Bomarea Hirtella

Description

An absolute beauty from the edges of the cold Chilean jungle. Ascending, twining stems bearing glossy leaves end in multi-headed clusters of exotic, stunningly marked and speckled, alstroemeria-like, orange, yellow and red flowers. Huge seed pods slowly form, and then from October until Christmas these slowly split open, revealing the bright red seeds inside. This incredible plant makes very deep, long-lived tubers and is completely hardy here having withstood minus 15 Centigrade.

Sowing Advice

Sow seeds at any time onto a good soil-based compost covering seeds with fine grit or compost to approximately their own depth. We recommend germinating at 15 to 20 degrees C. Germination may be very slow, perhaps 2-3 months, or sometimes much longer, and these seeds may sometimes wait for spring before emerging. Grow on individual seedlings in 3 inch pots before finally planting with climbing support in a well-drained spot or very large pot.

Key Facts