Friday, August 31. 2007
Yellow Flower
Leuchtenbergia principis
Leave 'em Alone
Frequent travelers might want to consider cactus and succulents for their houseplants since the Orlando Sentinel, reprinting an article from the Chicago Tribune, tells you to leave them alone anyway.
Good enough in general, but did you check the weather report for today here in Northern California? It's gonna be a hot one. Time to water before you leave for your Weekend Getaway, avoiding the closed Bay Bridge.
The most-durable and resilient houseplants for frequent travelers are cactus, succulents and plants with stiff, fleshy leaves such as sansevieria and rubber trees, says Marion Parry, owner of A New Leaf in Chicago.
Good enough in general, but did you check the weather report for today here in Northern California? It's gonna be a hot one. Time to water before you leave for your Weekend Getaway, avoiding the closed Bay Bridge.
Friday Whippet Blogging
It's one of Benjamin's expressions that I've never photographed before.
Berkeley Succulent
Curtis Street
Cotyledon orbiculata
Thursday, August 30. 2007
Hot Days in the Summer
I don't know about you, but I'm hot.
Now would be a good time to add some extra water into your cactus and succulent watering schedule. Plus, drink lots yourself when you're out there. I'm just saying.
Now would be a good time to add some extra water into your cactus and succulent watering schedule. Plus, drink lots yourself when you're out there. I'm just saying.
Time-Lapse Blooming of Christmas Cactus
We Get Echinopsis Questions
It's nice when the questions come with beautiful photos.
Q: Do you know what kind of cactus this is?
Thanks so much,
Kathryn
A: Kathryn,
Your plant is a species of Echinopsis, from South America. It was formerly in the Lobivia genus, but they have all been moved into Echinopsis.
Peter
Click through for a closeup after the break...
Q: Do you know what kind of cactus this is?
Thanks so much,
Kathryn
A: Kathryn,
Your plant is a species of Echinopsis, from South America. It was formerly in the Lobivia genus, but they have all been moved into Echinopsis.
Peter
Click through for a closeup after the break...
Continue reading "We Get Echinopsis Questions"
Florida How-To
They like them some Orchid Cactus in Florida. Well, they would, since it is a tropical plant in a tropical location.
Now you know how to take care of your Epiphyllum in Tropical Florida. And in case that's not enough, there's more at that link.
Growth habit: A sprawling spineless cactus growing to 3 feet tall
Light: Areas with early morning sun... are ideal.
Water needs: Drought tolerant (Ed: We like to water weekly)
Feedings: Apply a... fertilizer solution monthly during the warm times of the year
Propagation: From stem cuttings.
Ease of culture: Easy.
Hardiness: Tender; protect from freezing
Light: Areas with early morning sun... are ideal.
Water needs: Drought tolerant (Ed: We like to water weekly)
Feedings: Apply a... fertilizer solution monthly during the warm times of the year
Propagation: From stem cuttings.
Ease of culture: Easy.
Hardiness: Tender; protect from freezing
Now you know how to take care of your Epiphyllum in Tropical Florida. And in case that's not enough, there's more at that link.
Texas Succulents
Wooly asks the question on the UK version of Garden Banter, but appears to be in Austin, TX:
and gets an answer from Omelet.
Is it possible to overwater succulents?... My cactus garden (planted in a very large forest
bonsai pot) is looking decidedly peaked this year and I suspect an excess of rain.
bonsai pot) is looking decidedly peaked this year and I suspect an excess of rain.
and gets an answer from Omelet.
Yes, they can be over-watered. You may want to raise the pot off of the ground for better drainage, or move it under some kind of cover for a bit so it can dry out.
Wednesday, August 29. 2007
Link of the Day
Succulents by J. has a new prickly pear, and she was wondering if it was about to bloom or had already bloomed. Her commenters told her it had already bloomed, and the round things are the fruit, ready to eat when they ripen to red. Fortunately, her plant gets lots of blooms and she'll get a whole mess of new blooms next year.
Study: Fruits Can Reduce Signs of Colon Cancer
But cactus fruits don't have the chemical compounds, and so don't count. The study done at Ohio State actually tested them.
Oh well, maybe next time. So go eat your other fruits.
Researchers in Ohio say that the same chemical that gives fruits and vegetables their bright colors can hold the key to preventing cancer. The compounds, called anthocyanins, give the fruits and vegetables that “most red, purple and blue” colors and will also “appreciably slow the growth of colon cancer cells”....
Not all plants contain the compound. In Caryophyllales, Cactus and Galium mollugo, anthocyanins are replaced by betacyanins.
Not all plants contain the compound. In Caryophyllales, Cactus and Galium mollugo, anthocyanins are replaced by betacyanins.
Oh well, maybe next time. So go eat your other fruits.
Attorney General Resignation Quote of the Day
Night Blooming Cereus
They bloom at night in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Clive Babkirk has been watching his cereus cactus bloom for more than 40 years. That plant, as well as other cacti, trees and flowers, make up his tropical plant collection.
Photo by Thomas J. Turney
Pretty flower. It's enormous. Gigantical. Stupendulous.
Clive Babkirk has been watching his cereus cactus bloom for more than 40 years. That plant, as well as other cacti, trees and flowers, make up his tropical plant collection.
Photo by Thomas J. Turney
Pretty flower. It's enormous. Gigantical. Stupendulous.
Tuesday, August 28. 2007
Michigan Cactus
On the Ann Arbor Garden Tour:
I always wondered what lurked behind those placid fronts in Ann Arbor, where I went to school. Now I know. And so do you.
Bill, 56, and Genie, 55, started gardening after they moved into the house 27 years ago, maintaining the vegetable gardens the previous owner had started. Soon they were working their heads off, but giving away most of what they grew - if the raccoons didn't get it first.
Most of the vegetables were out, and plants and flowers in, covering about 80 percent of the third of an acre, largely perennials, with some herbs and berries. Succulents - even prickly pear cactus - moved in as well as alpines. Additional rock-bordered beds with graceful curves and flagstone paths followed.
Most of the vegetables were out, and plants and flowers in, covering about 80 percent of the third of an acre, largely perennials, with some herbs and berries. Succulents - even prickly pear cactus - moved in as well as alpines. Additional rock-bordered beds with graceful curves and flagstone paths followed.
I always wondered what lurked behind those placid fronts in Ann Arbor, where I went to school. Now I know. And so do you.
Republican Bathroom Humor Quote of the Day
Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) in 1999:
via Atrios.
Bad boy, Bill Clinton. You’re a naughty boy.... a nasty, bad, naughty boy.
via Atrios.
T-Shirts
