Bulbine frutescens

Bulbine frutescens, Stalked Bulbine or Burn Jelly Plant, is a fast-growing clump-forming succulent from South Africa with delicate yellow flowers produced thrughout the summer. A close relative of the genus Aloe - which it resembles - Bulbine frutescens is often used in South Africa as a skin salve for burns in much the same way that Aloe vera is used. Kept as a house plant on the window sill in the kitchen, the gel from its crushed leaves can be used as an emergency ointment.

Bulbine frutescens requires a free-draining soil and is best grown in sun or partial shade. Like many succulents, its foliage will often colour pinkish-red if it gets too much sun. In the UK, it is best grown in a terra-cotta pot that can be brought inside in the winter. Although hardy down to about -5C if kept dry, the wet British winter is usually soggy enough to rot its roots. If you live in one of the warmer areas and have a very dry, protected spot and give it a gravelly gritty substrate, it may well be worth your while to experiment with this outdoors. Otherwise, bring it indoors in October to a well-lit warm aspect and treat it kindly, keeping it dryish until the spring.

There is quite a lot of genetic variability with the colour of the flowers and orange-flowering forms often crop up in seed-raised batches.