Oregon Cactus Blog

Rhipsalis teres f. capilliformis

2012-01-29T00:21:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've posted any Rhipsalis, partly I just haven't kept up with the all the name changes and will most likely come up with the wrong name. We have a couple of old plants of this species, which we always knew as Rhipsalis capilliformis. My understanding is that it's now correctly referred to as R. teres f. capilliformis. We first saw one in the Conservatory at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco while on our honeymoon in 1967. We fell in love with it and have been growing them ever since.

Echeveria flower

2012-01-26T23:45:00.000-08:00

This is a "Quick draw Mcgraw" picture. I didn't stop to get the name of the plant. An Escherichia I presume. It caught my attention and I snapped the picture. Then on to other things. Like getting ready for the next round of things that will tie up our time.

We did take some time the other day to actually go to the theater to watch "War Horse". Well worth seeing on the big screen.

Echeveria 'Cumbre'

2012-01-25T23:58:00.000-08:00

The Echeverias are looking especially good right now. This is Echeveria 'Cumbre', a plant that's not commonly available. During the Summer they take on a pinkish blush.

Enjoy your plants!

Ornithogalum concordianum

2012-01-24T00:00:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the blurriness of these photos,but the closeup lens wasn't readily available. This is a plant which isn't readily available: Ornithogalum concordianum (syn.: Albuca concordiana, Albuca concordianum). We've had these little cliff-growing jewels for quite a while and for us, they're rather slow growing. But of course, the are small growing anyway. It's very similar to Albuca spiralis, but the flower color is different. It grows on stony flats from southern Namibia through the northwest Cape to the Karoo and the southeast Cape in South Africa.

As you may have seen in some news reports, we've had more than our share of rain here, with some isolated flooding. It's been nice today but we're supposed to get another 1 to 2 inches of rain tomorrow and periods of rain through the end of the week. Be assured that, though we occasionally get drenched and the clay soil is turning to muck, we're no where near the flooding, sitting on a bluff far above the Willamette River. But I assure you, we're ready for some sun again.

Enjoy your plants!

Graptopetalum amethystinum

2012-01-19T00:33:00.000-08:00

This is Graptopetalum amethystinum, a plump lavender beauty. I find these to be simply amazing in form and in their ease of growth. As always, however, don't let the potting mix remain wet too long and allow the mix to mostly dry out between waterings.

Our snow lasted all of about 12 hours, then turned to rain and more rain. Forecast calls for rain for at least the next 7 days. Time to get out the wading boots!

snow 2012

2012-01-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

We finally got our first snow tonight. This is me out in the backyard getting ready to feed Ladybug the mini horse. It's really very pretty, but I'll be glad when it's all gone in a day or two.

I'll be changing my picture for the blog soon. Lynn-Marie took a couple of good photos the other day. This is one of them, taken when we were having our morning coffee in the "sun" room. That's in quotations because it's on the Northeast side of the house and rarely gets any sun, especially in the winter when it would be nice to have some extra light.

And, no, those orange strings aren't coming out of my ear!

Oregon Cactus & Succulent Society meeting

2012-01-16T11:59:00.000-08:00

Oregon Cactus & Succulent Society meeting announcement: the date and time have been changed for this month. Now scheduled for next Sunday, January 22, 3 pm. Please check this link for more details and directions to the meeting site. Thanks.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

2012-01-16T00:23:00.000-08:00

Monday is Martin Luther King Day in the U.S., and we're having our local celebration tomorrow afternoon at 1 pm at Woodlawn United Methodist Church, 1425 NE Dekum St. We'll be packaging food for those less fortunate and then celebrating through word and song. As in past years, I'll be bringing my guitar to lead the group in the concluding song, "We Shall Overcome!" If you're in the area, please drop by.

Echeveria elegans and Echeveria elegans crest

2012-01-15T00:13:00.000-08:00

One of the classic echeverias is Echeveria elegans, easy to grow and still always impressive and striking. Sometimes called the "Mexican Snowball" or the "Mexican Gem", the top picture shows the normal plant and the bottom picture shows a crest, in this case over 20 cm. across.

The plants are native to the Chihuahuan-Tehuacan desert area of Northern Mexico.

Enjoy your plants.

Haworthia emelyae var. comptoniana

2012-01-13T23:59:00.000-08:00

As we look forward to our expected first snow flurry of the year, my attention goes back inside the greenhouse. Actually, I wish I could have been out in the greenhouses with the plants, but had to spend my time packing plants for shipments to California, Florida and here in Portland. So Lynn-Marie did all the photography, catching these beauties. Wonderful plants with lovely markings.

Of course we still take time most days to have a short break in the afternoon for an Irish coffee or a latte. Yesterday it was lattes made on our little home "espresso" machine. I like to make them with the coffee and milk separated and a little whipped cream along with the foam...plus some dark chocolate shavings and a little cinnamon. Mmmmm.

Enjoy your plants

...and your latte, or...

Agave montana 'Baccarat'

2012-01-12T00:03:00.000-08:00

Finally, I'm back, computer problems behind me. Tonight the featured photo is of Agave montana 'Baccarat', with its distinctive leaf imprints and showy spines.

