How to Pick Galtonia Bulbs

Hi this is Yolanda Vanveen on behalf of Expert Village. Summer blooming hyacinth or Galtonia are plants that very few people know about in the garden. The first time I got some seeds I got them from a customer at the farmer's market and he said just grow it, throw it in the ground and it will bloom and smell like hyacinths in the summer. I planted it and waited and it was the most beautiful plant and I could not believe it. It was probably three feet tall with big elongated hyacinth blooms, smelled really good like a hyacinth and hardy. It has come back year after year. It is one of my favorite South African plants. It is from the cape area and it is very winter hardy down to about 10 degrees so pretty much all of the plants can get down to 10 degrees so we can grow pretty much everything here, even down to California and even if you live in a cold climate you can take them in the winter or treat them as an annual. Galtonia bulbs kind of look like a hyacinth bulb even. They look like a Hershey?s kiss candy because they have the tip that goes up. When I plant the I can tell which has the root and which has the tip and I plant them in groups of three or more in a triangle and they do not really even need to be planted that deeply. In the pots they do not seem to get as tall as the ground. I might add a little more soil just to make sure that the tips are coming out of the ground. I could probably force my Galtonia to bloom by putting it inside right now or I could just put it outside to blood for next summer. Because it is a little bit tender I would be careful of leaving them outside and in the pots so keep the pots dry just to be safe whereas in the garden I have never lost them not here in the Pacific Northwest. Galtonia are a beautiful summer blooming hyacinth. Next we are going to talk about Canna Lilies probably the queen of all the lilies in your yard.