Nicholas Wray and his staff hosted a repeat of this popular training day first held in 2007 (link to previous report).

It is 350 years since the first South African bulbs were grown in the UK. Today, they are a familiar and popular part of our garden flora. With many gardens now restoring or investing in new cool glass, awareness of the diversity of bulbous plants from the Cape and planting opportunities outdoors arising from climate change have both increased, and the potential for cultivating a wide range of South African bulbs is beginning to be appreciated.

Nick set the context for the day with a presentation on bulbs in the wild in the various regions and habitats in South Africa, pointing out lessons to be learnt from the wild to assist in their cultivation. Delegates found this very helpful. This was followed by a presentation, supplied by Terry Smale, on cultivating winter-growing bulb species in a cool glasshouse. Jonathan Hutchinson brought along some of his collection of veltheimias and talked about them in the wild and their cultivation.

A tour of the glasshouses at the Botanic Garden with Penny Harms and Nick involved practical demonstrations and discussions on potting, growing media, seed sowing, problems associated with flower initiation, propagation and pests and diseases.

Leaflets from Kirstenbosch Botanic Garden on evergreen, winter-growing and summer-growing species of bulbous plants and their propagation and care, and on cultivation and care of watsonias were available, as well as details of potting mixes used for South African bulbs at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden, and an article on the flora of South Africa.

Among the practical tips that delegates found particularly helpful were the need to maintain high light levels and ventilation in cool glasshouses in the winter, improving drainage by adding crocks to the compost mix rather than at the bottom of the pot-, research on local conditions and seasonal rainfall in the wild to determine growing needs of particular species-, the importance of growing media and soil structure for cultivating South African bulbs.

At the end of the day, a tour of the Botanic Garden, to see the progress made at the new site, was much enjoyed. Our thanks to Nick and his staff for a very interesting and informative day.