We have always been drawn to agaves (not too close!) and even though we don't have enough room, our collection keeps growing. About half of them are on our unheated enclosed porch because there's no room in the greenhouses. It hasn't gotten extremely cold yet this winter, but we've had several hard freezes, and they're all doing fine.

Enjoy your plants!

Update

2012-01-10T00:05:00.000-08:00

There's a reason I haven't posted anything lately. A few days ago my computer monitor went dead. I've managed to borrow one for the time being, so after I finish some computer updates I'll be back up with more pictures. Things are beginning to perk up a bit in the greenhouses so I should be able to get some good photos.

Tylecodon buchholzianus

2012-01-06T00:24:00.000-08:00

This is one plant I can't get enough of: Tylecodon buchholzianus. This isn't a pretty plant by any stretch of the imagination. Don't expect any fancy, frilly leaves anytime soon. In fact, it's a down right weird plant. I don't know what that says about me, but I don't really care. I am who I am and I like what I like.

So, as always, enjoy your plants...even the weird ones!

Dioscorea elephantipes

2012-01-03T23:58:00.000-08:00

We don't have a lot of flowers right now. (Actually we have one rose bud which has been trying to open for the last month or so and hasn't been hit by the couple of hard frosts we've had so far.) But even when we don't have flowers, we have the plants themselves. Our eyes are especially drawn to the pachyform plants such as this Dioscorea elephantipes.
This is the famous "Elephant's Foot" from southwestern South Africa. Not a difficult plant to grow if you remember to hold back on the water when the plant is dormant and the vine dies back during the heat of summer. Also, patience is a virtue as the plant isn't especially fast growing. But they'll live for up to 70 years in cultivation.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T01:17:00.000-08:00

Best wishes for a blessed and prosperous New Year for all who read this.
This is a January 1 photo of our house - eight years ago. There's no snow this year; and besides, it's still dark outside. It's 1:10 am and when you turn 72, you just can't stay up to those wee hours of the morning as easily.
And so I send my greetings from this old, gray-haired (what few hairs are left) man and from his still young and beautiful wife of 40 some years: Happy New Year!

And...enjoy your plants!

x Pachyveria 'Claire'

2011-12-30T23:57:00.000-08:00

In order to make more room in one of the greenhouses, Lynn-Marie brought in some trays of Pachyveria 'Claire' and placed them on the table next to the front window. It added a nice touch to the otherwise traditional holiday decor.

And this year, for the first time, all the lights on the tree were LED, noticeably reducing the energy consumption.

Epicactus 'Piland's Pride'

2011-12-29T00:02:00.000-08:00

No, Piland's Pride isn't flowering yet. This is from our archives, but buds are beginning to form. So I'm posting this photo as a kind of encouragement to those buds.

And with the weather the past few days, this may be all the encouragement they need. Our expected low tonight is about 50 F...and our high tomorrow is expected to be about 53. And rain. Well, not lots of rain, though there is a flood watch for a few areas. Let's just say it's wet! Normal, Oregon wet for this time of year.

Cactus Chatter posted in Argentina Blog

2011-12-28T00:06:00.000-08:00

Since I had included some photos from her wonderful blog (Cecicactus) in the December issue of the publication of the Oregon Cactus & Succulent Society, I thought it only appropriate to send a copy to Ceci as thanks. Little did I know that she would post the entire newsletter on her blog. Thanks Ceci! You're a dear friend.

Osita

2011-12-27T23:52:00.000-08:00

A bit of a diversion from plants tonight. This is one of our two companions on our various trips, Osita. She's a Belgian Tervuren (Le Belge Berge) and along with her mother, Kiani, she's always in the middle of things around the nursery and tags along with us in our travels throughout the Southwest deserts.

I hope I'll have time to take some pics pretty soon, but in the meantime I'll be posting a bit less often. Thanks for your patience.

Aloe bakeri

2011-12-24T23:26:00.000-08:00

A quick post tonight on Christmas Eve, a photo taken by Lynn-Marie the other day of the flower of Aloe bakeri. It and another narrow leaved Aloe, A. albiflora, are blooming right next to each other in the greenhouse, a veritable forest of small "grass" aloes.

It's now time for this old Santa to hit the sack, 'cause there are a lot of packages to be wrapped in the early morning. Hope you have a wonderful day. Back at you next week. Peace!

Lithops optica 'Rubra' C287

2011-12-24T00:35:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago I took a picture of this 4 year old, seed-grown Lithops opitica 'Rubra' C287. Such lovely and striking little flowers on such impressive little bodies.

Our best wishes to all of you for a joyful and blessed
Christmas and a bountiful New Year in which more and more of the people of the world receive the resources needed in order to thrive. May God bless you all!

Aloe deltoideonta var. candicans

2011-12-23T00:27:00.000-08:00

I've posted this plant before but Lynn-Marie took a new photo. It's a really cool Aloe in my opinion...and, besides, they've been growing nicely.

Just the photo. Not much to say tonight. Too tired. Family over tomorrow night and then again Sunday afternoon for Christmas.

Enjoy your plants!

Winter Solstice

2011-12-22T00:27:00.000-08:00

Well. The Winter solstice is here and the days start getting longer. I'm all for that. So far we've had a really mild winter and December has been especially mild... and dry! Palm Springs, California has had more rain than we've had. I'm not complaining, mind you. I know there's plenty of time for the rains to arrive and I'm sure we'll get them. But, nevertheless, it always feels good to know that things are heading back the other direction. Just like it's done every year during my almost 72 years on this earth. Some things do stay the same.

