Succulent Open Garden 2017 February 05 - Part 1

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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.

[rbarata]

What a great collection.
My daughter would be delighted!

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Here is an example of how he sprouts his seeds. Those are plastic drinking cups. Most mesembs do poorly with much organic matter in the soil, so he uses almost exclusively decomposed granite. This is easily available here and is widely used for landscape mulching with low-water landscapes.

Mesembs and cacti are small for the first few years, so people tend to put multiple lots into one sprouting pot, for dividing later. They will stay in these pots for 2-3 growing seasons before being divided. They are succulent when mature, but need to stay constantly moist during the growing season for the first few years. Cactus seedlings need to stay constantly moist, all year, for at least 2 years.



In the upper right of the table you can see some seedlings sprouted in previous years.



These are Lithops seedlings. There are two to four taxa in each container.



He also grows bulbs from winter-rainfall areas. These are great, because they grow outside all winter, and go completely dormant for the summer. A few tolerate our sparse summer rain, but many die if they get wet while dormant. I pack mine into boxes each spring, and store them in a closet until the fall.



Massonia (Hyacinthaceae) grow two enormous leaves. The inflorescence smells musty or yeasty. Gerbils feed on and pollinate the enormous inflorescence, which is too big for one gerbil stomach, so some flowers remain. Most of these are in 1-gallon / 3.78 liter pots. Some species have puckered, pimpled or bristly leaves. Mine have been frozen solid, like popsicles, and softened when warmed up. This did not damage them.



Whiteheadia bifolia (Hyacinthaceae) is unusual for southern African winter-rainfall bulbs in that it grows in shade. The leaves can easily get bigger than dinner plates in larger containers. It will probably be sunk into genus Massonia. I cannot make this rotate properly.



Albuca (Hyacinthaceae) have very similar flowers between the species. They are very easy growers, and can be grown on windowsills by most people. Some will stay evergreen if watered all year. Some have amazingly coiled leaves. These can tolerate our summer rain in the ground, without becoming invasive.



Lachenalia (Hyacinthaceae) have spikes of brightly colored flowers in colors throught the rainbow. Some are powerfully fragrant, like their relatives Hyacinthus. Many hybrids have been made in Europe. They are among the easiest of winter bulbs to grow, but they must be dry through the summer. Single leaves, if the cut edge is put into the soil, will produce bulblets.





Lapeirousia (Iridaceae) are very small plants, with small flowers, but they are brilliantly colored. Later I will post a photo of my own L. oreogena.

[isurus79]

Wow! Great thread!! Thanks for posting it.