Bulbinella nutans

Hailing from South Africa's Cape Province, this Asphodeline relative grows during the winter and is summer dormant. A bright green lustrous clump of channeled and grassy deciduous foliage celebrates long blooming, perfect-for-cutting, sunny yellow flowers. Described by numerous starlike florets, opening from the bottom up on erect cone-shaped racemes, the unfurled blossoms skirt beneath tight green buds and look a bit like ballerinas in frilly tutus alighting slender curving stems. Most dramatic when planted en masse with Geranium harveyi and Euphorbia myrsinites, Bulbinella nutans is superb for naturalizing in a sunny, well drained, low-maintenance border where it can be kept dry during the summer, at which time its old leaves can be pulled off.

Grassy w/tall pyramidal bloom-stalks, yellow blooms.

In late February and March, The Ruth Bancroft Garden is enlivened by the bright yellow flowers of our resident Bulbinella. Plants in this genus have short rhizomatous underground stems surmounted by a tuft of long, narrow, bright-green leaves. The stem and leaf-bases are usually sheathed in the fibrous remains of the old leaves. The genus has an interesting distribution, with 17 species occurring in the western part of South Africa and 6 in New Zealand. The leaves are deciduous, appearing each year at the start of the growing season and withering away during the resting period. These plants are members of the Asphodelaceae, which includes other genera such as Bulbine and Kniphofia (red-hot pokers). In the past, plants in this family were included in the lily family. Our plants have been going under the name Bulbinella floribunda, a name listed in botanical reference works such as Hortus. However, in 1999 Pauline Perry published the book Bulbinella in South Africa, in which she noted uncertainties surrounding this name, which goes back to the late 1700’s. As was often the case in those days, the description is not very exact, and it is therefore difficult to be certain which plants the name should apply to. Consequently she discards the name. Going by her key and illustrations, our plants seem to fall under B. nutans. This species is native to the southwestern corner of South Africa, the region where Cape Town is located. The climate in this area is similar to ours, with wet winters and dry summers, and the plants have thrived in the garden, multiplying over the years. The leaves come up after the onset of the rains in the autumn months, and persist through the winter. Towards the end of the winter, in February and March, the racemes of yellow flowers emerge. These are up to about 3 feet or so in height (1 meter). Their burst of brilliant yellow is a welcome presence, but when using them in the garden it must be remembered that they disappear during the summer.

Rarely seen in gardens, but easy to grow, & quite delightful, Bulbinella nutans makes clumps of 1' grassy green leaves during the Winter & Spring, as well as numerous club-like 3' spikes of canary yellow flowers that are green in bud. Bloom time is in late Febraury or early March. The plant is completely dormant in the Summer. Most of the available literature about this species says that it likes damp soil, but it can also take dry & drought - the large stand at the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek, CA survives & thrives on little more than winter rain, & has spread & reseeded itself to a 5' area over the course of many years. Accepts a wide range of soil types! From South Africa.