Enjoy your plants!

Mammillaria hahniana 'Superba'

2011-12-21T00:17:00.000-08:00

'Tis the season, so I guess instead of calling this the "Old Woman Cactus" - an old common name for it - we could call it the "Mrs. Santa Cactus"! I never took a liking to the common name anyway, and this can hardly be any worse...or, we can avoid it all and call it by it's real name: Mammillaria hahniana 'Superba'.

The tree is up and all lit up. The rest of the seasonal decorations are up, included Christmas lights on the Cephalocereus senilis in the front room. The gifts are mostly purchased, including yesterday's annual gift from the nursery to the Oregon Food Bank. Final preparations are being made for a busy weekend.

And I wish all of our Jewish friends a Happy Hanukkah (חנוכה), the festival of lights, which began this evening!

Aloe krapohliana var. dumoulinii

2011-12-18T00:32:00.000-08:00

And, of course, there are the Aloe flowers. This one is Aloe krapohliana var. dumoulinii. Easy to grow if you don't water it too much, especially during the heat of summer.

Enjoy your plants!

Echeveria 'Aquarius'

2011-12-18T00:24:00.000-08:00

I know. I've posted pictures of this Echeveria before. But Lynn-Marie was out in the greenhouse doing some photography yesterday and couldn't resist this beaut. With a plant form like this, who needs a flower?

Sorry my posts have been a bit sparse lately. It's just been extremely busy. But this next week will be devoted to Christmas preparation and events. No work (except Monday). Two orders need to get in the mail.

Pachypodium lealii var. saundersii

2011-12-12T23:50:00.000-08:00

I just haven't had time to do any photography lately. So, from the archives, way back in 2004, comes these photos of Pachypodium lealii var. saundersii. Beware! Pachypodiums can be addictive! Especially with flowers like these.

Aloe erinacea

2011-12-08T23:41:00.001-08:00

We've had this old plant around for quite some time. It's been at least seven years since it survived our big garage fire seven years ago when it was literally seared to a crisp on one side. Most would have given up on it. But here it is, growing strong and healthy. It helps that Aloe erinacea is such a nice plant no matter what.

Sometimes we're like that. Tough times can make us better people. It's not automatic and it's not a test from God. But it's possible and it's worth the struggle.

This is now considered by some to be a white-spined form of Aloe melanacantha. It's very slow growing, remaining pretty much the same size for a long time. It sometimes goes by the common name "Hedgehog Aloe."

Epicactus Portrayal by Lynn-Marie Kara

2011-12-08T00:21:00.001-08:00

Lynn-Marie has another new art work finished, this one of an Epicactus. It's not one particular Epi, but rather an image which seeks to portray the beauty and impressiveness of these plants in general. I think she does a fantastic job!

Lynn-Marie has been essentially self taught over the years after retinal detachment surgery forced her to leave art school. You can find out more about her as an artist at her (unfinished) website: http://lynnmariekara-artist.com/ It's my job to get her webpages up and going. I promise to all of you...I'm going to get it done before Winter is out...

Echeveria 'Super Star'

2011-12-04T23:14:00.001-08:00

Late afternoon sun can refresh one's image of a plant we see every day. The sun, being so low in the sky, brings out new hues and shadings that are often overlooked in the bright light of summer. This is located right next to the Lithops in the small greenhouse and, as I was gathering some Lithops to ship with an order, it caught my eye. So out comes the camera. It's Echeveria 'Super Star', and I've posted it several times before. We don't know where it originated, but it's a lovely plant.

We had an enjoyable, relaxing day today. But tomorrow it's back to orders and, for me, the annual visit to the cardiologist. And it's going to be a busy week.

Lithops helmuthii

2011-12-03T23:51:00.001-08:00

I won't be blogging tomorrow. We'll be off to the Oregon coast for a little break and to celebrate Lynn-Marie's birthday ... and a worthy birthday to celebrate it is: 70. It's hard to believe we've been around that long. And we don't hide our years; we're proud of them. Yes, we still do stupid things - or at least I do (can't speak for Lynn-Marie) - I believe we've gained a little wisdom over the years.

In the meantime, here's a picture of L. helmuthii doing its thing. The flower's a little past its prime, but still impressive. It's one of my favorites.

And please, enjoy your plants!

Echeveria setosa

2011-12-02T23:45:00.001-08:00

I don't have a flower to post tonight, but it might as well be. On plants like this the flower is almost an anticlimax. We were sitting in the greenhouse this afternoon, enjoying an Irish coffee, and this plant was right there on the table just asking to have it's picture taken. And here it is.

Back to Lithops tomorrow.

Titanopsis calcarea

2011-12-02T00:16:00.001-08:00

I was having some problems posting tonight, which apparently others were having also, but it seems to be fixed. This is another plant which is flowering, Titanopsis calcarea. I've always liked this warty little plant, and the flowers just add to it's charm.

Too late to write much right now, but more tomorrow.

