Nerine bowdenii Isabel

27.06.2023 - 08:35 / aberdeengardening.co.uk

We had Nerine in our Aberdeen garden which bloomed in October. Here in Fife, this Nerine Bowdenii Isabel, which we have in two pots has decided to wait until December before performing to its best.

The borders in the back garden and courtyard are jam packed with plants as is the front garden.

Anything new has to go in pots. We now have so many, finding areas to store them over Winter is becoming difficult. We do have plenty outdoor utility areas which are out of sight, problem is they are in full shade. I need to do some research to see which plants would have no objection to this, Spring bulbs even when dormant I suspect would still prefer Winter sunshine, i may be wrong.

Anyway, the Nerine bowdenii Isabel was planted in May, two pots with three bulbs in each. The bulbs were rather small but the leaves started to show in a few weeks.

I had my doubts that they would bloom, a little research indicated that they don’t always flower in their first year.

September arrived and the leaves died back completely. Flowering shoots start to show after the leaves die back, but I wasn’t all that hopeful as even the leaves had looked weak.

However, come October, flowering shoots did indeed start to show and In spite of the pots sitting in the front garden where the sun shines all day, the flowers did not start to open until the second week in November.

We are now in the month of December and the Nerine which usually bloom in October, even in Scotland is finally in full bloom.

Fully hardy in most parts of the UK

Nerine is one of those plants which thrive in pots. Don’t be disappointed if you have no flowers in the first season, they sometimes require settling in time.

Plant three or five bulbs in a reasonably sized pot ensuring good