We're gearing up for the Oregon Cactus & Succulent Society Show and Sale in July (July 15-17). As in previous years, it will be at Portland Nursery on Stark Street in SE Portland. Following are some pictures of some of the plants which will be available (and there will be multiple vendors.

 

 

 

 

Hope to see you there.

We're open again!

Kara Nursery is again taking orders. These plants are so much a part of our life that it's hard to escape! We're also offering 10% off on the Aloes at this time.

The Stapelia scitula has been blooming for the last couple of weeks. (The correct name is probably Stapelia paniculata ssp. scitula, but either will work.)

Around the Greenhouses

There's not much happening around the greenhouses yet, but even without flowers...

Again I haven't been posting much. We're still fighting colds, etc., and Lynn-Marie's arthritis in her hands is making it hard for her to work with the plants. As a result we will be winding down our internet nursery in the next several months. We will try to fill the backlog of orders as soon as we can, but it's going to be a slow process. By this summer we'll be switching over to an occasional email list of plants which are available for a limited time period.

I'll try to keep up with the blog as we move into Spring, but I'm also working on Lynn-Marie's online presence as an artist. I've be promising to get this done for a long time, so it really has to get done. I'll let you know when it's ready to go.

For now, then, just enjoy your plants!

Oregon Cactus & Succulent Society Holiday Party

A local announcement: The December meeting of the OCSS is the Holiday Party being held this coming Saturday, December 15 at 2 pm. Location? -  7875 Blinkhorn Way, Gladstone, OR. Directions are a little complicated: Take I-5 south toward Salem. At exit 288, take the ramp right for I-205 toward Oregon City/West Linn. At exit 11, take the ramp right toward DMV/Gladstone and turn right onto 82nd Dr. Go about 1/2 mile, passing Ruhl's Honey, a spa place and a furniture consignment shop. Take a left on Strawberry Lane, which crosses back over the freeway. Strawberry is a small street and is hard to see. There is a turn lane and look for a low wall built by "The Wall" company on the NW corner where you turn. Take the left onto SE strawberry Ln. Go about 1/2 mile. Watch for "yellow, curve in the road, speed sign" which tells you to be on the lookout for SE Stanhelma Dr. and turn left. (If you pass a small park on the right or if you reach Webster, you have missed the turn to Stanhelma.) Go up the hill, bearing right. Turn right onto Blinkhorn Way. Destination is on the right side, a low, brown house, paver driveway, and a Pacific Northwest salmon on the door. Questions? Call 503-655-7038 or 503-913-7123. The society will provide baked ham and non-alcoholic drinks (if you wish to bring wine, that's OK). The rest of the meal is potluck. Hope to see you there.

In the yard

Just a miscellaneous shot of some plants in the back yard. Nothing special. I'll try to get some new photos tomorrow.

Haworthia arachnoide var. arachnoidea

I squeezed in a few minutes of greenhouse photography yesterday. This particular plant is one of my favorites -- (unfortunately for us, I have quite a few "favorites"). It's seed grown from LML99011 seeds, seeded in December of 2005. (A limited number are available from the Haworthia Specialities list.)

Making another diet buck on succulent plants

Just what we need; another succulent plant being commercialized for diet use.

Apatrim, according to the story, is a "newly released diet pill" which contains an extract of Caralluma Fimbriata, a cactus-like plant widely grown in India where it is eaten as a vegetable and used as an ingredient in curries and chutneys.

What we can confirm is that Caralluma Fimbriata, like the South African "succulent" plant Hoodia Gordonii, has indeed been chewed for many years by Indian tribesmen during long hunts to suppress appetite and enhance endurance.

But from there, the breathless weight-loss claims for Apatrim not only become more suspect, but seem likely to ultimately involve its distributor, PatentHEALTH, LLC , with the judicial system.

And the battle of the diet scammers goes on. Referred to on one online site as "Indian Cactus," it may have appetite suppression properties, but demand for such can lead to so many negative effects. I guess one good side effect is that it might take away some of the demand for Hoodia.

I also noticed while browsing that on at least one "New Breakthrough in Dieting" website, a very nice photo by Gerald Barad on the Cactus-Mall, is used - probably without permission - and another photo identified as C. fimbriata is actualy Hoodia gordonii. O well, who really cares hey?

Soekeshof Gardens

Apparently this couple from Scotland is crazy enough about cacti & succulents to travel to South Africa and get married in Soekeshof Gardens, the largest collection of Succulent plants in South Africa. It contains the oldest cactus in S.A. (1910). (They appear to be standing next to a metal plant sculpture.) Find out more at Soekeshof Gardens.