Lithops karasmontana 'Micksbergensis'

2011-11-30T23:59:00.001-08:00

Today I did get out to take some pictures and the greenhouse rewarded me with some nice Fall/Winter flowers. First up is Lithops karasmontana 'Micksbergensis', still putting on quite a display. The sheen on the petals doesn't quite come through, but impressive nonetheless.

Enjoy your plants!

Willamette Valley views

2011-11-29T23:48:00.001-08:00

Once in a while I'll depart from photos of succulent plants. I was browsing some old pictures on the computer and came across these shots of scenes in the central Willamette Valley here in Oregon. We know this area so well we seldom take pictures, but on this April day, we did. This is an area just south of Albany where there's a lot of sheep raising. The third shot down shows the Three Sisters in the background and the last shot shows a stand of old Valley Oak trees.

Lynn-Marie's folks owned a farm not far from here but on the other side of the river and north a bit.
Back at you with succulent plants next time.

Hatiora salicornioides

2011-11-29T00:01:00.001-08:00

As they say, "There's no rest for the wicked." Therefore, I must be wicked, as we've been swamped recently, with orders to China and South Africa, as well as various points within the U.S. Haven't had time to do any photography, not that there are a lot of flowers right now. But there's always some interesting plants. I'll certainly try to make time to take some new photos in the next few days.

In the meantime, here's a photo from a couple of years ago of our ancient old plant of Hatiora salicornioides, AKA "Drunkard's Dream". We've had it for many, many years, and it's survived a huge variety of different settings and still thrives. And flowers...as dependable as you can get.

Lithops optica 'Rubra' seedlings

2011-11-27T00:11:00.001-08:00

A couple of shots of a couple of batches of our 'Rubra' seedlings. The top batch was seeded in February and the others in the previous year. It's great watching them grow up and get their own personalities.

Enjoy your plants.

Winter in the Greenhouse

2011-11-26T00:07:00.001-08:00

The days are getting shorter and shorter and on an overcast, rainy day we sometimes worry about the plants getting enough light. The the plants do better than we do sometimes. We've had a really heavy bout of rain in the last week, but it finally let up today. That's good, 'cause I'm getting tired of slopping through the muddy puddles to walk the dogs and care for Ladybug, let alone prepare plants for shipping. I'm native to this area, but I admit that there are time that I can hardly wait for Spring.

But, no, that yearning will have to wait 'till January. I really enjoy the Christmas season too much. But after that, the sooner Spring comes the better!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T00:36:00.001-08:00

Just a brief note to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who are observing this holiday at this time. We'll be celebrating quietly by ourselves tomorrow and having our family Thanksgiving gathering on Saturday.

Echeveria 'Culibra'

2011-11-22T00:19:00.001-08:00

I just couldn't resist taking this photo. It's the end of a leaf of Echeveria 'Culibra'. Sort of like something out of a 1950s science fiction movie! But hey, if you didn't like a little bit of weird you wouldn't be doing succulent plants. Seriously, would you?

Tiger Jaws

2011-11-21T00:05:00.001-08:00

It's late, so I'll just post a couple of photos taken today by Lynn-Marie of an old clump of faucaria (Tiger Jaws) that we've had for...it seems forever. It doesn't get preferential treatment; therefore, it often goes without water for long periods and gets placed wherever we can find room. But - as you can see - it doesn't seem to mind.

Enjoy your plants!

Orostachys japonica

2011-11-19T23:58:00.001-08:00

This has been one hectic day. Earlier today I discovered that our nursery website wasn't working properly. But after a few calls to the server's tech staff, I finally got it all sorted out. I hope. I have no specific training in this sort of thing (my training is in philosophical theology, existentialism...even logical empiricism ... but nothing about html, web site design, etc., anywhere to be found!) So I sort of stumble my way through it.

With that said, here's a cute little plant. And "little" is an apt description. It's Orostachys japonica ex Tsushima. In this case the plant is infinitesimally smaller than the flower. This is a 2.75 inch pot filled with young seedlings. And one is flowering. And like sempervivums, the plant will die after the flower is finished. I guess it wears itself out!

Aloe 'Jimmy'

2011-11-19T00:02:00.001-08:00

The final post in the series of Aloe hybrids this week is Aloe 'Jimmy'. It doesn't say "Hey, look at me!!!" as much as some of the others, but in its simplicity it stands out.

Enjoy your plants.

Aloe 'Silver Ridge'

2011-11-17T23:53:00.001-08:00

And we continue on today with another Kelly Griffin hybrid, Aloe 'Silver Ridge'. During the summer, with more and brighter light, these have more of a silvery cast to them, but they're taking on more green with winter's overcast skies and with the sun quite low in the sky.

The weather forecast for the next few nights is for it to be considerable colder, probably getting below 32F (0 degrees C) for the first time this winter. We'll see.

Aloe 'Marco'

2011-11-17T00:17:00.001-08:00

Another of the newly listed (at our nursery site) is Aloe 'Marco', another Kelly Griffin hybrid. Not as heavily textured as some of the others, it stands out in its own way. I'll be posting a couple more of these this week and then on to some other plants.

Enjoy your plants!

Aloe 'Vito'

2011-11-15T23:38:00.001-08:00

The next one in the series is another Kelly Griffin hybrid, Aloe 'Vito'. Like many in this series it is characterized by raised lines on the leaves and a distinct jagged edge.

