More Autumn Blooms….
18 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in 1. Cactus and Succulent Tags: Epiphyllum, Growing Cumbidium Spikes, Zygocacti
The mystery yellow Epiphyllum is flowering much too early….. a real nice surprise! The medium size blooms are soft yellow with very soft sweet smell. The cutting that I planted last year is growing and also having few flower buds.
More flowering Zygocacti ( Schlumbergera sp.):
What I like best of autumn flower ‘Chrysanthemums’ is the long lasting blooms. Even as cutting flowers in a vase, they can last more than two weeks! More Chrysanthemums from our garden:
My Mother’s Day Present:)
Fully open mauve Chrysanthemums
The first Cymbidium with tiny flower buds poking out of the tip of the spikes!
Saving Sick Sunrise Cactus
29 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in 1. Cactus and Succulent Tags: Fungal Problem, Phytophthora root rot, Sunrise Cactus
Fussy and troublesome Sunrise Cactus!!!!!
Lately, I noticed that the Sunrise Cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri) looked droopy and wilted. I thought that I overwatered and the recent autumn cold snap had caused the plant to wilt. First, it was only a little part that was limp, but slowly almost half of the stem crown were affected. Looking closely, I noticed that the problem was actually from the base stems near the soil line.
I am sure that the plant is having Phytophthora Root Rot. The wilted parts look kind of limp and grey. The main stems near the soil looked rotten with hardly any roots left. There are few plants in the pot. Two of them are very bad and not worth saving, but the other two still have green and fresh stems and it is worth trying to save the healthy cuttings. So I cut all the healthy stems and I laid them on a news paper sheet to harden the cutting part for around 24 hours. Tommorow, I will replant them and hopefully they will grow new roots.
I find that growing Sunrise cactus is much harder than Zygocactus ( Schlumbergera truncata). Although both of them are somewhat related and have the same growing requirements, but Sunrise cacti are very prone to fungal problems, while Zygos are more resistant. It is the second time I have a wilting problem with our Sunrise cacti. I just hope that I can still save the plant from the healthy cuttings. Fingers cross!
Phytophthora Root Rot - Sunrise Cactus
Healthy Cuttings - Sunrise Cactus
Monday, April 30, 2012.
Finished planting the Easter Cactus Cuttings. For the planting medium, I just used whatever I have……A mixture of regular potting mix, a bit of bark chips, crushed styro-foam, charcoal and a little bit of well rotted chicken manure. This works for Zygocactus, hopefully the fussy Sunrise cactus will like it too. The gardening experts recommend to use perlite, but it is much too expensive!
Newly Planted Sunrise Cactus Cuttings
Dragon Fruit – Hylocereus undatus
25 Feb 2012 2 Comments
in 1. Cactus and Succulent Tags: Dragon Fruit, Hylocereus undatus, My garden, New Collection
Date of Purchase: February 24, 2012
I saw the dragon fruit plants for sale in the plant nursery along Police Rd. I thought it would be nice to have one of these plants as 2012 is dragon year:). The big ones were too expensive, so I bought the small one. The seller said it was suitable to Melbourne climate. The fruit will be white inside with tiny black seeds.
Actually I never taste dragon fruits, but it doesn’t matter. I just want to add the plant to my cactus collections. Hylocereus undatus, the Latin name for Dragon fruit cactus and the other name is pataya. I read somewhere that the plant originally grow wild around central America. Later on the cultivations of the plant for fruit production are popular in Vietnam and Hawaii.
Hylocereus undatus is still related to epyphyllum. While epyphyllums have flat stems, Hylocereus stems are three sided. The plant will grow quite large with climbing and sprawling habit, and it needs strong support. The large flowers are white with beautiful fragrant and only bloom one night. For this reason, hand polination is needed to make sure the blooms will produce fruits.
Flower Buds??
Epiphyllum crenatum – Flower and Fruit
21 Feb 2012 2 Comments
in 1. Cactus and Succulent Tags: Epiphyllum crenatum, My garden, The Flowers and Fruits
This Epiphyllum crenatum was bought last year in the market. It had three large white flowers with soft and delicate scent. The uneven crenated stems are large, kind of different from the other epis that I have. Now two of the blooms have turned into fruits. The red maroon fruits are round and smooth.
