Blooming Zygo Cacti – 2011

We have been having strange weather lately. For the last few weeks the sun hardly ever shined at all and today is very much the same. It seemed that the days were short and dark, and it is a very good condition for Zygo cactus (Schlumbergera truncata, Christmas Cactus) to grow more flowers. Yes, it is said that in order to bloom better, zygos need longer darkness before the flower buds start to grow in Autumn.

I noticed that the sudden chills lately changed the colour of our white zygo (and other light colours). Although the flower buds haven’t opened yet, I can see that they will have a slightly pinkish tint to the normally white colour. I will take more pictures when the flowers open.

Even though this year all the zygos produce much more flower buds compared to last year, the lack of sunshine makes them very slow to open and once they open they will wilt quickly.

As a member of jungle cactus, zygo cactus need to be trimmed by breaking the segments. Do this after finish flowering. This way it will encourage the plant to grow more stems. With more stems, the plant will grow bushy and will bear more flowers as each flower grows from the tip. The cuttings can be planted by sticking them (bottom part down) in potting mix in a pot. You will see that the next year you will have more new plants to share with family and friends.

Once I read that zygo cacti can grow for a long time and it can be passed down from generation to generation. If you love potted plants, zygo cacti are very easy to grow and will look very good in hanging pots. They will need well drain potting media ( I use half regular potting mix and half orchid mix). Slow released complete fertilizer can be added during the growing season in Spring. The best location for places with moderate climate is a shady spot, while in very cold climate can be grown as indoor plant. When the plants are not in growing season, water only when the soil is dry.

To go to previous entry on Zygo Cactus: https://kiyanti2008.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/our-blooming-zygos/

 

Senecio globosa – Rare Cactus

Senecio globosa is one variation of Senecio articulatus (=hot dog or candle cactus). Many times it is also referred as Senecio articulatus v. globosa. The globosa’s jointed segments are more rounded compared to those of the articulatus species.

Not much information about this rare succulent. There are many different species of Senecio plants and mostly are native to South Africa and Madagascar. Just like any other cacti and succulents, S. globosa has to kept drier during winter months and moderate watering during warmer months.

Nothing really spectacular about this dainty plant except the odd shape and the interesting leaves are quite pretty. The small globular stems seem to be stacked in a precarious way that you may be afraid they are going to fall. Ha, ha…… I read somewhere that this plant has flowers, so I cannot wait to see mine flowering.

Update January 18, 2012:

Senecio globosa is supposed to drop leaves in the winter time, but here in Melbourne is summer now and ours is still bare. Some new growths are not round, instead they are long/more like cucumber. Weird! So far I have moved the plant into a better pot.

Senecio articulatus v. globosa – January 18, 2012

Orchid Cactus 2010

Our orchid cactus/Jungle cactus with very large red flowers is blooming. At first I was not so sure what kind of epiphyllum it was, but now I have a strong feeling it is actually Epiphyllum/Disocactus ackermannii. Such beautiful flowers but they don’t last very long. They start to wilt on the third day after the flowers open.

Epiphyllum/Disocactus ackermannii – Flower buds

Very large bloom: Epiphyllum/Disocactus ackermannii

Red Epiphyllum/Disocactus ‘Ackermannii’

It is a very different story with Nopalxochia phyllanthoides aka Epiphyllum ‘Deutsche Kaiserin’, this species has long lasting flowers. The candy pink and white small flowers open slowly and will continue to grow bigger until they are fully open. A prolific bloomer which is perfect for a hanging basket. This year they are doing very well, many more flowers compared with last year.

Nopalxochia phyllanthoides / Epiphyllum ‘Deutsche Kaiserin’

Nopalxochia phyllanthoides aka Epiphyllum Deutsche Kaiserin

The other epiphyllums that have finished flowering:

Chiapasia nelsonii / Epiphyllum nelsonii / Disocactus nelsonii

Yellow Epiphyllum (Fruhlingsgold???)

Sadly, our “Sunrise cacti /Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri”  are not doing very well. (Note: Sunrise Cactus is not really an orchid cactus, but it is also a jungle catus). The stems are droopy and only have few flowers. Today is raining and dark, so the flowers don’t open fully. Just like Mesembryanthemums, the flowers only open when the sun light is bright. I read that Sunrise cacti are the hardest to grow compared with the other jungle cacti. I am not going to post the picture of the Sunrise cactus now. Hopefully tomorrow will be sunny and the flowers will open properly . Then I will take some photos.

**************************

The next day….. it is overcast but bright enough to make the sunrise cactus flower open.

