Brunsvigia Dullstroom dried out
Saturday 10 December 2022 and the end is near!!
One of these days we will be celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Our
shopping malls will be filled with music, overflowing with Christmas
decorations and the ever politically correct re-naming of Christmas to “… a
festival of lights …” or “… the festive season.” The narrative is to cut out
Christ; He’s got no place in our lives [Read the Gospel according to John
chapter 1 – you might just as well read the entire chapter]. That was His
dilemma when He was born just shy of 2000 years ago. He is still a game
changer. He will change your life as well as He had changed mine more than 50
years ago.
St. Paul wrote a triumph of Christian logic and reasoning in the First
Book of Corinthians chapter 15 about the pivotal role the crucifixion plays and
the subsequent resurrection three days after His death. He came to the
conclusion, and I agree with Paul, that if the crucifixion, fails, then our
entire Christian faith is completely and utterly a waste of time and one of the
biggest frauds ever committed. I encourage you to grab a Bible, turn to that
great chapter and read it slowly and repeatedly and see if you can fault it.
This carries the day when I have regard to the everyday atrocities presented to
us with great relish all and sundry.
During February 2021 my wife and I went to Dullstroom for a very short
break; it turned out to be a short break with a long tail following it. I got
some brunsvigia radulosa seeds in Dullstroom. I wrote a post about it,
and published it 5 September 2022; please re-read it. It is hard to think that
it is some time back and I am still busy with the brunsvigia. The SA
National Biodiversity Institute [SANBI] tells me that it might take up to eight
years to flower! Eight years. That is how long my journey from Dullstroom might
take and then some.
These plants are now in the process of being re-potted; it became quite
crowded in the pots. I am looking at it now and they seem to be happy with the
transplant – all are standing up right reaching for the light.
I am fascinated by these plants; and I am growing it in pots at my home.
The species is now known to be widespread from Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Free
State, KwaZulu-Natal and the eastern half of Northern Cape. It is also known
from Swaziland and Lesotho and from a few records from southern Botswana [the
source for this piece of information is SANBI’s website].
The rooting system of plants are like my arteries – they carry the life
blood/fluid to the entire plant. And it is only now in my later years that I
grasp the beauty of plants; the sacredness of plants; the patience it takes to
grow plants.
My first image is of brunsvigia seeds sprouting. I left it on the top of the soil and that is where they sprouted. Then I planted it into the soil and during the winter months, it dies back completely.
My second photo is
during spring when everything comes back in all its new splendour and vibrancy.
The third image is of the seedlings. These were growing underneath the
soil and out of reach of my inquisitive eyes. They produced strong sturdy roots
and I do hope it will come in good stead because they are now in new soil and
new pots for probably another 18 months or so. I am a complete novice who is
trying to do something unique – albeit only unique in my household. I don’t
know of any of my friends who grows either the Brunsvigia, eucomis or the albuca bracteata. Or oak trees. By the way, some of my oak-seedlings
are battling and I don’t know why. They are still alive, but it is an uphill
battle for some. The others are fine and on the go. They have vigorous roots
which just grow and grow and grow. Well, all things considered, oaks are huge
trees; and I want to keep them small. How? I don’t know; I haven’t done
anything like that before and I am excited about the learning curve ahead of me
and my oaks.
I have the pleasure to give my friends
homegrown plants that are completely indigenous to our beautiful country. Of
course, I not only give them the plants, they get a “lecture,” maybe I should
say: I tell them the entire history of the plants and what I did to get it so
far. My eucomis is grown from leaf cuttings that were stuck
in river sand for six months; down at the bottom of the container there they
were. Tiny eucomis bulbs. Always something to learn and
something to do.
There is a saying that goes more or less like
this: Learn something of everything and everything from something. And I like
it. As a late starter in the world of plants and propagating of plants and the
care of plants, I am at great disadvantage and have to work hard at it. This
does not scare me away; in fact, I consider it to be a challenge. The challenge
also lies in this that I have to maintain a balance between my plants and my
leal practice.
This brings me to Sir David Attenborough – a
personal friend of the late Queen Elizabeth II of the UK.
Sir David Attenborough is unique. Have a look at this youtube video of SirDavid Attenborough being iconic for 25 minutes. He is the epitome of “life long
learning.” I really enjoy this video and will certainly have a look of other
videos of his. It is possible that you know more about Sir David, in any case,
please have a look [or watch again].
Please write me a story of your journey with plants: neelscoertse@wirelessza.co.za
