Seneca Hill Perennials

Over the years, we have become great fans of this South African genus. We have discovered, through growing thousands from seed and bothering our South African acquaintances for samples of their stock, that there is considerable variation within species, and that it is well worth our time (and yours) to seek the better forms.

We have also discovered that they're a lot hardier than we expected. Here, in zone 5 but with consistent snow cover, E. autumnalis, E. bicolor, and E. comosa 'Peace Candles', are well established in the open garden. The E. bicolor has even managed to self-sow. When we put a "?" after our estimated hardiness zones, it is because climates in the US are so different from those in South Africa that we want to remind you that minimum temperatures are probably only a small part of what determines hardiness. These plants come from places where nearly all the rainfall is concentrated in a three-month period, and where steep slopes ensure that no matter how wet the soil, the water will always be moving, never stagnant. Though duplication of their native conditions is clearly not necessary, a certain sensitivity to their basic requirements is. Summer drought will not suit them.

If you think success in your garden is unlikely, consider keeping some in pots. You can overwinter the dormant bulbs in any cool to cold place (above freezing), keeping them dry to just barely moist and resuming watering when you see signs of activity (they do emerge late).

NOTE: Eucomis bulbs will be shipped bare-root if they have not yet broken dormancy when your order is shipped. All bulbs are blooming size unless otherwise stated.

Eucomis bicolor 'Alba'

A variant of E. bicolor in which the flowers open a pale green-kissed white, and the foliage lacks purple spotting (the flower stem may be faintly mottled). You might wonder why anyone would want to take away E. bicolor’s most distinctive features, but in fact the result is cooly elegant, as E. bicolor is a beautifully structured plant, with large low-lying somewhat ruffled leaves and a large, loose inflorescence. It works in minty-white as well as in purple. Young previously-bloomed bulbs.

Eucomis bicolor, best-marked plants

Vegetatively propagated from a small group of selected parents with unusually heavy spotting on the leaves, dramatically mottled stems, and deep purple edging on the flowers. Even the fleshy green triangular seedpods have prominent purple spots. We find this species, native to the Drakensberg at high altitudes, to be easy and tough in the open garden, to the point where it has actually self-sown here and there. Previously-bloomed bulbs.

Eucomis comosa 'Peace Candles'

Of all the eucomis we grow (and we grow a lot), this is by far the easiest, most vigorous and most trouble-free in the garden. It blooms, multiplies freely, and grows in a wide range of conditions, including, much to our surprise, the heavily-salted sandy soil in the roadside garden. The sweetly-scented flowers, clean white with reddish purple stamens and ovaries, are densely packed into long cylindrical inflorescences; the foliage is narrow and straplike. We originally imported these from a South African grower who developed his stock from a single plant selected from a wild population more than 60 years ago. Makes an excellent cut flower.Previously-bloomed bulbs.

Eucomis comosa x pole-evansii 'Rhode Island Red'

From friend Ed Bowen of Opus Plants (www.opustopiarium.com) comes this magnificent new hybrid eucomis, the result of crossing pollen from E. comosa 'Sparkling Burgundy' onto E. pallidiflora subsp. pole-evansii. The first time I walked into Ed's nursery and saw this blooming, I nearly fell over. Ed still lusts after a cross that will bloom 6 feet tall and have deep burgundy leaves, and I don't blame him, but this selection is nothing to apologize for. It shows plenty of hybrid vigor in its growth rate, its sturdy flowering stem, and its huge, dense, slightly clavate inflorescence of pinkish flowers. We offer second-year bulbs from leaf cuttings, roughly 1 inch in diameter, and if you coddle them you may see your first bloom in two years. (The handsome guy in the picture is Ellen's husband Doug.)

Eucomis montana

This is one of our favorite species, even if it does smell - well - a little "off". It has large, lustrous, purple-rimmed oval leaves, sometimes suffused with purple as they emerge, and long inflorescences of relatively large, greenish to white, purple-centered flowers. Like many plants, it tends to be taller in captivity than in the wild, where it's described as reaching 30cm/1ft. These bulbs should bloom in another 2 years.

Eucomis pallidiflora subsp. pole-evansii

The giant of the eucomis clan, with huge inflorescences of wide-open green flowers. We have not yet tested hardiness in the gardens here, but it is probably somewhat less hardy than E. autumnalis and E. bicolor, as it has a more northerly distribution (closer to the Equator). Our plants are either young blooming size or one year shy thereof. Our photo was taken in Dan Hinkley's incomparable garden, with Dan graciously, albeit possibly somewhat unhappily, providing scale.

Eucomis vandermerwei

A rare dwarf pineapple lily found mostly in the highest outcrops of the Steenkampsberg (east of Johannesburg). Its narrow leaves are heavily splotched and patterned in blackish mauve and russet, and its small but conspicuous flowers are deep reddish-purple. It is adapted to high rainfall during the growing season, but needs good drainage, and should be kept fairly dry in winter (it does not tolerate dessication, though).

Eucomis zambesiaca

A real cutie, resembling a dwarf E. autumnalis, with erect spikes of green-tinged white flowers. Not very hardy, but it makes an outstanding container plant, as it multiplies rapidly and can be stowed away for the winter in a dry cool spot and ignored until spring. Grow it on the lean side to keep it compact.