Aloe 'Rico'

2011-11-14T23:58:00.001-08:00

The second Aloe cultivar which I'm posting is Aloe 'Rico', another one of the Kelly Griffin hybrids. It doesn't take much to understand why these have become so popular.

Aloe 'Pink Blush'

2011-11-14T00:24:00.001-08:00

I haven't posted for a few days; it's just been too hectic. And I've been busy posting new plants to our nursery website, specifically to the Aloe list. So what I'll do in the next few days is post a few of these plants.
First up, Aloe 'Pink Blush', a Kelly Griffin hybrid that I describe as living impressionist painting. Really impressive.

Orbea hardyi

2011-11-09T23:34:00.001-08:00

I understand that in its natural habitat in northern South Africa this plant tends to grow in dense shade and it tends to be more a speckled green. In our greenhouse it turns out to be much more red. It's a rambler and kind of looks like worms squirming all over the potting soil. So, of course, we grow it. Need I say more?

Crassula 'Tom Thumb'

2011-11-09T00:10:00.000-08:00

I posted this plant last year but the flowers were so profuse, I couldn't resist. So, here it is. An old time favorite: not rare nor hard to grow, but certainly worth having around. As I mentioned before, we've had this plant around for 40 years or so and, even though it tends to get ignored much of the time, it thrives in spite of us. What more needs to be said.

Aloe deltoideodonta var. candicans

2011-11-07T23:34:00.000-08:00

This is a lovely, small growing Aloe from mountainous slopes in South Central Madagascar. Its 6-8 inch long, 2" wide, leaves are streaked with white and the leaves are edged with small triangular teeth. It clumps from the base, eventually forming a small mound.

Enjoy your plants!

Mammillaria hahniana 'Superba'

2011-11-06T23:29:00.000-08:00

Lynn-Marie just potted up a few trays of one of our favorite cacti: Mammillaria hahniana 'Superba'. It has a lot of pluses going for it; it's easy to grow, not prone to rot, and eventually makes a magnificent show plant, with clumps of plump, white-haired beauties.

The picture below is the normal form, showing the flowers, but also the relatively small amount of white "hair". Still an interesting and beautiful cactus, but it doesn't have the "wow" factor of 'Superba'.

Miscellaneous Succulents

2011-11-05T11:14:00.000-07:00

This is a view of a miscellaneous group of plants on a side table in one of our greenhouses. It just caught my eye so I took the photo to share.

Haworthia 'Manda's Hybrid'

2011-11-04T00:05:00.000-07:00

A nice, stocky hybrid Haworthia that's quite easy to grow and is quite attractive, it appears that the parentage is unknown. However the name -Mandy - seems to be a reference to a New Jersey grower and hybridizer of some time ago.

Mammillaria gracilis 'Arizona Snowcap'

2011-11-03T00:04:00.000-07:00

No, it's not flowering now. This was taken last March of little thumb sized starts of Mammillaria gracilis 'Arizona Snowcap' (Syn.: Mammillaria vetula ssp. gracilis 'Arizona Snowcap'). These will be forming nice clumps of this very unique cultivar of gracilis, which makes an outstanding, easy to grow, pot specimen.

They've had their summer growth spurt and now they'll get their winter dormancy... not that we're really getting Winter weather yet. We've had a couple of mild frosts (37 F) but no killing frost yet. And certainly no snow like in the Eastern Rocky Mountains and in the Northeast. Brrrr.

More Haworthia truncata crassa

2011-11-01T23:48:00.000-07:00

A couple more of the same seed batch of Haworthia truncata 'Crassa'. Some very nice plants came out of this cross (a cross of two large growing truncatas).

We spent a nice quiet Halloween with our grandson handing out candy to the trick-or-treators as they came to the door. The majority of the children in this community head up a few streets to a large Victorian house which gets transformed into a Haunted House on Halloween. Admission is a couple of cans of food for the Oregon Food Bank and they must bring in thousands of cans for this good cause.

Haworthia truncata crassa

2011-10-31T23:33:00.000-07:00

I may have posted this picture before. It's from the archives as I haven't had time to do the photography that I want to do. This is a seed grown Haworthia truncata, with the seed selected from larger growing specimens, sometimes labeled "crassa". This particular one has some very nice coloration and markings.

If you observe it, I hope you had a fun Halloween.

Agave guiengola 'Creme Brulee'

2011-10-30T00:24:00.000-07:00

I've posted this plant before on the blog but only yesterday listed it at our nursery. It's Agave guiengola 'Creme Brulee'. Originating from the Guiengola limestone cliffs of Oaxaca in Mexico and originally sold with the invalid cultivar name Agave guiengola 'Marginata', it now goes with the more colorful name of Creme Brulee. The pink on the edges tends to come with the brighter light of summer, becoming lest noticeable during the winter months. We've fallen in love with this plant so I couldn't resist posting it again.

Enjoy your plants.

Cactus and Succulents in the news

2011-10-30T00:13:00.000-07:00

The Statesman Journal, the newspaper serving the Salem, Oregon area, had an article on Thursday about growing cactus and agave plants in the Northwest. They then visited the outstanding xerophytic gardens of Ron McKitrick over in Yakima, Washington (the Hillside Desert Botanical Gardens). Though certainly worthy of a visit, the 6 inch annual rainfall east of the mountains certainly provides for different challenges than found in the rainier portions of Oregon and Washington. I'll be looking forward to future installments.

