Whats up all people. I hope you are doing correctly. The beginning of September was cool, then once more inside the 90’s, now it has cooled off as soon as extra. Correct now, the forecast says 90° F as soon as extra on the twenty seventh! I do know what October usually brings nonetheless I am trying to not contemplate it. The crops needs to be launched inside for the winter… It kind of makes one marvel the place the summer season went. No should complain regarding the local weather because of it wouldn’t do any good. 

This exchange is regarding the crops on the once more porch. I initially took footage for this publish on September 18 nonetheless I wanted to take a lot of additional.

The very best image is the Alocasia on the once more porch. From 2013 to 2019 I always saved them throughout the barrel that covers the earlier correctly inside the “completely different yard”. That they had been in principally shade with a pair hours of afternoon photo voltaic. They always did good there nonetheless I wanted to stretch the hose 150′ to water them. Inside the spring of 2020 I moved the Alocasia to the once more porch because of they needed re-potted. I didn’t get all of them accomplished and they also remained on the porch in full photo voltaic all summer season. They did amazingly correctly so I put them on the once more porch as soon as extra in 2021. Who would have thought they’d obtain this correctly in full photo voltaic inside the heat of the summer season with out their leaves burning. Alocasia like kind of moist soil, nonetheless they dried absolutely out many situations with none factors. I consider within the occasion that they’d been in extra shade they’d have grown lots taller like they did inside the completely different yard. That’s merely my opinion…

Cactus on the once more porch on 9-22-21.

Most of the cactus are luckily sitting on a desk on the northeast nook of the once more porch. They’ve all accomplished very correctly and profit from the photo voltaic and heat. The Mammillaria pringlei has been leaning quite a lot of the summer season and may get straightening shortly. I am not going to {{photograph}} and measure the complete cactus until I ship them inside for the winter in October. It is perhaps good if the local weather would preserve off so they could hold out just a bit longer, nonetheless normally throughout the second week of October they’ve to return inside. It isn’t that far off… GEEZ! Generally, as quickly as now we’ve an “F”, the temps warmth once more up and I can put them once more exterior for a while longer. You merely not at all know…

I will take footage and measurements of the cactus as I ship them inside for the winter.

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Aloe arborescens (Torch Aloe) at 12″ tall on 8-18-21, #827-4.

The Aloe arborescens (Torch Aloe) are doing good on the once more porch. I put them of their very personal pots a number of months previously after which left them in full photo voltaic. They’ve grown from 6 3/4″ tall to 12″ since I launched them residence in November closing yr and they also every have a pup.

I really like Aloe and there are MANY on my need itemizing. I bought this plant unlabeled so I didn’t know what it was at first, nonetheless Aloe arborescens was on the itemizing. I have been taking additional of an curiosity inside the smaller cultivars, nonetheless these crops will definitely not be small… I most certainly would have launched the pot residence even when it was labeled and I knew how large they could become. Correctly, what can I say? I like Aloe, this species was on my need itemizing, and I couldn’t help myself. It really doesn’t matter in the event that they’re on my itemizing or not, if I see an Aloe I don’t have and it isn’t too expensive, it could come residence with me. There in the mean time are 585 species of Aloe so I’ve an prolonged method to go. To not level out the entire cultivars and hybrids!

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Cyanotis somaliensis (Pussy Ears/Furry Kittens) on 8-18-21, #827-6.

I launched this neat little Cyanotis somaliensis (Pussy Ears/Furry Kittens) residence from Wagler’s Greenhouse in March and it has accomplished pretty correctly. I had it on the desk under the roof for lots of the summer season, nonetheless when temps cooled off a bit I put it in full photo voltaic. Information on-line says anyplace from full photo voltaic to half shade so I believed I would give full photo voltaic a attempt. Correctly, regardless that the temps did drop initially of September, they went once more up inside the 90’s as soon as extra. I wouldn’t say this plant was too crazy about that…

This pot had no label, nonetheless after I observed it I believed it appeared like a species of Tradescantia. It turned out to be a plant I hadn’t heard of sooner than although it is inside the plant family Commelinaceae with Tradescantia. There are 50 species inside the genus and Cyanotis somaliensis is from Somalia… Who would have guessed that? I can hardly wait until it blooms because of it could have very weird flowers.

