Pasithea caerulea
Archive entry 19.05.24
23rd March 2009
A Chilean member of the Anthericaceae (Anthericum, Chlorophytum etc.) with blue flowers. Quite impossible to walk away from when I saw it for sale at Cotswold Garden Flowers.
It has come through the winter safely, but I have yet to see it in flower.
When I first saw it, I assumed that it would be fairly straightforward to grow, but perhaps I was overconfident. I lost mine in the next winter. I don't think that it is tender, it is just a bit particular about conditions.
I know a couple of other people who also lost it in the garden. It is widespread in Chile but also grows in desert areas and I think it may prefer to be dry through late summer and winter, while dormant.
It has fibrous root with small root tubers at their ends.
In 2020 I was able to buy it again, this time from Avon Bulbs. It was fairly simple to grow and flowered the following summer. I had hoped that it would set seed but
I didn't get any. This time I took a bit more care, kept it in a cold greenhouse and made sure it was well watered in the early summer growing period.
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| 30th April 2021 |
2nd June 2021 |
9th June 2021 |
References:
Pacific Bulb Society, https://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Pasithea (accessed 21.05.2023).