I picked one of the fruits and I cut it open to see how it looked like on the inside. It reminded me of dragon fruits though it was much smaller. The flesh was juicy with the same colour as the skin and it had tiny black seeds. It tasted kind of sweet and sour. Not the most pleasant taste, but it was palatable. Dragon fruit which is commonly known as Pitaya (Hylocereus sp.) is said to be related to Epiphyllum.
Epiphyllum ‘Andromeda’ and E. crenatum
14 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in 1. Cactus and Succulent Tags: E. 'Andromeda', E. crenatum, Epiphyllum, My garden, Orchid Cactus
Epiphyllum 'Andromeda'
The ‘Andromeda’ Epiphyllum is flowering this year. When I bought it last year, it was very small with no flower.
Last Friday, I bought a new Epiphyllum crenatum with three flowers. The crenated/wavy toothed margins of the stems look rather different from the other Epis that we have. According to Wikipedia, Epiphyllum crenatum is one of the most important parents to create cultivated hybrids.
- Epiphyllum crenatum
Flowering Succulents
14 Oct 2011 4 Comments
in 1. Cactus and Succulent Tags: Kalanchoe, My garden, Pigface/Mesembryanthemum
Kalanchoe pearl-bell, pumila and blossfeldiana are flowering nicely. Today and also in the last few days have been sunny which is good for the pigface plants. Without sunlight pigface flowers will not open at all. It is even worse during rainy days, the flower buds will just rotten away before they have a chance to show off their beauty.
Here some of the photos that I took recently”
Kalanchoe 'Pearl Bells'
Kalanchoe pumila
Kalanchoe blossfeldiana
Orchid Cacti 2011 – Early Blooms
29 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
in 1. Cactus and Succulent Tags: 2011, Early bloomers, Orchid Cacti
Firstly, greeting from another green Katydid in our garden…….. Few days ago, I found this one among the foliage of the Michelia yunnanensis while last year I saw some in the bushy leaves of the red Camellia which was not very far along the driveway. It seems that quite a few bugs love the Michelia bush, I also spotted some black and red stink bugs before.
Two of our orchid cactus (jungle cactus) collection, the early bloomers are flowering now. The yellow one is still a mystery. When I bought it last year the label was Gold Coin, but the flowers are definitely are not that of gold coin. Some one suggested that it could be E. floribundum x , but E. floribundum is more white in colour. The one that we have is yellower, it is more like Fruhlingsgold. This yellow orchid cactus has sweet delicate smell.
The other early bloomer orchid cactus is Disocactus nelsonii which is also known as Chiapasia/Chiapsis nelsonii. This one has luminous mauve colour. Very pretty colour and bloom prolifically.
Fruhlingsgold??? Yellow Orchid Cactus - unknown sp
Disocactus nelsonii - Chiapasia nelsonii - Epiphyllum nelsonii
The rest of the jungle orchid cactus flowers are still in buds right now. Hopefully they will be better this year. Oh yes, a little note on the AFL grand Final 2011 this weekend. Collingwood Magpies against Geelong Cats! Hopefully Collingwood will make it. Go Magpies Go!!!
Autumn Joy, Donkey’s Tail and Few Others…
09 Sep 2011 1 Comment
in 1. Cactus and Succulent Tags: Crassulaceae, Sedum
Sedum telephium 'Autumn Joy'
One of the very popular plant from the Crassulaceae family is Sedum. As succulent which is also known as Stonecrop plant, sedum is juicy fleshy and it comes in many different colours and shapes…. around 400 different species. Many of them are trailing and pretty, so they are very suitable to be planted in hanging pots and baskets. Some are plump and rounder, some have flatter leaves or come in rosette. Most of the flowers are star shape.
Sedum 'Autumn Joy'
Sedum telephium “Autumn Joy’ is quite popular lately. People grow it for the flower display in autumn. When the clusters of flower are still in buds and green, they look a little bit like broccoli. The plant will die down in winter and leaf buds will start to grow when the weather is warmer in spring. It is better to plant this sedum species in the garden in a sunny spot.
