurnal flowers are rather delicate, with long pale tubes and pale purple petals. It might represent a southern extension of the C. tantillum complex.