Tulbaghia: choosing and growing the best tulbaghia

By Daniel Griffiths

Published: Wednesday, 06 October 2021 at 12:00 am

The origins of Tulbaghia

South Africa is home to ten per cent of the world’s flowering plants so it is no surprise that much of this abundance has found its way into our gardens. Among the lesser-known gems from the country are tulbaghias: elegant, airy flowers that resemble small agapanthus, usually with sweetly scented flowers and pungent foliage. Tulbaghias are long-flowering and floriferous, qualities that are winning them enthusiasts among both gardeners and plant breeders.

Found only in southern Africa, the genus consists of about 22 species but only a few are currently widely grown in gardens. The most popular is Tulbaghia violacea, which has grass-like foliage typical of tulbaghias that smells strongly of garlic when it is crushed. The flowers form a pinkish-mauve umbel with individual flowers consisting of a ring of six tepals around a raised crown that resembles a miniature daffodil. Most reference books and nursery catalogues suggest that its common name is ‘society garlic’. The epithet may have been used long ago, but it is probably no longer current: I have certainly never heard it.

The plant spreads from fat, tuberous roots, which in ideal conditions will form large colonies. I remember seeing (and smelling) the purple haze of a meadow full of Tulbaghia violacea growing, appropriately, on the outskirts of the town of Tulbagh in the Western Cape area. Both town and plant are named for Ryk Tulbagh, the Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony in the mid-18th century, who found time away from governing to botanise. Tulbagh corresponded with the botanist and taxonomist Carl Linnaeus and sent him specimens of hundreds of indigenous plants. It’s not difficult to imagine the awe and wonder Linnaeus must have felt on seeing these treasures.

Varieties of Tulbaghia

There are several white and very pale cultivars of Tulbaghia violacea and a couple with variegated foliage, although these are neither as vigorous nor as floriferous as their parent. On warm days the flowers of Tulbaghia violacea have a sweet perfume. A similar species, Tulbaghia simmleri, has a much stronger perfume that is released at night, suggesting, as is true for many of the species, that it is pollinated by moths. A pot of the plant standing on a terrace on a summer evening will fill the evening air with perfume. The foliage is broader than that of Tulbaghia violacea and has a glaucous sheen. The flowers are a similar colour but fatter and more densely packed than those of its cousin.

These two species, with their pink and mauve flowers, are the most commonly available, but there are species that tend to be grown only by specialist nurseries that have strikingly different flowers. Those of Tulbaghia montana and Tulbaghia acutiloba, for example, have an orange or rust-coloured centre and both are very highly scented. Tulbaghia natalensis has white flowers that are tinged with purple with a greenish-yellow centre. All three species are vigorous and long-flowering.

Until recently, most of the hybrids and cultivars available to gardeners have resulted from very few species, but nurseries and breeders in America, Australia and Britain are introducing other species into the mix, as well as offering for sale a wider range of hybrids and cultivars. In Britain, Steve Hickman, a holder of one of the National Collections of tulbaghias, has made several selections from seedlings grown at his nursery. One of his pride and joys is Tulbaghia ‘Hoyland Green Beauty’, which has an unusual, pale-green eye with a distinct green stripe on each of the soft-pink petals. Steve is continuing to make further selections. In Australia, a group of Tulbaghia named the Border Stars series includes Tulbaghia ‘Milky Way’, which has pale-pink flowers and dark stems and reputedly tolerates wet soil better than other hybrids. One of the most arresting of the new hybrids is from America, a plant called Tulbaghia ‘Flamingo’ that has pale-pink flowers and the same colour at the base of the leaves.

As these and similar hybrids are produced on a commercial scale, we can expect to see them more often in nurseries and garden centres, meaning that more of us can enjoy this beguiling plant.