Description
Habranthus tubispathus roseus has good-sized, strong white flowers flushed strongly outside and deep in the throat with intense madder. The white matures to a pale pink shade. Flowers are borne very freely from June to September here and you may also get sporadic blooms through the year, whenever moisture follows a prolonged dry period.
Easily grown in a pot or greenhouse bed in any fertile, well-drained compost. Dry over the summer but the plants will tell you when to dry them off, by losing their leaves. Re-water after 4-6 weeks of dryness – ideal for summer holidays!
There has been a lot of controversy over this colour form and some have declared the name invalid, based seemingly on the fact that several different plants are in cultivation under this name. There is however a clearly different entity, and we retain the name for this, believing that it is the correct plant and a valid name for a distinct form.
- You may see Habranthus tubispathus roseus being offered under the name of Habranthus gracilifolius. Several other UK nursery stocks said to be gracilifolius are just mis-identified plants of Habranthus tubispathus roseus (and Habranthus tubispathus variable) and this is how we got our original stock plants of both of these forms! The names are however NOT synonyms, there are two totally different plants involved here H. gracilifolius being the rarer plant.
- You will also find H. tubispathus variable being offered as H. tubispathus roseus, they differ only on flower colour however they are recognisably distinct and different.
- There has also been a seed introduction of “H. tubispathus roseus” which subsequently proved to be Zephyranthes verucunda, a different genus and a very different plant altogether. The two are both pink and white but they are different genera and very distinct plants. This does not however mean that all Habranthus tubispathus roseus are Zephyranthes verucunda, only that one misidentified stock exists. The two are not synonyms.
The plant shown here and which we grow is a Habranthus, it is pink, it is not H. gracilifolius, it is not Zephyranthes verucunda.
