Bowiea (Succulents)

The Bowiea genus is named after the British plant collector James Bowie. The plants of the genus Bowiea, also called with the name of "climbing onions", are endemic from a region, extending from Kenya to the Cape province, and grow in arid and desert areas. They have a spherical bulb that stores water to survive during drought periods, from which a stem with a few deciduous leaves (which means that they fall down in the dormant season, and then grow back in the next vegetative period) comes out. The Bowiea blooms with small white or green starry flowers. Bowiea requires a lot of light all year round, but it’s still better to avoid direct sun rays. It is preferable to keep it at mild temperatures and never below 13 °C, for this reason it is recommended to shelter it during the winter period to protect it from weathering. This plant need to be watered regularly but moderately during the growing season, always making sure that the soil is perfectly dry between one watering and the next one. During the vegetative rest period the plant enters dormancy, so it is recommended to suspend watering. We recommend a well-draining and porous soil as an optimal solution, even better if further enriched with 50% of inert materials such as pumice, lapilli and clay. These are plants which do not need frequent fertilization, so it will be sufficient to dilute a specific cacti and succulents fertilizer with watering once a year, during the vegetative period.