Albuca canadensis
| Albuca canadensis | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 8 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 1' |
| Width: | 0.5' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Albuca canadensis
Propagation: Seed - we have no details for this species but suggest sowing the seed in a greenhouse in a light well-drained compost as soon as it is ripe if possible, otherwise in spring. Sow the seed thinly so that the young plants can be grown on in the same pot for their first year of growth. Apply a liquid feed from time to time if the seedlings look as though they need nutrients and prick them out at the end of their first growing season. Grow on the plants for at least their next winter in a greenhouse and plant out when the bulbs are dormant in late summer or early autumn.
Division of offsets in late summer.
Cultivation: Requires a sheltered position in full sun in a light well-drained soil[1].
Succeeds outdoors in areas where frosts are short-lived and light, to a minimum of -5°, and in such areas grow well in a wild or informal garden[1]. It is best to give the bulbs some protection in the winter, preferably using a cloche or pane of glass[2].
This species is closely related to A. major and that species is included here by some botanists[3][1].
Range: S. Africa.
Habitat: Sandy places on flats and lower slopes[3].
Edibility: The succulent stems are chewed to allay thirst[4]. They are rather mucilaginous[5]. This use is listed for A. major, but since this species is so closely related it almost certainly has the same use[K].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Adamson, Robert and Terence Salter. Flora of the Cape Peninsula. 1950.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.