Spring is Mammillaria Time

 

Mammillaria  glassii subsp. ascensionis

 

Late winter through spring is the season many of the mammillaria cacti flower.  Of course there are some that flower during the summer, but some of the really nice species in my collection produce their flowers in March through May.   This includes Mammillaria glassii shown below.  It is named after Charlie Glass, the long time editor of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America bimonthly journal.  It is native to the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. 

 

Usually you grow a particular Mammillaria because the flowers are outstanding, or the spines are outstanding.  With M. glassii subsp. ascensionis you get both.  The flowers are relatively large and an attractive pink, and the spines, and axillary hairs, present the appearance of shinning hair.  A most beautiful plant in and out of flowering.  

 

The plant shown was seed grown and began life sometime in the early 1990's.  I have lost the exact date the seed was sown but the plant is approximately 20 years old.  It an easy plant to grow but requires a lot of direct sun for good flowering. 

 

  

Visiting US Botanic Garden Production Facility

 

The Mesemb Section of the

U.S. Botanic Garden Production Facility

In Washington, D.C.

 

On Saturday, March 8, 2014 I visited the production greenhouses of the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C.   This is a large greenhouse complex that does the behind the scenes work for the U.S. Botanic Garden in downtown Washington, D.C.  The production greenhouses are also a rescue facility for plants confiscated at various custom facilities around the country.  The production facility is one very large glass enclosed structure, divided into 10 separate greenhouses, each holding a different type of plants, depending on their environmental requirements.  Here's an aerial view of the facility.

 

  

One of the 10 greenhouse divisions within the facility houses cacti and other succulents.   Within the C&S division the various benches hold groups of related plants.  A third of one of the long benches is home of their mesemb collection, which is shown below.

 

 

 

There were a lot of interesting cacti and succulents in the greenhouse and I'll try to post a few more photos over the next couple of weeks.  

 

The Desert in my Backyard

 

Carruanthus  peersii

 

Carruanthus peersii is a small succulent from South Africa.  It is a member of the Aizoaceae plant family.  This family was originally known as the Mesembryanthemaceae, and plants within that family still are known as the"Mesembs".

 

I have enjoyed growing the "mesembs" for a long time and always liked the idea of establishing some of them outside in my planting of hardy cacti and other succulents.  Carruanthus was not rated winter hardy enough to withstand a full winter outside, but I did want to try some of the mesembs outside just for the frost free part of the year, and Carruanthus peersii was one of my first outside test plants.  The photo below shows it enjoying the free root run in the open ground, and even flowering as a display of its satisfaction.  Unfortunately, that was not to last.

 

 

 

During one of my weekly checks of C. peersii, it was gone, only an empty hole remaining.  I was perplexed, and not sure what had happened.  Several days later, on approaching the cactus hardy bed, I saw something small and furry moving amongst the plants.  I sat still on the ground and watched a small cotton-tail rabbit moving through the area where several other mesembs had been planted.  After the rabbit digging and gnawing at something on the ground, I moved to the bed, the rabbit scampering off.  Another mesemb had been pulled out of the ground, and several others were partially eaten.  My problem with growing mesembs wasn't the winter cold, it was hungry rabbits.  Over the next several years I tried numerous other South Africa succulents outside in the ground but nearly every time they were destroyed or damaged by either rabbits or an occasional skunk.  I guess that's just part of nature.  Now all my mesembs grow in pots.    



It's Not Always the Flowers

Mammillaria  formosa  subsp. microthele

 

The flowers of M. formosa subsp. microthele are small, white, and do not attract much attention.  However, later in the year, when the red fruit develops, M. formosa subsp. microthele is quite a show off.  Of course, the tight white spines and the compact, globose stems, with their dichotomous growth, do their part to make this a very attractive cactus.  The plant shown began as three seedlings I planted together in a small plastic pot.  More than twenty years of sun, regular watering, and repotting, has resulted in one of my favorite plants.  The only problem M. formosa subsp. microthele  has is hanging on to its fruit, which have become a favorite treat for local mockingbirds.   

     

Flash Back to Sunny Days

 

Frithia humilis

 

This is not a recent photo, all my plants now are tightly bundled up in the winter quarters.  This is a photo of sunnier and warmer days a few years ago.  However, as I begin to think about some of the succulent seeds I want to order for the late winter, I like to look back over plants I have grown over the past few years and enjoy some of my past successes.  I want to build up my confidence before I begin my seed sowing for 2014. 

 

Frithia humilis is a real charmer amongst the mesembs.  Unlike it's bigger brother Frithia pulchra, it is easier to grow, especially in terms of watering.   In fact, most growers have trouble with F. humilis because they keep it too dry.   You have to have a well drained potting media, but this is a mesemb that does not enjoy going dry for extended periods of time.  

 

I grow Frithia humilis in lots of sunlight.  From mid May until the end of September it receives at least 8 hours of direct sun daily.  This is another reason I give it special attention in terms of water.  The results of strong sunlight are leaves that take on a very attractive (at least for me) reddish purple coloration.  The strong sun has also resulted in good flowering.  

 

Frithia humilis is a small plant but with time and good growth it can make a respectable sized clump.   The photo below also demonstrates one of my quirks in growing small cacti and succulents.  I like to put them in a somewhat large pot and try and make the plant look as if it were growing in its natural habitat.  I have no idea whether or not I succeeded with F. humilis because I have never had the good fortune to visit its natural habitat.  Nevertheless, it looks nice to me. :)

 

 

 

    

Winter Hardy Succulents

Orostachys malacophyllus var. iwarenge

 

Since I have three acres (1.2 hectares) of land, most of it in full sun, it was natural to establish a small section of the yard as an outdoor cactus and succulent bed.  Most of the noticeable plants in the bed are large opuntias, cylindropuntias, yuccas, and agaves.  But here and there, among the rocks, are smaller winter hardy cacti and other succulents.  I have tried to grow a series of South Africa succulents, mostly mesembs, but it is a constant struggle to keep the local rabbits from eating, or damaging them.  One low growing succulent however, has done remarkable well, and doesn't seem to be on the rabbit menu.   This is Orostachys malacophyllus v. iwarenge.    

 

The genus Orostachys is a member of the Crassulaceae family and is native to a wide-spread area of temperate Asia, including Japan, China, and Russia.  O. malacophyllus var. iwarenge is native to Japan, and while not common in cultivation it is available through nurseries specializing in cold hardy succulents and alpine plants.  In my winter hardy C&S planting it has been a trouble-free plant that I have not given the praise it deserves.  I'll try to change that.  

 

   

An Old Friend Mesemb

 

Rabiea  albipuncta

 

Some years ago I grew a number of different mesembs from seed, including Rabiea albipuncta.   They all had a common trait, they were possibly winter hardy in my area.  I wanted to add South African succulents to my winter hardy beds.  Ten plants of R. albipuncta were planted outside, but it wasn't the winter that was their challenge, it was rabbits.  The cute little rabbits that hopped around and through my yard seem to have a special fondness for South African succulents and nearly ate them all.   Of the 10 Rabieas, only one survived, and I removed it from the bed and potted it up.  That was 12 years ago and it is still with me.   Now, it's another of my "old friends."