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Much to the delight of garden lovers and landscapers, garden shops now offer a stunning range of international seeds and bulbs, giving the gardeners a chance for growing novelties. As a child one used to drool over beautiful varieties of flowers shown in the coloured catalogues of Dutch and American nurseries while father would manage to get a few seed packets in exchange of Himalayan seeds and patiently wait for two to three years to see a lily, freesia or iris bloom. Three cormous plants, originating from South Africa, are today grown all over the world for their beauty. All of them belonging to the iridaceae family are worth trying in the plains of north India and milder hill stations which do not have much of frost. Freezias: Modern strains of freezias are the descendants of white, pink and yellow freezias that grew wild in Cape of Good Hope. These were introduced to the West at the end of the 19th century and much research was done to hybridise them, as they are highly valued for their sweet scent. Now available in a vast choice of colours ranging from white, yellow, pinks, mauves, rose, violet to purplish and oranges to browns, some of the new hybrids may be almost scentless. Nonetheless, the arching stems of graceful tubular flowers look beautiful and are long lasting. They are prized by flower arrangers who love the exquisite contours of the stem in addition to the rich pastel tones of the flowers that lend an exclusive grace to any flower arrangement. Even though the modern hybrids are more reliable, less sensitive to temperature, larger in size and virtually pest free, yet some people go for the smaller ones, which have a fragrance that has the pungency of citrus rind combined with the sweetness of vanilla.
Equal parts of sandy loam, leaf mould and well crumbled farmyard manure make a good compost for freesias, which can grow in any warm sheltered place during the winters. As they need cool conditions to form buds, it is a good idea to grow them in pots, which can be moved according to the conditions required. A little bone meal for coloured ones will add to their luster. Plant them at regular intervals from end September onwards to obtain a succession of blooms. Late planting will make the stems shorter and the flowers smaller. Six to eight bulbs in six-inch pots make a handsome display. In ground they should be planted two-inch apart and 1`BD inch deep. As the flower buds appear, a dose of liquid manure can be given. Staking with thin stakes may be necessary to support them. Occasionally syringed on warmer days, they will be happy with moderate watering during flowering, which should be withdrawn gradually after flowers fade. Freezias can be easily propagated from offsets and even seeds, sown immediately after they are ripe. The seedlings do not like transplanting, so thinning should be done in the pots where they are to be grown. Ixias: Another brilliantly coloured bulbous plant from Cape of Good Hope that can be grown in our gardens, Ixias grow up to 2 ft in height and have linear leaves and stiff thin stems with panicles of beautiful open yet bell-shaped flowers. These are best grown in pots but do fairly well in beds also in plains of northern India. Plant them October onwards—six corms to a 6 in pot in standard compost like the one meant for freezias and cultivate them much as them too. They like ample light after the shoots appear and moderate watering. Available in creamy white, bicolour, etc, the ixias should be allowed to wither off naturally, which will promote good corms and offsets for next season. During harsh winters, these should be covered with a mulch of sawdust or coconut fibre. Sparaxis: Another half-hardy plant from the iridaceae family, sparaxis likes light sandy soil in a well-drained humus rich soil and sunny area. Plant the bulbs four inch deep and two inch apart. The star-petalled showy flowers in purple yellow, orange, red and white resemble flowers of ixias. They also are good for pot culture and can be cultivated like ixias and freezias.
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