Watsonia ‘Tresco Hybrids’

 

The Terrace

This Watsonia can be seen on the Terrace.

Watsonias have very flamboyant flower spikes with curved tubes of orange, pink, red or white and come from grassy slopes in South Africa and Madagascar. They look a little like miniature gladioli, to which they are related. They have erect sword like leaves and can only be grown in this part of the country against a sunny wall that provides warm and protection from the cold and rain in the winter.

If you cannot provide adequate shelter for these lovely plants over winter, you could always lift them before the frosts come and store them under glass in a well-drained compost, keeping them just moist when dormant.