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Delosperma echinatum (Pickle Plant) on 8-18-21, #827-7.

Go ahead and chortle to ensure that you, nonetheless this Delosperma echinatum (Pickle Plant) isn’t going to hitch you. Let’s start from the beginning… I was at Wagler’s Greenhouse on June 18 after I observed this uncommon critter. Correctly, I wanted to decide on it up. I observed it had been started from a stem lowering by the way in which through which it was rising and it needed to be tidied up a bit. It had no label nonetheless Mrs. Wagler suggested me it was a Pickle Plant. There was one different lots better-looking and bushier plant inside the greenhouse nonetheless a lady had it in her hand…

I launched a lot of crops residence that day nonetheless I was in the middle of engaged on a very good buddy’s planters and landscaping. As quickly as I received right here once more residence, I put the Pickle Plant on the once more porch, and some others, whereas the rest went to the doorway porch. I didn’t get their footage taken until the twenty fourth, and I nonetheless merely have a draft net web page for the Delosperma echinatum… So, clicking on the establish will get you nowhere in the meanwhile.

SO, on August 20, I decided it was time I had greater do one factor regarding the Pickle Plant… I had already horrified it adequate every time I watered it… I saved telling it I was going to supply it a model new pot and gives it trimming. It merely saved rising as if it thought it needed to do greater to stay away from getting a trimming.

Delosperma echinatum (Pickle Plant) on 8-20-21, #828-3.

I’m undecided what this stuff is growers are using for potting soil this yr. This plant was evidently one in every of “these” that Mrs. Wagler’s son launched from the general public sale. All of them I launched residence and repotted have been on this spongy feeling mixture. It really soaks up water equivalent to a sponge.

Delosperma echinatum (Pickle Plant) on 8-20-21, #828-5.

As quickly as I decrease the stem and took leaf cuttings, I cleaned freed the plant’s roots from that weird stuff and positioned them all through inside the pot. I didn’t even permit them to scab over for a lot of days like I normally would have. They seem efficient even after 28 days. GEEZ! Time flies!

I assume I should say one factor regarding the Delosperma echinatum… It was first named Mesembryanthemum echinatum in 1788 and renamed Delosperma echinatum in 1927. There are a variety of various synonyms it has gathered over time…

This species hails from the Japanese Cape in South Africa. They produce greenish-yellow Mesembryanthemum-like flowers and their leaves and stems have these odd spiny water vesicles… Correctly, that’s what LLIFLE (Encyclopedia of Dwelling Varieties) title them… It is undoubtedly a neat plant…

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The white-flowered Epiphyllum oxypetalum on 8-18-21, #827-10.

So, should you want to talk about uncommon crops, the Epiphyllum oxypetalum matches the bill. I am grateful to Tony Tomeo for sending these crops to me closing December. They’ve accomplished pretty correctly no matter just a bit neglect. Information on-line says they need consistently moist soil and to water them when the ground is dry. Correctly, there have been situations after they’d been VERY dry and they also merely saved rising. Since they’re epiphytic and lithophytic tropical/subtropical crops, of their native habitat they develop in bushes and on rocks and get a complete lot of their moisture from the air. I suppose the entire humidity now we’ve via the summer season saved them going.

I haven’t written an online web page for these crops however because of I do not know the place to begin out. Tony despatched one monumental mass of the white-flowered choice which I left intact after I put them in a pot. It has grown like crazy and is solely merely weird… Farther down you’ll discover {a photograph} of two completely different white-flowered crops and one that may have fink and white bi-color flowers. The red-flowered plant slowly fizzled out. The bigger pot is on a desk on the once more porch (under the roof) with the Stapelia gigantea and Kalanchoe gastonis-bonnieri. They get a great deal of morning photo voltaic and lightweight shade the remainder of the day.

Epiphyllum oxypetalum flattened stems on 8-18-21, #827-11.

The strangest issue regarding the Epiphyllum oxypetalum is its multitude of weird stem shapes. What appear to be leaves are flattened stems. They’re leafless crops.

Epiphyllum oxypetalum sq. stems on 8-18-21, #827-12.