"Beth" the Barrel Cactus

2011-10-27T23:45:00.001-07:00

We now have a celebrity cactus in our collection, "Beth" the barrel cactus. It all began with a phone call from Lori Fitch at the Portland, Oregon Friends of Chamber Music, asking if we had a small barrel cactus which we could loan for a "not so classical" performance of So Percussion. This is the cactus which was loaned and concert goers named it (or her) "Beth". I wasn't able to attend, but I understand she was a big hit.

Introducing "Beth", our first musical cactus!

x Graptoveria 'Opalina'

2011-10-26T00:30:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite "fat leaf" plants, x Graptoveria 'Opalina'. It's a cross of Echeveria colorata and Graptopetalum amethystinum.

Enjoy your plants.

Stapelia paniculata subsp. scitula

2011-10-26T00:23:00.000-07:00

Fortunately, you can't smell this flower via the internet (or is this the next big thing?). Actually this little Stapelia doesn't smell that bad. And it's quite small, which with these plants is an advantage - at least to my way of thinking. And flower they do, over and over again.

Haworthia magnifica var. splendens GM452 and JDV93-59

2011-10-24T00:48:00.000-07:00

These are a couple of haworthias, both the same species, Haworthia magnifica var. splendens. Both are seed grown, but with seed from different locations. The first is GM452...

and the second is JDV93-59.

They are quite distinctly different plants, as you can see, and both have there own distinctive attractiveness.

Echeverias in greenhouse

2011-10-22T23:46:00.000-07:00

This is another view of some of the Echeveria, showing some of the long flower stalks. Back on Monday.

Lithops

2011-10-22T00:32:00.000-07:00

This is a view of a tray of Lithops in our Lithops growing area. We grow most of our plants in trays like this rather than individual pots. Since we're an internet nursery, it takes up less space and makes for less work.The flower is on Lithops pseudotruncatella ssp. archerae, and if you look closely in the tray, you can see other buds appearing.

Enjoy your plants!

Echeverias

2011-10-21T00:27:00.000-07:00

We really have to stuff to get all the plants in our greenhouses every winter and this is no exception. Here we have some echeverias and a couple of Aloe polyphylla plants Now the big job is getting to them so we can water them and otherwise care for them. Even getting down the aisle to get to them is a major task for me and my big feet.

For those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, enjoy the Spring and coming summer. Keep those pictures of flowers coming...

Dinteranthus microspermus ssp. puberulus

2011-10-20T00:16:00.000-07:00

As I've been known to do as Winter approaches, I'm pulling this photo from archives. It's a wonderful African mesemb called Dinteranthus microspermus ssp. puberulus. These are summer growers and they're quite easy to grow...good drainage and don't over-water, especially during the winter!

Had an enjoyable evening with other Lewis & Clark College alumni (my undergraduate school, where I majored in philosophy - many years ago). Tomorrow night (or, I guess it's now tonight) I'll be with the Oregon Cactus & Succulent Society. For you local cactus & succulent people, hope to see you there!

Mauna Loa, Etna and Culibra

2011-10-19T00:40:00.000-07:00

I posted this header on our nursery site yesterday to announce a special. I don't usually tie the two together so much, but it really is a great deal. Echeveria 'Mauna Loa', E. 'Etna', and E. 'Culibra' are all on sale for less than half price. Some real lumpy, bumpy wierdness for the scary season.

But enough of the shameless commercialism. We've been really busy the last few days and things should slow down a bit this week. Took a nice 12 mile bike ride today but my bike had a flat, so it was only a 6 mile bike ride. The rest was walking.
And for those in the Portland area, check out the Oregon Cactus & Succulent Society page for info on our next meeting this Thursday. We'll be auctioning off some very nice Hoya plants and the program will be on those scary monster cactus... See you there!

Yellow Jackets

2011-10-16T23:55:00.000-07:00

This morning, before going to church, I decided to do a little yard work. I was raking the area next to the entry walkway when the rake disturbed a yellow jacket nest in the ground. Before I even knew what was happening I was literally covered in yellow jackets...and they weren't happy. I ended up with about 10 stings from the top of my head to several toes. The stings are still rather painful, especially my big toe. So... I'm off to bed. I'm hoping for a better day tomorrow.

Astrophytum capricorne

2011-10-15T00:19:00.000-07:00

Since I'm on an older computer for a day or two I don't have access to my more recent photos, so I'll share a few older ones. These photos were taken about 5 or 6 years ago. This is Astrophytum capricorne and its fantastic flower. But, of course, we're about flowered out here as we enter into the Fall and Winter seasons.

Enjoy your plants!

Plant Trademarks

2011-10-14T00:23:00.000-07:00

In passing I mentioned the matter of trademarks for plant names. In the past we didn't have to deal with trademarks in succulent plants; that was the headache for the rose people. But now they're all over the place. Just what is a trademark and how is it appropriate in relation to the names of plants? We already have a system for naming plant cultivars by simply publishing the cultivar name (which must be in ordinary language). Such names can be used by anyone, freely. Principle 4 of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants 2004 states that "Names of plants must be universally and freely available for use by any person to denote a distinguishable group of plants. In some countries, plants are marketed using trademarks. Such marks are the intellectual property of a person or some corporate body and are not therefore freely available for any person to use; consequently, they cannot be considered as names."

