Our Plants

This tried-and-true variety of miniature daffodil was developed by pioneer plant breeder Alec Gray sometime in the 1940’s.  With it's modest 6 inch stature, featuring 2-to-3 slightly reflexed and vibrant yellow flowers per stem, and a reliable propensity to naturalize, 'Tete-a-tete' is a perfect choice for a variety of garden settings.

Veltheimia bracteata is a semi-deciduous bulb that produces a dozen or so glossy green leaves that are 1 foot to 18 inches long and 3 inches wide with wavy margins. In late winter and early spring, the tubular flowers appear upright and green tipped in bud and dangling downward when open on 1-2-foot-tall fleshy stalks, somewhat similar to those of the yellow form of red-hot poker plants (Kniphofia). Flowers are followed by large 3-winged papery capsules that are unusually attractive. In its native habitat of the Eastern Cape of Africa, Veltheimia bracteata can be found growing in forests and coastal scrub locations. This plant is a favorite nectar source of sunbirds in Africa and hummingbirds in North America. It adapts easily to growing indoors if planted in well-drained soils and given the brightest possible midwinter sunlight.