Pink Sunrise Cactus

Sad looking Sunrise cactus

Links to other blogs on Orchid Cacti/ Jungle Cacti:

https://kiyanti2008.wordpress.com/2010/08/11/epiphyllum-%e2%80%98gold-coin%e2%80%99/

https://kiyanti2008.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/our-blooming-zygos/

https://kiyanti2008.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/our-jungle-cacti/

Stapelia – Hairy and Smelly

Our Stapelia plant is flowering. The flowers are star-shaped, hairy and smell like rotting flesh. The colour is dark red like the colour of meat. Though the smell is not as strong as Corpse flower (Titan arum), it is good enough to fool some flies. Flies think that the flower is some kind of rotting carcass, so they lay their eggs/maggots inside the flower. So the missions are accomplished for the plant! The flies have helped the flower with polination. When I took the pictures yesterday, I saw tiny maggots near the stamens inside the flower. Not very long they will die as there are nothing for them to eat in there, within 3 or 4 days the flower will also wilt away.

Stapelia Plant

• Stapelia is originally from southern Africa and also known as Carrion or Starfish flowers.
• There are about 40 species.
• It is succulent plant and not a cactus.
• Attractive fleshy, smooth and spineless velvety long stems which can grow to about 20 cm long. Green or grey-green with purple tinge in colour.
• Large flowers and the flower buds grow like balloons before they open.
• The flowers are hairy, mostly are 5 points starshaped. Once open, they will last for a few days (3-4 days).
• The flowers come in many different colours: dark red/maroon, yellow, cream, greenish or spotted/mottled.
• It needs similar growing requirements as other succulents. Sandy but rich well drain soil.
• Full sun position, keep in sunny place indoor in winter.
• Much less water during cold season.
• Liquid fertilizer during the growing season.

Stapelia Flower Bud

Stapelia sp. just about to open.

Star-shaped Stapelia sp.

A fly is attracted to the flower.

Maggots inside the flower.

The Amazing Wonder of Nature….. Sometimes it is just bizarre!

Epiphyllum nelsonii – Chiapas Beauty

This Epiphyllum nelsonii is a jungle cactus species from the high mountains of Chiapas in Mexico. It is also called Chiapasia nelsonii  or Disocactus nelsonii . This Chiapas beauty has large and pretty mauve pink blooms.  Another early bloomer :o)

Rebutia marsoneri

Beautiful Bloomer

What I like the best about this catus is the large flowers which are almost too big for the cactus itself. The brightly coloured blooms come in orange, yellow, deep red or white. They grow from around the bottom part of the cactus stem. I also love the cactus’ compact round shape where small bumps grow neatly in downward spiral formation. On each bumps, grow short cottony white spines. When the cactus has matured enough, it will grow many offsets from around the base and will eventually clump tightly together.

The easiest propagation is by dividing the offsets. Watering is necessary during growing season but wait until the soil is dry. Just like most other cacti, Rebutia needs warm and sunny position with good air circulation and less humidity. A good feed of complete fertilizer  is also needed in growing season.

When these Rebutias are flowering, they will take your breath away. When not in blooms, the dark green cacti’s neat globular shape with less intimidating white spines are… really pretty to look at.

Rhipsalis platycarpa Flower

At last! After waiting for more than 2 months, few flower buds  of our Rhipsalis platycarpa (Mistletoe cactus)  have finally opened. Just as I thought, the flowers are small and dainty and the colour is pure white.

Here are the pictures of the flowers:

Flowers of Rhipsalis Platycarpa

So far, it is only very few flower buds open. I can’t wait till many more open and then I will post more photos.

Photo added on September 26, 2010:

****************

A little bit on Footy:

Collingwood Magpies are going to the GRAND FINAL against St. Kilda Saints this weekend for this year’s AFL Premiership Season………………

Good Luck Magpies! You’re Going To Win

 this Year… :o)

My Mother-in-Law’s Tongue

Mother-in-Law’s tongue aka snake plant, sword plant or Sansevieria trifasciata is a name of a plant with thick and stiff attractive foliage. I think it is some kind of succulent as they hold a lot of moisture. The cultivars that are available in markets are the variegated Sanseviera trifasciata such as S. ‘Hahnii’, S. ‘Laurentii’.  S. ‘Compacta’, S. ‘Goldiana’ etc. Some are long sword like, and others are dwarf.

It is said that these plants are native to Africa such as Zaire, Congo or Nigeria. As tropical plants, mother-in-law’s tongue thrives in warm to hot climate and can be kept as in-door plants. Place the plant near a sunny window as it needs good sunlight to grow well.