But now we have businesses trademarking cultivar names, though it's my understanding that the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is opposed to the use of trademarks for cultivar names of plants. Remember. A TM on a plant does not prohibit the propagation and redistribution of a particular plant. Plant patents are available for that purpose. And if the TM is applied to an already accepted cultivar name, it certainly is inappropriate if not illegitimate.
(The above is my opinion and my rant. I'm not an attorney, so don't consider this legal advice.)

Aloe 'Diego'

2011-10-12T00:21:00.000-07:00

I posted a photo of this Kelly Griffin hybrid earlier this summer...and I think it was a better shot than this one. Like most of these hybrids, they stay small and make a great pot specimen. The name is apparently trademarked by Proven Winners but they're available elsewhere in the trade other than with them.

Enjoy your plants!

Aloe 'Donnie'

2011-10-10T23:54:00.000-07:00

This is one of the Kelly Griffin hybrids: 'Donnie'. The red edge, along with the white striping, makes for an outstanding, small growing Aloe.

We don't have any of these, or others of the new hybrids, listed on our website, but will be correcting this soon enough...

Rhipsalis species?

2011-10-09T23:48:00.000-07:00

We're haven't really kept up to date on our Rhipsalis and Lepismium taxonomy so any help in naming this would be appreciated. I'll be posting a few we have and asking for your help. If you can attach the correct genus and species to the plant, you win the prize...my grateful appreciation! ... What? You expected more?

There's more to come in the days ahead.

Aloe polyphylla

2011-10-08T23:56:00.000-07:00

A young Aloe polyphylla, just beginning to show it's spiraling characteristics. Commonly known as the "Spiral Aloe" due to the beautiful spiral formation of the leaves in mature plants, but in Afrikaans its common name Kroonaalwyn translates as "Crown Aloe". From Lesotho in South Africa, it's endemic to basalt rock outcroppings within grasslands in the higher elevations between 6,500 and 8,200 feet of the Maluti Mountains. Quite hardy (5-10 degrees F) if given excellent drainage.

Cactus crest

2011-10-07T00:03:00.000-07:00

OK. I've got the name of this crest outside on the deck. It's midnight and I'm ready to get some shut eye, so the name will have to wait. We have the normal and it tends to throw crests fairly often.

Our weather's definitely Fall like, about 10 degrees (F) below what it should be at this time. Oh well.

Echeveria 'Fancy Frills'

2011-10-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

No flower tonight, but a plant which is as good as a flower: Echeveria 'Fancy Frills'. I think this picture explains the popularity of echeverias.

Tomorrow I'll be doing more work moving plants into the greenhouses and getting the greenhouses ready for winter. (The following is political comment. Feel free to disagree or to add your two cents or to totally ignore what I have to say.) If I didn't have so much to do I'd probably be down at Portland's Tom McCall Waterfront Park joining with the young people who are beginning an "Occupy Portland" protest in solidarity with the New York City "Occupy Wall Street" group. Somehow the money has to be taken out of the political process here in the United States. A billion dollars per candidate to run for the presidency is outright ludicrous. And we know who bankrolls their place at the table: the big banks and the huge international corporations.
There. I've had my say. Having had strong political views for a long time, having been a minor part of the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War protests, I will probably be starting a separate political blog pretty soon so that I can stick to succulent plants and beautiful flowers here.

Echeveria 'Black Knight' flowers

2011-10-04T23:57:00.000-07:00

Just across the aisle in the same greenhouse is this flower: Echeveria 'Black Knight'. Again, not huge, but when you get this many flowers clustered together and distinctive flowers at that, it can't help but be impressive.

Got a couple of large order processed so they can go out this week with a couple more that are awaiting preparation. Our customers this week are from China, Thailand, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Tomorrow morning, though, a break to have Lattes with friends at a local coffee shop. Then it's back to getting the plants readied for the colder weather that's on the way.

Echeveria 'Lucita' flower

2011-10-03T23:42:00.000-07:00

In general most Echeverias are grown, not for the flower, but for the plant itself. But don't overlook the flowers. This is the flower of Echeveria 'Lucita'. It may not be huge, and it may not be as attention grabbing as a caruncle, but it's worth a lot more attention than it generally gets.

Enjoy your plants!

Carunculations!

2011-10-03T00:20:00.000-07:00

After that faded flower I thought, maybe a few caruncles! That's not a term that you'll come across very often, unless you're talking about a chicken's wattle or certain kinds of Echeverias. Some people are really turned off to them, finding them almost revolting. Others find them fascinating and love them. In my experience, people either love or hate them; there's not much middle ground. Here are a few examples that I took pictures of earlier today. I think you can understand why some of these plants have volcanic names.

And for those of you who find these pictures revolting...tomorrow we'll return to flowers!

Faded Flower

2011-10-03T00:03:00.000-07:00

I should have taken time to photograph this flower yesterday or the day before. When you wait too long, what you get is a flower on it's last legs.

I think it's trying to tell me something...

