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Products > Veltheimia bracteata Pastel Series
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| Category: Bulb/Tuber/Rhizome etc. |
| Family: Hyacinthaceae (~Amaryllidaceae) |
| Origin: South Africa (Africa) |
| Bloomtime: Winter/Spring |
| Synonyms: [Veltheimia viridifolia, V. bracteata 'Aurea'] |
| Parentage: (Veltheimia bracteata 'Rosalba' hybrids) |
| Height: 1 foot |
| Width: 1-2 feet |
| Exposure: Light Shade/Part Sun |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Medium Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 20-25° F |
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Veltheimia bracteata "Pastel Series" (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 pink, peach and yellow tubular flowers with dark pink base that are upright and green tipped in bud and dangling downward when open, on 1-2 foot tall fleshy stalks, somewhat similar to those of a 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. These plants are seedlings from a group of several light colored pastel flowering Veltheimia bracteata selections, including the one named 'Rosalba'. We also grow a pure yellow form we call Yellow Comet', the species Veltheimia bracteata, which is the same in all respects except it has pale rose-pink flowers and the fully deciduous Veltheimia capensis which grows in full sun with attractive undulating gray leaves and is fall to winter flowering. 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 subsumed into Veltheimia bracteata as described by William Harvey in 1871.
The information on this page is based on research conducted in our nursery library and from online sources as well as from observations made of this plant as it grows in our nursery, in the nursery's garden and in other gardens that we have observed it in. We also will incorporate comments received from others and always appreciate getting feedback of any kind from those who have additional information, particularly if this information is contrary to what we have written or includes additional cultural tips that might aid others in growing Veltheimia bracteata Pastel Series.
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