Bellevalia

Bellevalia atroviolacea

This has the deepest shade in the genus. Narrow blue-green leaves, flat on the ground below a 20cm stem with a clustered spike of hanging funnels of a deep indigo-blue above veering towards the sinister violet-black of Gothic novels, below.

Nursery raised from the original Afghani collection made, not surprisingly, some years ago. Well drained sunny garden spot.

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Bellevalia ciliata

Hairy-edged leaves sit below a tight cylindrical spike of mauve-grey buds which undergoes an amazing change both in shape and colour as it unfurls to a loose spike of flowers held on lengthening, arching pedicels.

The buds turn deep purple then open to 10mm long, tubular bell flowers of softer purple with a white mouth and deep navy-blue anthers. The proportion of white increases with age then the whole fades, after pollination, to a mushroom shade as buds further up the spike open.

The entire flowering process moves up the spike and can take several weeks in larger plants which can bear 40-60 flowers. Eventually the flowers fade, large pods replace those that were pollinated and the seed spike breaks up to become almost a "tumbleweed".

Open, sunny spot in a well-drained, loam soil and best not confined in a pot. S. Italy, Bulgaria, Greece, Algeria to Libya.

Bellevalia cyanopoda

A great rarity, probably never offered anywhere before, this stock stems from material discovered in Syria, Jabal Nusair, near Slunfeh, where it grows on Dolomite screes.

It is one of the few Bellevalia with clean, bright, violet-blue, narrowly campanulate flowers. In the wild it is a compact plant with grey leaves sitting on the ground and compact violet-blue inflorescence sitting amidst.

In cultivation it must have cool temperatures and full light to prevent it becoming leggy and keep the leaves grey and the habit dwarf. Too much heat and you will spoil it. Otherwise easy in a well-drained fertile, loam-based soil.

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Bellevalia longistyla

(Hyacinthus longistylus, Bellevalia araxina)

This has between 3 and 5 leaves which sit in a basal rosette more or less on the soil surface. At 3-4cm across, these are broad for the genus, though they are very decorative and edged with fine saw-toothing.

The flower spike bears up to 25 blooms, each held on a purplish stalk which varies from 1cm to 2cm depending on age. Each bears a tubular flower in which the tube is purple, whilst the spreading lobes are white with some fine green veining. As each flower ages, so the amount of white in each increases. The zone of open flowers moves slowly up the spike as the whole matures and later develops into a conical seed spike.

Easy in a sunny, well-drained spot. It makes size best in humus-rich soils but flowers best when it is hotter and drier, not over-fussed or coddled.

Native to e. Turkey, Iran and the Caucasus in mountains and steppes.

Bellevalia longistylabellonlon	£9.50		1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
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