Then there are these sq. stems…

Epiphyllum oxypetalum on 8-18-21, #827-13.

The plant to the left is a Stapelia gigantea… These 4-angled stems with hair are on the Epiphyllum oxypetalum. There are moreover five-angled stems that become four-angled nearer to the tip.

Epiphyllum oxypetalum spherical stems on 8-18-21, #827-14.

Then there are the spherical stems… Some are pretty bushy they usually’re very prolonged.

The underside of the Epiphyllum oxypetalum on 8-18-21, #827-15.

It has been very attention-grabbing watching this plant develop. Hopefully, it could bloom in some unspecified time sooner or later…

Epiphyllum oxypetalum (white flowered) (correct)) and pink and white (left) on 8-18-21, #827-16.

I take the plant shelf from the mattress room inside the spring and use it for pots via the summer season. It has moreover made an unimaginable place for the pink and white bi-colored and smaller white crops. The one on the left doesn’t have a strong root system and tries to fall out of the pot.

Smaller Epiphyllum oxypetalum (white-flowered) on 8-18-21, #827-17.

I don’t keep in mind for sure, nonetheless I consider the fatter stem had fallen off the bigger clump after I unwrapped the crops. It didn’t have any roots so I put it in a small pot by itself and over the summer season it has grown offsets. What’s uncommon is that this pot has been in full photo voltaic all summer season and has dried out a lot of situations. It has not gotten sunburned or shriveled up from lack of moisture. I was very impressed when it started rising offsets when the distinctive stem hasn’t grown a lick. This pot might be attention-grabbing to watch develop and I will little query be taught fairly a bit from it as a result of it started out so small.

The Epiphyllum oxypetalum has a lot of widespread names along with Dutchman’s Pipe Cactus, Woman of the Night, Princess of the Night, Night-Blooming Cereus, Orchid Cactus, Night Queen, and Jungle Cactus. It shares a lot of of those names with completely different species in numerous genera. In spite of everything, they’re night time time bloomers… There are 14 synonyms from three genera they usually’re members of the plant family Cactaceae.

They’re Mexican natives nonetheless have naturalized down into South America, parts of the USA, and MANY completely different subtropical and tropical parts of the world. They’re very easy to develop and are commonplace all via the world which has allowed them to flee captivity.

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Kalanchoe gastonis-bonnieri (Donkey Ears) on 9-18-21, #831-1.

The Kalanchoe gastonis-bonnieri (Donkey Ears) has been steadily rising all summer season, nonetheless it really jumped in September. It’s a really neat plant and a Kalanchoe that is really value giving a shot.

Kalanchoe gastonis-bonnieri (Donkey Ears) at 12″ tall x 22″ in depth on 9-18-21, #831-2.

It has grown to 12″ tall x 22″ in depth nonetheless it is perhaps that tall because it’s leaning in direction of the photo voltaic. I rotated it as soon as extra to lean inside the completely different path. I’ve put it inside the full photo voltaic a lot of situations which it doesn’t seem to ideas. I have a tendency to take care of my crops in just a bit shade when a number of of them would simply do efficient in extra photo voltaic.

Kalanchoe gastonis-bonnieri (Donkey Ears) offset at 4″ in depth on 9-18-21, #831-3.

An important “plantlet” is now 4″ in depth. If in case you might have one in every of these it is perhaps a very good suggestion to set the pot on one factor to carry the plant just a bit to take care of its leaves from touching the desk. Inserting them in a dangling pot would even be a very good suggestion.

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Mesembryanthemum cordifolia ‘Variegata’ (Heartleaf Ice Plant) on 9-19-21, #832-5.

