Aloe bakeri is one of the grassy aloes from Madagascar. As such it’s not really hardy around here, although it is semi-hardy so if you really want to grow it outside in Berkeley you probably can if you take care when there’s going to be a frost to drape a soft frost blanket over it, so we have it inside in the greenhouse. Because we want you to have more success.
It can be difficult to photograph Aloe blooms since they’re on such tall bloom stalks and in this case a spidery grass aloe below is hard to get into the photo with the closeup of the blooms.
Lise sends along a picture of her cactus garden in bloom. It’s hard to tell from the small photo, but it appears she has both Cereus peruvianus and Echinopsis pachanoi.
They both have the same giant white flowers, but the Cereus is a night bloomer, with the blooms only lasting the one night, and is pollinated by flies. Whereas the Echinopsis is a San Pedro cactus and the bees love those during the warm daylight hours.
Keith sent me this photo of a Ferocactus pottsi and a carnivorous dinosaur and a fossil. He says this is the proper way to use a fossil in a cactus pot. Did he come up with this himself? Or did a customer ask him to repot this cactus along with adding the two toys?
I shall never know for sure. It is a mystery.
I wonder if that is a mammal fossil? It is a mystery.
Anigozanthos “Bush Ranger” is defintely, without question – don’t you start questioning me now… – my favorite of the red Kangaroo Paws. Better than “Kanga Burgundy”? Well, maybe nmot… But… Hey! Wait! Don’t you start questioning me now!
About a month ago, I purchased 4 Candy Stripe clumping bamboo plants along with pots and soil. Recently, they have started dropping leaves. I increased water to 2x a week from the originally advised 1x per week.
What else should I be doing?
Amy
Amy,
Your bamboo plants are having a little bit of transplant shock – which is perfectly natural and nothing to worry about. Stop the extra watering – these are drought tolerant plants and need to dry out between waterings. Only water more than once per week if its very hot or very windy. You should see new tiny leaflets starting in the next few weeks.
If you used the Bioturf organic fertilizer we recommend, you don’t need to do anything more. Otherwise I do recommend some high nitrogen organic fertilizer.
Peter
Well, not really a jacket, more like a safety vest.
Keith found this and wants me to get them for the crew at the store. Then they will be really visible whenever a customer needs help. Fluorescent colors are the best colors.
But most of all it’s the tie that makes us respect the cactus.
Eriophyllum lanatum “Siskiyou” was very popular in the spring, but not so much at the nursery this time of year. I wonder why? There are way more blooms now than there ever were then. So bright!
Eriophyllum lanatum “Siskiyou”
Oregon Sunshine, or Woolly Daisy
Native to California and Oregon
Evergreen Perennial Groundcover
Sun: Full to Partial Sun
Water: Low
Size: 12″h, spreads 3ft. wide
Pretty whitish to grey-green woolly leaves with stunning displays of yellow daisy flowers throughout the spring. Tidy and low-growing groundcover, blooms pop up to 12″h. Cut back after blooming. Hardy to 15F.
I recently purchased a cactus (see picture Below) I was given to names either mammillarias – polythele and the succulent plant is a sedum or Crassula and Echinocactus
I was also told two different methods of feeding which are as follows:
1. As far as watering goes, you should give it a small amount, about half a mug every 10-14 days in summer and reducing down to a 1/4 mug every 20-28 days over winter.
from summer hill garden centre
2 Water once a fortnight March to October – suggest a cupful ( not a mug!!!)
October to March ignore it
Feed every month from March to October ( amount should be on whichever feed you get)
October to March do not feed
from Craig House Cacti
Please can you give me the correct name and how often I water it and feed it and
where I buy the feed
I am disabled and never looked after one.
Thank you, Mark
Mark,
The cactus is a Mammillaria and the succulent is a Sedum. From the name of the nursery, I take it you are in Essex in England.
It’s going to be hard for me to give you exact instructions since I can’t tell what they are planted in. Terrariums are always a bit tricky, but it looks like maybe they are in small pots inside the glass surrounded by gravel. Assuming this is true, you want to make sure when you water that you only water right around the plant itself so that the water gets into the soil.
It won’t take a lot of water, maybe only a tablespoon per plant, but because it is so little water, you will need to water every week. You can water the cactus every 2 weeks in the winter, but the Sedum will want regular water year round. Make sure you don’t overwater – you don’t want any water sitting in the bottom of the glass.
As for feeding – Very little! since it’s in such a small terrarium. I would use a low strength liquid fertilizer like Liquid Seaweed (We use Grow More brand) and use only a tiny amount, no more than twice a year in spring and summer.
Good Luck,
Peter
Solanum umbelliferum “Indian’s Grey” is unquestionably (don’t you question me….) the prettiest of the native Solanums, although this closeup of the flower is a bit more graphic than a whole plant covered in these little blooms. It’s poisonous, and it’s low and shrubby too. The flowers will last for a very long time if you give the plant a little bit of water throughout the summer, otherwise it will stop blooming and go dormant instead. I recommend you cut it back in fall after it has finished its last little blooms. New growth through the winter will culminate in the pretty little flowers in the spring.
Sun: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Water: Moderate to low
Size: 2 ft. clumps
Small, slightly grey leaves give this airy shrub a glow in sunlight. Striking blue flowers start in early spring and can bloom through summer and fall. Dormant without water in summer. Hardy to 25F.