Sedum morganianum 'Donkey's Tail'
Sedum rubrotinctum 'Aurora'
Sedum rubrotiinctum is the most popular sedum species. It is commonly known as Jelly Bean plant. It comes in some different colours and it will be very pretty to be grown in a pot in a sunny spot around the house. Just like donkey’s tail, the rounder leaves are very brittle and easily fall off the stem with a slightest touch.
Sedum confusum
Sedum confusum can be grown as ground cover or in a pot. The small rosette leaves will have copper colour tinge when they mature. It will have star shape yellow flowers. The slightly trailing and compact growing habit make this plant suitable as gound cover and it will grow very nicely in a hanging basket.
Sedum nussbaumerianum
Sedum nussbaumerianum is less popular. It will be green if grown in shady area but will have yelowish copper colour in the sun. A nice species to be planted in pots. The flowers are small and white in colour.
Powdery 'Sedum allantoides'
Sedum allantoides is one of the largest sedum. The fleshy leaves are grey green and covered with white powdery substance that will stain your clothing (especially if it is dark colour). But don’t worry as it will be easily come off if you clean it. It will be good to plant in in the garden along the border. The whitish grey green colour is a sharp contrast to other colours. The flowers are soft yellow with long stems.
Succulents are getting more popular every year as they are very hardy to grow in milder climate. They do not need a lot of water to waste and will tolerate neglect and poor sandy soil. Can be easily grown from cuttings.
Fuzzy Kalanchoes
20 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in 1. Cactus and Succulent Tags: Copper Spoon, Elepant Ear, Fuzzy Kalanchoes, Silver Spoon
Kalanchoe succulent plant belongs to the large family of crasulaceae. It has about 250 different species. Many people grow kalanchoes for the bright and colourful flowers, but others appreciate the beautiful foliage. I like the fuzzy and hairy ones that have large leaves. It is a fact that most of the unusual and strange succulents are native to Madagascar Island. Many others are native to southern parts of Africa and Asia.
Kalanchoe beharensis is also known as Elephant Ear. The leaves are triangular in shape with irregular lobes. The green leaves are fully covered with fine hair to make them look smooth and velvety. Kalanchoe beharensis will multiply quickly in well drain, warm and sunny spot of the garden. If grown in a pot, it has to be large enough as the plant can grow over 1 meter high (ours only grow up to 75cm high), and can be quite heavy.
Kalanchoe baharensis aka. Elephant Ear Kalanchoe
Kalanchoe hildebrandtii ‘Silver Spoon’ is another unusual succulent. The leaves grow as big as a dessert spoon. They are silver colour, fuzzy and fleshy. During the warm weather the plant will bear tall orange colour blooms. This plant with woody branches will quickly grow bushy to form a nice and compact shape. It needs well drain soil and is very hardy and can tolerate mild frost.
- Kalanchoe hildebrandtii ‘Silver Spoon’
Kalanchoe orgyalis ‘Copper Spoon” has large brown copper colour leaves on the top side and greenish gray colour underneath, but the leaves tend to be slightly green if grown in the shade. I find that this plant is less tolerance to frost. It grows slower compared to silver spoon and can grow up to 1 meter high. The brown copper colour and the furry smooth leaves are very eye catching. It is best to be grown in well drain soil and away from frost.
- Kalanchoe orgyalis “Copper Spoon’
A little fact about Cactuses/Cacti and Succulents:
“All Cactus plants are Succulents….. but not all Succulents are Cacti…………..”
Jade Plant – Crassula ovata in Full Blooms
05 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in 1. Cactus and Succulent Tags: Crassula ovata, Flowering Time, Jade Plant, Lucky Plant, Money Plant
This time of the year again in early winter when the jade plants are flowering. The small white flowers almost cover the whole plant. It brightens dull winter days.
For those who believe that jade plants bring good fortune, this is a bit of information from White Lotus Fengshui.com :
The Jade Tree is also called the Money Plant. It is an auspicious plant because its succulent dark green leaves resemble pieces of jade or coins, therefore represents earth or metal energy, which adds nourishment and stability. Earth chi helps relationships. The jade plant also signifies wood energy or growth.
Placement:
East for family harmony, health, initiation of projects, scholarly pursuits Southeast for wealth luck
West for creativity or children luck
Northwest for the luck of mentors and helpful people
To go to previous entry on Crassula ovata:
http://kiyanti2008.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/crassula-ovata-the-fat-plant/
