Sandersonia aurantiaca (Christmas bells)

Japanese name: サンダーソニア
Scientific name: Sandersonia aurantiaca

[Overview]
A bulbous perennial growing to 75 cm tall.
It has slender, elongated tubers.
The stem is thin and hairless.
The leaves are simple, alternate, lanceolate and entire.
The leaf tips sometimes become tendril-like, and the plant uses them to climb other objects.
The flowers are borne singly in the leaf axils in the upper part of the stem, hanging on flower stalks 2–3 cm long.
The flowers are orange, urn-shaped, and about 2.5 cm in both length and diameter.
Each flower lasts about a week.
The fruit is a spherical capsule.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by dividing the bulbs or from seed.
Plants grown from seed take 3 years to flower.
The bulb forks in two around the stem, so cut it apart at the bent part.
It forks in two and takes a bent shape like the character "へ".
The bulb can be cut apart at the bend to make two.
Shoots emerge only from the end opposite the stem, so if the tip on that side is damaged, no shoot will emerge.
It prefers sunny, well-drained soil, is sensitive to excess moisture, and tolerates dryness.
Grow it in a pot, placing it in full sun from spring until flowering and in partial shade after flowering.
Also take care that it is not exposed to long periods of rain.
From spring to autumn, water thoroughly when the soil surface begins to dry, and stop watering once the leaves begin to turn yellow.
When the aboveground part has died back, either let the potting soil dry out and keep the plant dormant in its pot, or dig up the bulbs and bury them in dry sand or wrap them in newspaper and store them at 10 °C or below.
Apply liquid fertilizer from spring to early summer.
When the plant grows taller, set up a support so that it does not fall over.
Aphids can occur.

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