I first started using the Mesembryanthemum cordifolia ‘Variegata’ (Heartleaf Ice Plant) in 2019 in a very good buddy’s planters and they also did GREAT. I used them as soon as extra this yr and hopefully, they’re going to be obtainable for years to return. I decided I would ship residence a lot of from the greenhouse for my very personal planter this yr. They division out and fill in a planter very correctly and path over the perimeters. If in case you might have a unadorned spot all it is essential to do is break (or decrease) a bit off and stick it inside the soil and it will take correct off. The purple flowers really stand out nonetheless they shut early inside the afternoon. The flowers look vivid purple, nonetheless inside the footage they’re additional of a pinkish-red… The flowers open inside the morning and seem like practically closed by noon regardless that the pot is in full photo voltaic all day. Even now that the day measurement is shorter, stays to be inside the photo voltaic until just a bit after 5 PM. I need to take footage of crops after they aren’t inside the photo voltaic…

This species was named Mesembryanthemum cordifolium by Carl Linnaeus the Youthful (Carl Linnaeus’s son) in 1872. It was moved to the Aptenia genus (est. 1925) and renamed Aptenia cordifolia in 1927. It was returned to the Mesembryanthemum genus in 2007, nonetheless in 2009 a lot of botanists beneficial the switch be reversed. I’ve to re-read my notes because of I see the place the Wikipedia article says it was moved once more in 1997 when the complete Aptenia genus was decreased to synonymy… Now, the place did I get 2007? Ahhh… The paper revealed regarding the change was written in 2007, so the place did the author of the Wikipedia article get 1997? Oh correctly, he is nonetheless using The Plant Itemizing as a reference which has been outdated since 2013.

I get significantly irritated when a cultivar establish is used instead of an infraspecific establish (like subspecies, choice, or sort). On this case, I’ve no clue the place the variegated leaves even received right here from. The wild species has inexperienced leaves… Llifle (Encyclopedia of Dwelling Varieties) lists the scientific establish for it as Mesembryanthemum cordifolium f. variegata hort. (“hort.” stands for “horticulture(al) use”). The event is to utilize ‘Variegata’ to inform aside it from the species nonetheless the place it originated I’ve no clue. I already talked about that. SO, I’ve to change my strategies and stop calling it Mesembryanthemum cordifolium f. variegata. I had a dialogue (by the use of piece of email) with a well informed man (retired professor and expert at Kew) about utilizing cultivar names versus infraspecific names. The dialogue was principally due to my lack of enthusiasm on the subject of intraspecific names being decreased to synonyms. 🙂 As far as this plant is frightened, I can significantly agree it is potential a cultivar.

I’ve not seen any of these crops with labels of their pots nonetheless Mrs. Wagler merely talked about they’d been Ice Vegetation. So, let me see. What variety of species are often known as Ice Vegetation inside the plant family Aizoaceae?

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Stapelia gigantea (Zulu Large) on 9-22-21, #833-3.

I put the Stapelia gigantea (Zulu Large, ETC.) on the once more deck inside the spring of 2021 the place it acquired morning photo voltaic and lightweight shade the rest of the day. The once more deck is in full photo voltaic aside from 4′ or so that has a roof. The intention is to sneak it inside when an “F” is inside the forecast in October and put it on a desk merely contained within the sliding door. That methodology will most likely be in concerning the equivalent delicate because it’s exterior and maybe the buds gained’t fall off.

Stapelia gigantea on 9-22-21, #833-4.

The Stapelia gigantea is probably going one of many solely species I’ve bought significantly for its flowers. Even so, its stems are pretty neat. The stems are velvety-green, spineless, and have 4 ribs. The stems have tubercles that are laterally flattened and vertically joined. Each tubercle has a small rudimentary leaf which is short-lived and leaves a scar on the tip of the tubercle. The stems are considered determinate as they solely develop to spherical 8- 12” tall (20-30 cm). Vegetation can unfold 2-3′ in depth if given a chance in pots or inside the ground. If grown in pots, they might division out and cling over the perimeters.

Stapelia gigantea buds on 9-22-21, #833-5.

After I took these footage on 9-22-21 I seen a lot of buds. Keep your fingers crossed!

I consider that is all for this publish. It took a while to get accomplished because of I was doing this and that. I needed to take additional footage nonetheless it appeared to get too darkish sooner than I had time. I similar to the longer daylengths via the summer season and I’m sure you do as correctly.

Now I ought to uncover one factor else to write down down about. I spend a lot of hours a day engaged on the pages, nonetheless posting can usually be an issue. I applaud all you folks that will write a publish each day or every few days. Maybe I ought to offer writing about completely different issues a shot. Hmmm…

Until subsequent time, be safe, hold constructive and correctly, and always be grateful!