Ferocactus crest

2011-10-02T00:11:00.000-07:00

This crest came to us unnamed, but we can be fairly certain it's a Ferocactus - just don't know which one. If you look closely you can see the spiders have been busy this summer, doing their part in the environment. We don't have any really dangerous spiders here. The Black Widow spider is very rare - with most of my life lived here I've only seen one west of the Cascade mountains. And the Brown Recluse, if it's around at all, is just that: reclusive. Mostly it's the common garden spider. And those are common.

As we take these back into the greenhouses they get sprayed with a good blast of water to get rid of all the webbing and then they'll get some pre-winter systemic insecticide. After that...let's get it over with...Winter, that is!

Oops!

2011-10-01T01:00:00.000-07:00

Oops! Sometimes there are days that are like that!

This image was shared by Flávia Fernandes on the blog Cactos e suculentas by Flávia Fernandes. Thanks.

Actually, today wasn't quite that bad. The weather was great and we had our children and their families over for our bi-weekly gathering. One highlight was when our two granddaughters, Lynn-Marie & I took Kiani and Osita (our two Belgian Tervuren dogs) and Ladybug (our miniature horse) for a walk through the neighborhood after dark. We had a lot of fun together.

Back to my own pictures tomorrow.

And enjoy your plants, but don't let any cactus fall on you!

Sedum rubrotinctum 'Aurora'

2011-09-30T00:19:00.000-07:00

Sedum rubrotinctum 'Aurora'. You can't get much easier than this. It has beauty in simplicity and it's easy to grow to boot. What more do you want?
Oh, I know. When you've been around these plants as long as we have - growing them for over 40 years - you sometimes get a little jaded (an interesting use of words, and I'm sure confusing to the non-English speakers) with simple and "basic" succulent plants such as this. We want something more challenging!
I hope that doesn't represent my attitude, but I'm sure it does at times.
So, if for no more reason than to remind myself of a basic truth, let me state it again: Easy is good!

And speaking of being jaded, the wee Sedum is related to the Jade plant, both being members of the Crassulaceae family, but that's a very large family, with about 33 genera, of which Crassula and Sedum are just a couple.

Agave lophantha 'Quadricolor'

2011-09-28T23:40:00.000-07:00

We didn't start out growing Agaves, but but we just couldn't help ourselves. Many were so striking we just had to add them to our greenhouses and this is one of them: Agave lophantha 'Quadricolor'. One of the nice things about this one is that it stays relatively small, a foot to two feet across and about a foot tall. Unfortunately, it's not reliably hardy for our area, tolerating - if dry - somewhere between 20 and 25 degrees F. Even if we have a mild winter and don't get into the low 20s, our cold is almost always wet. ... Oh well, it also makes a great potted specimen plant for the patio or deck!

Late season flowers: Mammillaria hernandezii

2011-09-27T00:08:00.000-07:00

Not exactly flamboyant, being that it's on a tiny little cactus: Mammillaria hernandezii. However, the Fall rains and cooler weather are creeping in upon us and any little flower is a blessing.

Earlier today, we took a ride out to Sauvie Island (the island at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers) to check on the stables, plus a brief stop at Cistus Nursery...always a fun place to visit. However, it's October and pretty soon the island will have weekend traffic jams of families with little children heading out to one of the many corn mazes and to pick their own pumpkin for Halloween. We made the mistake of being caught in one of those traffic jams a couple of years ago. Never again!
By the way, I grew up in this area and I'll never get used to calling it Sauvie Island. It was Sauvie's Island then and will always be for me.

Echeveria 'Blue Jay'

2011-09-25T23:52:00.000-07:00

There are so many 'Blue...' Echeverias out there that some of them are bound to be synonyms. This one goes by the moniker 'Blue Jay' and it's distinct from the other blues we have so it stands. According to one source, this is a hybrid developed by Denise Manley, a close friend of Dick Wright.

Late season flowers: Copiapoa tenuissima

2011-09-25T07:07:00.000-07:00

As can be seen in this photo, with all the old dead flowers clearly visible, this is one plant that just doesn't know when to quit. Copiapoa tenuissima isn't one of the rarer of Copiapoas, usually seen in its monstrous form, but it's easy to grow and flowers without asking.

Late season flowers: Echinocereus rigidissimus subsp. rubispinus

2011-09-25T00:28:00.000-07:00

We've posted this plant on many occasions, but that's partly because it's such a great plant. It flowers dependably from early Spring into the early Fall, and they are indeed spectacular; but the plants are themselves amazing, with their tightly appressed reddish spines. Right now they're adding a bit of brightness as the skies begin to darken and a small coastal storm begins to bring rain and wind. Fall is here.

Please, enjoy your plants!

Late season flowers: Epithelantha micromeris ssp. unguispina

2011-09-24T00:26:00.000-07:00

When we first obtained this plant it was simply Epithelantha unguispina, but now it's just a subspecies...but a nice subspecies! The bloom is just beginning to emerge, getting larger, but not large.

Echeveria 'Decora'

2011-09-24T00:16:00.000-07:00

Echeveria 'Decora' is of unknown origin but appears to have been a spontaneous mutation of E. gibbiflora 'Metallica'. Yesterday the afternoon sun made for this striking picture.