Paintbrush

Paintbrush Care

Haemanthus albiflos

What is the plant

Haemanthus albiflos is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to South Africa. It is sometimes given the English name paintbrush. This plant presents no great difficulty in cultivation and tolerate extreme neglect.

Haemanthus albiflos is an evergreen bulbous perennial geophyte, prized horticulturally for its unusual appearance and extreme tolerance of neglect. H. albiflos is the only Haemanthus species found in both winter and summer rainfall regions, and has a mainly coastal distribution from the southern Cape through the Eastern Cape to KwaZulu-Natal, showing a preference for cool, shady spots. The specific epithet albiflos means "white flower" in English. As a pot plant it has been called "elephant's tongue" and "elephant ear" - for its leaves - or "shaving-brush (or paintbrush) plant" - for its flowers.

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Humidity

Normal

Lighting

Part Sun

Temperature

12°C - 18°C

Hardiness zone

9b - 11b

Difficulty

Medium

How to Care for the Plant

Water
As it is an evergreen plant, it likes moisture throughout the year. Water the plants heavily once per week during the summer growing period, but reduce watering in winter to once every two weeks, although they do survive heavy winter rainfall in mild parts of the Western Cape. It is however very tolerant of under-watering.
Fertilizer
Apply a diluted balanced liquid fertilizer monthly.
Sunlight
It prefers not to be in full sun, and will even grow and bloom in heavy shade in a position similar to that preferred by clivias, and likes to remain undisturbed for many years once established. If the plants get too much sun, they will look chlorotic, although still bloom very nicely.

Disease diagnosis

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Soil
It needs a slightly acid medium comprising equal parts of well rotted compost, coarse river sand (or pumice) and loam.
Temperature
It is hardy down to about 1°C (34°F) but does not survive prolonged freezing temperatures. Inside, average room temperatures from 65°F/18.3°C - 75°F/23.8°C will suffice.
Container
This plant can be grown in a container. Choose a pot with enough drainage holes.