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Babiana rubrocyanea

rooibloubobbejaontjie

A small, cormous perennial with narrow, hairy, upright leaves up to 15cm long and clusters of funnel-shaped, purple-blue flowers with a rich red throat, in spring

Other common names

winecups

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Ultimate height

0.1–0.5 metres

Time to ultimate height

2–5 years

Ultimate spread

0.1–0.5 metres

Loam

Sand

Moisture

Well–drained

pH

Neutral

	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Full sun

Aspect

South–facing or West–facing

Exposure

Sheltered

Hardiness
Hardiness ratings
All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets
H1a: under glass all year (>15C)
H1b: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1c: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)

H1C

Botanical details

Family: Iridaceae
Native to the UK: No
Foliage: Deciduous
Habit: Columnar upright, Tufted
Genus: Babiana are cormous perennials with ribbed, erect, narrowly lance-shaped leaves and spikes of often fragrant, funnel-shaped flowers
Name status: Correct
Plant range: S Africa (W Cape)

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow under glass from corms planted in free-draining, loam-based compost in autumn. Grow on in full light and apply a weak, balanced, liquid fertiliser every three weeks before flowering. Dry off as the leaves die down in summer. Corms can also be bought in spring for planting outside for a one-off summer blooming, but after this would need to be grown under glass and allowed to winter grow. Plant corms 15cm (6in) deep

Propagation

Propagate by seed sown as soon as ripe in autumn in a temperature of 13°C-15°C (55°F-59°F). Remove offsets when the corms are dormant in autumn and pot into equal parts loam-based compost and sharp sand

Suggested planting locations and garden types

Patio and container plants
Conservatory and greenhouse

Pruning

No pruning required

Pests

May be susceptible to glasshouse red spider mite

Diseases

Generally disease-free

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