Eucomis bicolor

Eucomis bicolor is probably the most popular Eucomis and deservedly so: it is a beautiful plant, easy to cultivate and very exotic in appearance. Bursting from the soil in an dramatic explosion of lime-green fleshy leaves, mottled on the undersides with speckles of deep moroon, it is a desirable and very exotic-looking plant just for its foliage alone. When it flowers, it sends up a tall stem with a tufty head of leafy bracts that sit atop its characteristically cylindrical raceme of tightly-spaced waxy flowers that are white with pale greenish undertones, and have a striking shade of purple at the throat and a darker edging of purple along the margins.

Naturally occuring in South Africa in the Eastern Cape to KwaZulu-Natal and up into Mpumalanga, it grows in grasslands and along the banks of streams and in forest glades to an altitude of up to 2800 m including the Drakensberg Mountains. Adapting well to cultivation in the UK, Eucomis bicolor is generally hardy if planted deep and given a generous mulching during the winter months. It likes to be kept dry during the winter so when planting sit it on a bed of sharp sand and add plenty of sand to the substrate and surrounding area. Water well during the growing season.

A very tropical-looking perennial, it is particularly effective when planted in groups where it forms a very showy and eye-catching addition to the exotic garden.