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Veltheimia bracteata 'Yellow Comet' (Yellow Forest Lily) - A South African semi-deciduous bulb that produces a dozen or so glossy green leaves that are 1 foot to 18 inches long and 3 inches wide with wavy margins. In late winter and early spring appear the pure light yellow tubular flowers, upright and green tipped in bud and dangling downward when open, on 1-2-foot-tall fleshy stalks, somewhat similar to those of the yellow form of red hot poker plants (Kniphofia). Flowers are followed by large 3-winged papery capsules that are unusually attractive in their own right.
Grow in light shade, water regularly to only occasionally and is a fairly drought tolerant plant is it is allowed to go into summer dormancy. A great plant for the shade garden - can be nearly evergreen in summer months if watered but will rot if soil does not drain well with this treatment - best to allow to dry out in summer with new foliage coming on in fall. The species comes from a wide area of the Cape area and in Namaqualand where it grows on rocky slopes. The genus, first published in 1771 by German botanist Johann Gottlieb Gleditsch (1714-1786) who honored himself with the naming of the genus of the Locust trees (Gleditsia), honors Count Frederick Augustus von Veltheim (1741-1801) a German patron of Botany. This plant was long called Veltheimia viridifolia (meaning green leaves), a name given the plant in 1797 by the Dutch scientist and medical doctor Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin but this species and Velthemia undulata was lumped into Veltheimia bracteata as described by William Harvey in 1871.
We received our original stock plants of this great yellow form from Dylan Hannon, curator of the conservatory at the Huntington Botanical Gardens, who proposed the name 'Yellow Comet' and have sold this wonderful plant since 2013. We also grow the species Veltheimia bracteata, which is the same in all respects except it has pale rose-pink flowers, a seedling group of mixed pastel flower colored selections we call Veltheimia bracteata "Pastel Series" and the fully deciduous Veltheimia capensis which grows in full sun with attractive undulating gray leaves and is fall to winter flowering.
This information about Veltheimia bracteata 'Yellow Comet' displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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