Sunday, February 5, 2017, a member of the Central Arizona Cactus and Succulent Society opened his garden to us for the 10th year in a row. He has been growing plants from seed for many years, and he has visited the winter-rainfall regions of southern Africa to see plants in habitat.
He grows a lot of plants from the winter-rainfall region of southern Africa. Most of these grow through the winter, and go dormant for the summer. Many die if watered even once during the summer. This climate is limited to less than 3% of the Earth's surface: around the Mediterranean Sea; southwestern Africa; southwestern Australia; the west coasts of North and South America. These plants are challenging to grow in areas with cold winters, because they need bright sunshine through the winter, as well as cool temperatures. Most take several degrees of frost but will not tolerate typical North American nor European winters outside. Many are tricky here in metro Phoenix because our outdoor summer night temperatures are too high for them, even while dormant. The garden owner lives farther from the city center than I, and he can grow species I cannot, because his summer nights are cooler than mine. Also, he has a grass lawn, and I do not.
First, the ice plant and living stones (Lithops and Conophytum) relatives. These are in family Aizoaceae. At one time they were in family Mesembryanthemaceae (mid-day flowers) and most succulentists call them all Mesembs. The flowers appear to have petals, but these are considered appendages to the stamens. The whole family forms valved seed capsules, most of which are hygroscopic. The valves open when hit by rain to release seed only when rain is falling. Most of the plants in the foreground of this photo are Conophytum; most in the background are Lithops. Many in Europe can grow Conophytum very well, so these are better known east of the Atlantic than in the US.
Most of the plants on the right side of this photo are Lithops; most on the left are Cheridopsis. The greenish flower belongs to a Disphyma.
He grows some cacti as well. He prefers smaller ones so he can pack more into his space.
This is a Turbinicarpus, from México. It was once called Gymnocactus but those have been subsumed into Turbinicarpus.
This is still called Neoporteria though it has been subsumed into Erioscyce, which is still under some debate - there have not been extensive DNA studies of Chilean cacti.
He also grows some Haworthia. This genus is sister to Aloe and Gasteria. Flowers are insignificant tiny white tubes on long thready spikes; the plants are grown for their foliage. They come mostly from summer rainfall regions of southern Africa, and most are very easy to grow as house or patio plants. They are extremely popular with collectors.
There is a limit to how many photos can be in one message, so I'll finish in a second.
Succulent Open Garden 2017 February 05 - Part 1
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