I have a question on what to do about my Euphorbia trigona – it had been ill about 2 years ago and was treated with Neem and then brought into the house and recovered nicely. It kept growing taller and taller and never branched. It finally threw two branches this summer and grew another foot taller…it is now 40 inches tall! It is still completely upright with a chop stick secured to the bottom 6 inches, planted in a 6” deep terra cotta and happy. Should I just let it continue to get taller and taller? OR should I cut it down to size and let the potted bottom half alone – will it sprout branches? Then I would re-pot the top half?
Is it a must to use a rooting solution? I did not use any kind of rooting solution when I put the top of the cleistocactus that rotted off (of course, I did remove all rot and then let the bottom dry for awhile) into some cactus soil. It seems happy and has started growing a new fluff of top furry hair J. Will it root without rooting solution?
Thanks for your time, once again, to help me figure all this out.
~Karen
Karen,
It’s just about too late in the year to take Euphorbia cuttings, so if you do want to cut it and re-root, I recommend waiting until next year and taking the cuts between May and August. We do ours on July 1. The Euphorbia cuts are easy to get to root without hormones so long as they are well callused over.
The pot its in is too small, so it would be happier in a larger pot. Probably a 10-12″ pot.
And finally, these Euphorbias can be grown much slower with much less water. It’s amazing how long you can go between waterings. I recommend about once per month to really slow down its growth, although if its in a sunny hot window it may need a little water every 2-3 weeks.
With regular water, these will top 8ft. pretty quickly. We’re often asked to come into people’s homes to cut them down before they hit the ceiling.
Peter
This photo of Parodia submammulosus is better, more vibrant than the one I blogged last month. Also, it’s nice to know they’re still blooming this late in the year.
Whippets like to rest up and watch out the window for passing bunnies.
The story of the whippet is often told in England in the pubs and pastie shops of Upper Brunswichshire. The story of the English whippet is famous throughout the British Isles, as told on the heath. For when the whippet tales are told on the heath the bunnies all cock their pink furry ears and watch the horizon for the splinter-fast racing form of the bunny-murdering hunter known as the whippet.
Oh the horror!
For the whippet can calculate the triangulated distances in the English distances of the Scottish plains along the coast of the Isle of Man. Hungry though the speedster may be, there is no whippet in Wales.
Cheri sent this in and wants you to know that Jane in San Francisco has a cactus pendant for sale on etsy. And not just any handmade cactus pendant, this being etsy and all, but a vintage handmade cactus pendant.
this pendant is a mystery to me. seems like a black glass or enamel with a super-fine painting of a cactus with blooms. that is set into what i believe to be a sterling casing, although it is not marked. hung on a 16.5″ black cord with clasp. sweet piece.
OK, so Urban Farmgirls actually makes these pots in San Francisco, all the way across the bay, but we still consider them local. Because that’s just the way we are.
Our new order with lots of new shapes and materials has come in. And it’s spectacular.
Thymus “Elfin” is very low growing, so this photo is deceptive. It has the feeling of a taller plant or a mound, but it’s not actually doing that. The camera adds 10 pounds they say, on reality tv, but here it adds inches in height instead.
Fragrant variegated silvery leaves, small lavender flowers. Great in rock gardens and mixed pots. Grows well in small containers and on windowsills. Hardy to below 0F.
Achillea “Salmon Beauty” is a A. millefolium hybrid that has the most salmon-colored flowers of any of the yarrows. I think it may have been a german hybrid originally.
Achillea millefolium “Pink Island Form” is from the Channel Islands, gets 2ft. tall bloom stalks, and is just as hardy here as the local white form.
I purchased an Aloe plant from you about 3 months ago. Everything seemed to be going fine with it until about a month ago I noticed that at the base of each leaf, it appeared to be dying out. Over the past week its gotten worse and now the whole plant is rotted and needs to be throw out (see photos). Im wondering if you have any tips or ideas as to why this would have happened? It was in excellent temp and light all day long.
Any thoughts would be great, as Id like to get another one. Feel free to call me or email me.
Best,
Zachary
Zachary,
It does appear that the plant rotted out from the stem. I don’t know what caused it to rot, but it may be over-water, or sitting in water so the soil doesn’t dry out. I don’t see any sign of pests, but something could have been chewing on the roots and that could cause this problem too.
If you see something like this happening again on another plant, send us a photo or bring it by the store before it’s too late, and we may have a better chance of diagnosing it and helping you save it.
An impressive specimen of an Adenium socotranum, or Adenium obesum ssp.socotranum, in Yemen.
From National Geographic:
Desert Rose, Socotra
Photograph by Mark W. Moffett, National Geographic
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
A desert rose anchors itself on the Maalah cliffs, in the company of more than 300 other rare plant species on Socotra. In the distance lies Qulansiyah, one of the island’s largest towns.
See more pictures from the June 2012 feature story “Where the Weird Things Are.”
Not just an impressive specimen, but also an impressive photographic feat. And a little bird!
Check out some other pictures of these giants here and here.
Sedum sieboldii is a low-growing evergreen variegated stonecrop with pink flowers. And it’s hardy to below 0F. As are most stonecrops.
The tag in the pot is letting me know it’s Parent Stock, so I’m not allowed to sell it. We don’t have any others available for sale, so this post is really just a tease. Next year we’ll have another crop and by fall it too will be blooming. If it doesn’t sell out early like this year’s crop did. Hah!
