Tritonia crocata
| Tritonia crocata | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 9 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Width: | 0.3' |
| Blooms: | Late Spring-Early Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Tritonia crocata
Propagation: Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse at 15°c[1]. It usually germinates freely[2]. Seed can also be sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a warm greenhouse[1]. Sow the seed thinly so that the seedlings can be left undisturbed in the pot for their first two years of growth. Give them an occasional liquid feed in the growing season to ensure they do not become nutrient deficient. When the plants become dormant in the summer, pot up the small bulbs placing 2 - 3 bulbs in each pot. Grow them on for another one or two years in the greenhouse before planting them out when they are dormant in late summer.
Division. Dig up the corms in October, dry them in well ventilated conditions at about 20°c and then store them in a cool but frost-free place over the winter, planting them out about 10cm deep in April[2][1]. Corms should be planted out in the autumn[3].
Cormlets harvested when digging up the corms in the autumn can be stored in a similar manner to the corms[1]. Larger cormlets can be planted out in spring, smaller ones may be best grown on for a year in the greenhouse.
Cultivation: Requires a sunny position, preferring a well-drained neutral to slightly acid soil with a pH in the range 6.5 to 7[1]. Requires moisture in the winter and spring followed by a dry period in the summer and early autumn[4].
A difficult plant to grow outdoors in Britain, it comes into growth in the winter and flowers in the spring[5][4]. The growing plant is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c[1].
Closely related to T. squallida, apparently differing only in the colour of the flowers[1].
Range: S. Africa.
Habitat: Dry clay flats and slopes in the southern Cape[4].
Edibility: The flowers are used as an adulterant of saffron in flavouring food and colouring it yellow[6].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: T. hyalina.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2. Pan Books, London, 1998.
- ↑ Matthews, Victoria. The New Plantsman Volume 1. Royal Horticultural Society, 1994.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.