Things are popping up all over

These are fun times in the greenhouses. Flowers are appearing all over the place and beginning to show themselves. But over on the back table, a slower but fascinating process is exhibited. The Lithops are growing. As Meg Lynch, Horticulture editor, noted in her blog,

"On March 1...the green one, which I dubbed Gerard, “started to open a pinhole and that turned into a large oval-shaped separation and inside there are what look like tiny Gerards.” I had been hoping it was going to flower. But it was just going through the routine of a living stone: to shed its leaves each year, revealing new leaves inside. Sometimes they open to show more pairs than the last year, and form large clumps this way. (Gerard has held steady at two pairs.)

To me this is one of the most fantastic of growth processes around and never fails to amaze me.
But I guess I'm easily entertained. I can hear it now. "What do you do for entertainment?" "I go out and watch the Lithops grow!"

I'm back!

I apologize for not posting anything for so long. Has it really been that long? I could say I've just been terribly busy, and that would be true, but not a valid excuse.

We just received a huge order of wholesale plants which we've been potting up - about 400 plants in two days...and more are coming. It's a lot of work, but it also allows me to spend more time with the plants and observe the plants budding up.

I'm back, and I'll post some photos tomorrow.

Wow! Now that really draught tolerant!

An article in The Times of India describes a current exhibit of succulent plants, but do we really have to use the stereotypical common names that sometimes seem irresistible to some people. The "Golden Barrel" (Echinocactus grusonii) is described as "Chinocactus ...'Mother-in-law's Chair'"!

It also appears that they really grow them "hard" in India: "Typically, a desert plant can survive more than 40 years without water."

Wow!

Spring is Springing

We're just ending the worst cold snap we've had in a couple of years - 19 or 20F at night - but the signs of Spring are all around us. Bulbs are emerging: Snowdrops, daffodils, Iris -- some will be flowering (snowdrops, daffies) within a week or two. At the same time, the Banana Trees have been hit pretty hard, but they'll come back later this spring, and one of the Aloes we were experimenting with bit the dust.

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for Spring! Heating is just too expensive this year.

Now I know our cold is peanuts compared to some of you. Please, share your experience with growing succulents in cold weather areas. We'd love to hear from you.

Plant cleaning

A good reminder from the blog Stapenhorstbunne:

Remember plants accumulate dust as much as any other surface in your home. Clean plant leaves, especially succulent plants, with a damp cloth and cold water.

Have you ever done this? The other day I was at the dentist's office when I noticed the Sansevierias near the elevators. They were filthy. Reaching for the tissue in my pocket, and checking to make sure no-one was watching, I proceeded to clean every one of those leaves.

Oh...and by succulents, I don't think they mean to include most cacti!

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?

Bringing Lotusland weirdness to Northwest Gardens

From the Seattle Times Home and Garden Section comes this observation about bringing a lush, "weird", succulent look to Northwest Gardens:

Hardy agaves and yuccas add spikiness and structure. There are even cactus that live through our winters if you provide good drainage, including the cartoon-shaped prickly pear (Opuntia cycloides).

I always like to see garden sections pointing out some of the succulent options for our area, but why be so limiting. There's so much more that's possible than yuccas and agaves and "prickly pear." And what's O. cycloides? I guess it's a variety of O. engelmannii. Though that name doesn't appear in Anderson's The Cactus Family, it does appear in a few limited on-line sites, but primarily as a variety. There are whole bunches of Opuntias which are hardy here. In our own neighborhood, I know of at least 8 different opuntias growing at people's homes (though I have no clue if any of them are O. cycloides).

Succulents in Anchorage

The Anchorage Daily News has a question and answer column today (where it's currently 12 F) with a Master Gardner, Fran Flint, who loves succulent plants. When asked how she got started in cacti, she said,

I am a lazy gardener, and cacti are really easy and really pretty cool, not to mention the fact that there are a lot of weird guys out there (meaning cactus, of course) with really great shapes and they are just an all-around fun sort of a plant. I am a really bad waterer and most of my plants must live in drought conditions, so cacti fit the bill. Besides, I really do love the textures and feel of them too.

Meaning cactus, of course! :-)