the flowers of bermuda

The Flowers of Bermuda: 

The Flowers of Bermuda

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Bermuda, in weather zone 11 of the USDA, has a subtropical, not tropical, climate. Only a few of the thousands of species growing in Bermuda are endemic. Most were introduced and have become native, meaning they arrived naturally but can be found in other places too. They include hedges of red, white, pink and yellow oleander, Suriname cherry and hibiscus in different colors. They can grow big and wild, unlike in Britain and parts of North America where they are prized. Some have become invasive, taking over  space that endemic and native plants need. Arable land is farmed year round for flowers, fruits, herbs and vegetables. 

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There are no tall trees like dogwood, oak, sycamore or maple, or flowering shrubs like rhododendrons or azaleas. But see many other types common to sub tropical climates. They also grow in less accessible meadows and pastures in coastal or marshy areas where some farms are located. Trees such as apple, breadfruit, mango, do not grown in Bermuda. There are no forests, but some attractive woodland and wetland areas - and coastal areas. Some are national parks. The Bermuda Government levies an import duty on all imported plants with roots of 33.35 percent of wholesale invoiced cost and a lower rate of import duty on all imported cut flowers. On agricultural equipment for farmers and those who tend gardens, the rate of duty is 22.25 percent. 

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Agapanthus….can be seen growing in local gardens. Bulb.

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AMARYLLIS

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Anthurium

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Bermudian Bananas

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Bermuda Holly (Ilex vomitoria). Both a tree and a bush. It was introduced to Bermuda from Virginia in the 18th century.  Once it became naturalized it was quite prolific and used to thrive in the central parishes but is now rare.  Two of the few places are Smith's Parish -  check the northern side of the North Shore Road overlooking Gibbet's Island. On the southern side of the road is a residence called Holly Hill after the holly. Nearby is Holly Lane. And North Shore, Hamilton Parish near the Railway Trail.

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Bird of Paradise. Attractive to visitors, especially the orange color.

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Freesia (wild and cultivated, usually in April and May).

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Ginger

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Hibiscus

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Bermuda Easter Lily (Lilium longiflorum eximum). One of Bermuda's most famous flowers. Most common are the fragrant trumpet-shaped lilies in late March or April. Originally imported from and a native of the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. Japan was the first to dominate the market. Its lily-giving was a firm tradition. When General and Mrs. Russell Hastings and their family lived at "Soncy" in Bermuda in the late 1800s, they prospered from the General’s venture into growing and exporting the bulbs of this distinctive, pure white Easter lily. In the late 1800s lily bulbs were an important agricultural export but disease and other problems halted overseas trade in 1899. In the USA, Louis Houghton, a World War I soldier veteran, began the popularity in the USA of the Bermuda Easter lily. In 1919 he brought a suitcase of hybrid lily bulbs from Bermuda to the southern coast of Oregon and gave them to family and friends to plant. The climate there was ideal for growing the lily and they became hugely popular.  Elsewhere in the USA, there was an attempt to revive the once-flourishing trade  from 1922 with the variety "Howardii" - which remained popular in Bermuda but it did not last long in the USA. By 1945, more than 1,200 growers from the west coast of the USA were producing their own bulbs in the thousands, then hundreds of thousands, for the commercial market. Nowadays, Today, a concentrated group of growers, mostly from along the California-Oregon border, have created an area known as the "Easter Lily Capital of the World." There, they produce 95 percent of all bulbs grown in the world for the potted Easter lily market.

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In 2002, more than 11 million bulbs were shipped to commercial greenhouses throughout the USA and Canada, mostly in the two weeks before Easter. While the bulbs grow in the fields, they require constant care and attention to assure superior quality and cleanliness. Each bulb is handled up to 40 times before it is ready to be shipped. In the USA, a commercial-sized bulb usually starts as a small, baby bulb attached to the underground stem of the mother. When the mother is harvested, the small bulb is removed and planted elsewhere. A year later it is dug up again, replanted, and nurtured until it reaches maturity. In late September and early October, growers harvest the bulbs, which are then cleaned, graded, sorted, packed, and cooled before shipping. When they arrive at the greenhouses, growers there decide when to plant and start forcing the lilies to bloom for Easter. The species most commonly grown for U.S. markets is the "Nellie White." It is named for a lily grower’s wife and has large, white, fragrant trumpet-shaped flowers.

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Bermudian Roses

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Bermuda Roses It is often assumed, incorrectly, that some roses are indigenous to Bermuda. All were imported, without exception, but many have now been naturalized. There is no such thing as a true Bermuda Rose" as they are sometimes referred to. It was not until the coming of the 18th century clipper ships , with their cargoes not only of spices, tea and silks but roses for Southern Gardens of the USA and to a much smaller extent for Bermuda too, that the majority of so-called "Bermuda Roses" including Bermuda Mystery Roses, first arrived. Because of climactic conditions, some did not survive. The latter are referred to as such because they have no known name or pedigree and were given local names to reflect where they were found. The main flowering period for Old Garden Roses is from end of October through May. With a few exceptions, they are dormant during the long, hot and humid summers, unlike in Britain and Europe where they bloom from June or July.

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But many Bermuda-grown roses not in places where they are sheltered, suffer from the lack of a climactic "breaking space" which a cooler or temperate climate elsewhere gives them. It is one of the reasons why some roses with local Bermuda names but under different names elsewhere can be found in zones 7-10 of North America.  They were exported by special license from the USDA many years ago. The Base Garden adjacent to Camden, accommodates some roses. Others can be found at the new Bermuda Rose Society repository garden at Waterville in Paget Parish, home of the Bermuda National Trust. Old Garden and Heritage Roses - those of the China, Tea, Noisette and Polyantha varieties - are lovely. See the list below for many growing in Bermuda.

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Morning glories grow wild…!

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Royal Poinciana

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Passion Flower (from Passifloradeae family)

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Oleander…..

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Oleander (Nerium oleander). One of Bermuda's most famous flowers. A native of the Orient, it is an evergreen shrub. It was introduced to Bermuda in 1790. It makes excellent hedges or bushes. It has clusters of flowers all year, especially in spring and summer. Pink flowers are the most common but they also come in white and red. But beauty is misleading as they are poisonous. An outbreak of oleander scale in Bermuda in 1917 led to legislation that in 1923 provided for a plant pathology section of the Bermuda Government. Olivewood bark. Olea europa