Saving Sick 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

Note: February 3, 2013.

Now it has been about 10 months, only one pot of the sunrise cactus cuttings survive. The other two were goners. It is just clear to me how difficult it is to grow sunrise cactus. Although one pot of cuttings seem to thrive now, it will not guarantee that one day, it will also just wilt and die. This is the last time I grow this plant, and I will never have new ones ever again.

Kledung

Kledung, Kesemek, Persimmon, Diospyros kaki sp.

Disetiap pertengahan musim gugur disini di Melbourne, mulai banyak dijual buah persimmon atau buah kledung (Diospyros kaki). Kledung adalah sebutan dalam bahasa Jawa. Di Jawa Barat buah ini lebih dikenal dengan nama kesemek.

Dulu waktu aku masih di Indonesia, kami tak suka beli kledung karena rasanya yang sepat dan kesat. Walau sudah dibedakin dengan larutan kapur, masih sering buah ini rasanya tak enak. Mungkin dipetiknya belum masak betul. Di pasar pasar di daerah kota Solo dulu kalau musim kledung banyak yang menjualnya. Bentuknya bulat seperti apple dan ukurannya cukup besar lebih besar dari tomat. Warna kuning, oranye kehijauan terselubung warna putih air kapur yang mengering. Jadi saja sering orang menyebut buah ini dengan nama ‘sexy apple’, habis berbedak tebal. Rupanya memang dengan merendam buah kledung semalaman dilarutan air kapur akan membantu menghilangkan rasa sepat.

Disini di Australia, buah kledung alias persimmon yang lebih disukai adalah jenis lain yang tidak sepat. Bentuknya bulat agak persegi dan pipih. Warna kulit dan daging buahnya kuning oranye dan bisa dimakan sebelum buah masak betul. Aku sendiri lebih suka yang masih agak mengkal, jadi kalau dimakan masih renyah. Rasanya manis dengan aroma khusus yang enak sekali.

Jenis lain yang seperti dijual dipasar-pasar di daerah Solo dulu memang jenis yang sepat dan kesat karena mengandung kadar tannin yang tinggi. Buah kledung yang jenis ini seharusnya dibiarkan sampai masak sekali sebelum dipetik, dan juga harus dimakan disaat buah udah betul betul masak dan empuk. Disini buah yang jenis sepat ini tidak direndam diair kapur.

Kamarin aku beli kledung manis, sekilo hanya sekitar 3 – 4 dollar. Disaat buah buahan musim panas mulai habis, persimmon alias kledung ini (bukan yang sepat) adalah salah satu buah musiman yang kusukai. Banyak mengandung serat dan vitamin dan rasanya ‘very sweet!’

Sweet Persimmons

Cymbidium Orchids – New Spikes

It is this time of the year around March and April in the southern part of the world, when cymbidium orchids will start to grow spikes. When they are still small, it will be hard to tell if the spikes are going to be flowers or new bulbs/leaves. When the spikes are big enough, the ones that are new growths/bulbs will split into green leaf-points. The ones that will be flowers will grow fatter and fuller as the inside contains new flower buds.

Cymbidium Flower Spikes (Hopefully!)

Most of our cymbidiums are having spikes, even the ones that I just divided and repotted few months ago. The spikes are still too small to tell what they are going to be, but all the same, it is very exiting.

Two of the back-bulbs (pseudo-bulbs) that I put in small pots surprisingly have grown new spikes and I am sure they will be new growth/leaves. Those ugly and crinkled looking back bulbs that look very old and half -dead, in fact are still full of nutrition and energy to grow into new plants. Growing new orchids this way need a lot of patience as it will take at least 3 years before the new plant will bear flowers.

Back Bulb and a New Growth

The other orchids, the native Australian dendrobium is also growing tiny flower buds and the miltonias that I just bought some time ago are still flowering.

Spotty Purple and White Miltonia

Miltonia sp.

Garden – Mid Autumn 2012

Windy, cold and grey with on and off rain falls. The garden looks fresh and many plants are flowering. The roses start to bloom for the second time of the year after light pruning in the summer. The two orange hibiscus trees are showing off their large ruffled blooms. Other plants that are flowering are: Lantana, Jacobinia, Thryptomene (Heath Myrtle), Verbena, Loropetalum chinense, Gardenia, Coleus canina, Geranium. While the chrysanthemums, Cymbidium orchids and Zygocacti are busy growing flower buds.

I took some photos around the garden the other day and saw some wild kittens eating a rat. A big rat that the mother cat had caught for her litter. We did not notice that there were rats in our place recently…. but then again, they can be anywhere.  Though homeless cats are threats to small wildlife animals, especially birds, but I was glad that mother cat caught a nasty vermin.

The small feijoa tree is having few fruits (only around 10 fruits or so). I did hand pollination this year, and it seemed to work. Not many fruits, but at least and hopefully it will be the start of it. When the fruits are big enough, I will cover them with nets from the orange bags. This way, the precious fruits will not fall to the ground out of sight or get bruised.

Orange Hibiscus D.J. O’Brien

Colourful Verbena

Baby Feijoa

The last Tuberose and Chrysanthemum flower buds

Loropetalum chinense