We have S. ‘Laurentii’ which has long variegated foliage and the other one is S. ‘Hahnii’ which is a dwarf variety. In the place where I bought these plants, I saw a sign telling people that they should not over water. I was a bit surprise as I remember many years ago that these plants grew wildly all along the edge of a smelly and dirty creek behind my auntie’s place in Central Java. They grew and flower well there so close to the water. Now, here in Australia they told me not to over water! But I guess, in the tropics the plant may tolerate soggy condition.

During my younger years, my family never grew these plants in Indonesia. Somehow they reminded us of the dirty and stinky stagnant creek. Ha, ha! Here in Australia, Sansevieria has been popular in the last few years. It is considered as a modern plant that suits modern landscapes and decors. It is tough, easy to grow both outdoor and indoor, either in gardens or in containers. Though people grow mother in law’s tongue mainly for the beautiful foliage, but it also has quite nice flowers, long spike of little white or greenish white blooms.

• Sansevieria trifasciata – common names: mother in law’s tongue, snake plant or sword plant
• Tropical plant – tolerate heat and semi tropical climate.
• Can be grown in the garden in warmer climate or in pots outdoor or indoor (prefer sunny window position).
• Moderate watering, keep on the dry side during winter.
• Rich and well drain soil.
• Liquid fertilizer during warmer months.
• Best propagation by division.
• Purifies indoor air.

Update Nov.18, 2013:

These are the two plants today / three years later:

Euphorbia obesa…Rot in Peace

I am very upset now! One of my Euphorbia obesa plants died. It was getting very soft and eventually it collapsed.

I bought two Euphorbia obesa cactus more than ten years ago. One day we went for a drive to the Mornington Peninsula and there was a Sunday market in Hastings. In this country market I bought a pair of Euphorbia obesa which is also known as Baseball plant. It was supposed to be a male and a female pair. The seller told me that I should buy a pair to produce seeds.

To cut the story short, one of these rare South African cactus plants, I think the female one, was never grown as good as the other one (male). It was always stunted and kind of yellow. Both had flowers but they never produced seeds. After more than ten years sulking and miserable, lately I started to notice that it was very soft and more yellow. I was already very careful during this winter to keep it dry and warm. But it did not help at all. Yesterday it completely collapsed. I took both plants out of the pot and  replanted the healthy one into a different pot and I cut the dead one into 2 sections to see what was happening inside the poor plant. The inside was mushy and it had holes (similar to lotus root).

For a long time I had tried to buy more Euphorbia obesa in the shop but it was not available. I can buy different species of Euphorbia, but not the obesa. I have two other euphorbias – E. anoplia and E. melbraformis.

Well, I have to be careful with my cactus plants now. No more over watering. I am really sad to think that one of those Baseball plants was slowly and silently rotting away…. or should I say that it was rotten in peace???

To view my previous post about Euphorbia obesa:

https://kiyanti2008.wordpress.com/2009/01/05/my-baseball-plants/

Euphorbia melbraformis:

Euphorbia melbraformis

Euphorbia anoplia

Epiphyllum ‘Gold Coin’ (?)

I could not believe my eyes when I saw it in Garden World! It was the only epi-cactus that was blooming, the rest were just small cuttings. It was sitting there on the bench leaning on the other plants as it was too heavy for the quite small pot.OMG, so many flower buds!  I thought all Epiphyllums flower toward the end of spring, but this Gold Coin Epi is flowering now!

Here are the images of the Epiphyllum ‘Gold Coin’ that I bought yesterday (August 11, 2010):

If you read on the comment box, I wrote that my ‘Gold Coin’ Epi looks different from those that I saw online. For comparison, here is the one from http://cgi.ebay.ch/Epiphyllum-Epicactushybride-Gold-Coin-/200489881951:

August 14, 2010: I think I like this new epiphyllum that I have more and more…. it has a very lingering  but gentle and sweet scent. After matching the flower with those that are available online, it looks very similar (not 100 % the same) to the hybrid ‘Fruhlings Gold’ (Spring Gold)…. I haven’t got a chance to go back to Garden World to look at all epiphyllums there to find the match. I’m so sure that it is not Gold Coin!!

Sunday, November 14 – 2o10:

A very strange plant! The last flower of this whatever breed of Epiphyllum look like this:

Yellow Epiphyllum …Fruhlingsgold ?

Why the look of the flower suddenly changed? This last flower is more like Fruhlingsgold. Is it possible if you put two different kind of epiphyllum together, it can changed the blooms????? It is just weird to me! I wonder how the flowers will look like next year, can’t wait to see!!!