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Albuca juncifolia - This plant arises from a partly above-ground round bulb with 4 to 10 erect slender gray-green leaves to 2-3 feet tall that are round like a rush in upper portions and deeply channeled near the base. In late spring the inflorescence rises to 4 to 5 feet high with a drooping raceme of a 1-2 inch wide greenish-white flowers that have a green midstripe.
Plant in a light well-drained soil in full sun with little to no irrigation. We believe it should be hardy to 20-25° F.
Albuca is a rather extensive genus of Cape of Good Hope bulbs that is closely allied to Ornithogalum. We received this plant as Albuca juncifolia, a plant from the Western Cape of South Africa that should only grow to 15 inches tall and have yellow and green flowers, so this is obviously something else - perhaps Albuca maxima?. The genus name Albuca comes from 'albicans', or 'albus' meaning "white", which refers to one of the earliest described species. We were first introduced to this plant by the late Bill Baker who had it growing with the succulents in his garden in Reseda. Our crops that we sold in 2009 and 2010 were grown from seed provided by John Bleck.
This information about Albuca juncifolia displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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