Professional Documents
Culture Documents
CSR December 2016
CSR December 2016
SucculentReview
Volume 53 Number 4 December 2016
In this issue
Highlights of Baja
California
by Angie Money
Winter wonders
Three small mammillarias
by Tony Roberts
Gardening with succulents
Smaller cacti
The final part of this series
Ferocactus diguetii by Paul Spracklin
Cactus Crawl
the Brexit tour
30 March – 2 April 2017
This could be the last time we We will make our way to the first many more interesting questions
travel into Continental Europe nursery, Cactus Flower, on the will be raised and answered in the
without visas, border controls, the outskirts of Antwerp. This was a hotel bar, over a croissant and on
need for phytosanitary certificates new nursery for us last year and the coach.
for plants or with a European now one of the most popular.
Come and observe the day four
passport! Mark what could be an Having exchanged some euros for
ritual of packing the plant boxes
historic occasion by joining this plants we are off to one of our
into the hold under the coach, a
band of intrepid Crawlers on yet favourite hotels, the Postillion in
space much smaller than the size
another foray into the succulent Dordrecht.
of all the boxes. Listen to the
territories of Holland, Belgium For the next three days we will use tutting as everyone notices that
and Germany. the Postillion as our base as we most of the big boxes belong to
Once more we have secured off- tour 10 more nurseries in Holland me. See if I care.
street parking in the car park of and Germany. Favourites such as
Capel Manor Horticultural College, Kakteen Piltz, Lakerveld and the The photograph above gives some
just minutes from J25 of the M25. vast wholesale nurseries of Holland idea of the vastness the Dutch
From here you will have your own will be visited, along with two new wholesale nurseries and the
double seat in a luxury coach, nurseries for this trip. One enormity of some of the available
which will whisk you down to, and specialises in Lithops and the other plants. The only limit is how much
through, the Chunnel. in Asclepiadaceae and unusual you can carry.
hoyas. The staff at the Postillion At the time of writing there are still
have come to know us very well, a few spaces left. The basis of the
but even so are still keen to
SucculentReview
Essex four day tour is half-board at the
welcome us back. Postillion and the cost is £387 for a
Does Kakteen Piltz have the best single room and £337 per person
The Essex Succulent Review is coffee and biscuits? Does Hans at for a double room. For more
published quarterly in March, Lakerveld have the biggest clogs in information, please contact James
June, September and December. Holland? Will I bring back some Gold on 07765 131883 or
unfeasibly large plants? These and mes@gold0070.freeserve.co.uk
It is available on-line free of
charge. Just send an email to
sheila@essexsucculentreview.org.uk
to receive a pdf of each issue Zone 15 Mini-Convention
when it is available. Sunday 19 March 2017 – 1.00pm
Past issues are archived at Alice Vanden Bon – ‘South Africa – first class’
www.essexsucculentreview.org.uk Keith and Kathy Flanagan – ‘Our collection’
Editor Sheila Cude Plant sales – Plantlife: Book sales – Keith Larkin
Address 25 Macleod Road Venue: Capel Manor College, Bullsmoor Lane, Enfield, EN1 4RQ
London N21 1SW Tickets £15, to include a buffet lunch and afternoon tea from
Phone 020 8340 1928 Eddy Harris, 49 Chestnut Glen, Hornchurch, Essex, RM12 4HL
Email Phone 01708 447778 email secretary@bcss.org.uk
sheila@essexsucculentreview.org.uk Plus free admission to Capel Manor’s extensive grounds from 10.00am
2
Highlights of
Baja California by Angie Money
Ferocactus sp
San
J
Quintin
We normally reach
San Quintin on our
second day in Baja
California. The Hotel
Santa Maria is
always very
welcoming and it is
right on the seafront.
The food is excellent and the rooms, which
are all in colonial style, have balconies
which overlook the beach.
Above: After breakfast the next morning we drive Dudleya edulis grows here too overlooking
Dudleya edulis to the other side of the bay. It takes about the bay. You can also find Echinocereus
Above right: an hour to get there by car. You will know maritima, Mammillaria dioica and a
Mammillaria dioica you are at the right place when you see the Ferocactus species,
hills of volcanic rock. or there may
be two
On the other side of the road is the type species.
locality of Dudleya anthonyi. They are
not always easily visible as, both
times we have been, there were a lot
of bushes in leaf. But there are many
dudleyas and it is not easy to pick
the best one to photograph.
The Cataviña
J
Boulderfields
A good place to stay is the Hotel Mision
Cataviña if they have space. From the hotel
you can walk straight in to the boulder
fields. It is a really amazing place.
First of all you can see some very tall
Pachycereus pringlei and, often just as tall,
the Boojum tree (Idria columnaris/Fouquieria columnaris).
You will find several Cylindropuntia; the one I like best is
Cylindropuntia molesta, especially photographed against the sun.
Above:
Ferocactus gracilis You will lots of find Ferocactus gracilis of We spotted a Euphorbia lomelii, most
growing in front of all sizes with their intense red spines. people would call it a stick Euphorbia, but
Pachycormus Nearer to the road you see Pachycormus it looked really nice with its red bracts.
discolor discolor growing out of the boulders in any Lophocereus schottii is also present but
Above right: shape and size. Different Agave species are does not seem to be as tall as we have
Euphorbia lomelii also present. The Mammillaria you find seen them in other places. Bergerocactus
almost everywhere is of course M. dioica. emoryi seems to grow mainly in the sandy
There are other mammillarias too, but I do areas. I am sure that I have never seen all
not know their names. the cacti and succulents which grow there.
6
Highlights of
Baja California continued
Around
La Ventana and
Isla Cerralvo
Isla Cerralvo has The night before our planned trip to see the
J renamed as Isla
been officially endemic cacti on the Isla, we had a fiery
sunset followed by an almighty
Jacques Cousteau, thunderstorm. The next day it looked as if
but most locals still the rain would not stop, but by midday the
call it by its old name. We stayed in a nice clouds cleared away.
B and B overlooking the beach from which Our enthusiastic
we could see the island. captain, Enrico,
managed to get us wet anyway, he was called us for lunch, which was excellent.
probably thinking he was driving a None of us were looking forward to the
speedboat, which it was not. journey back. We all made sure our
cameras where well covered and we were
We were glad to reach Isla Cerralvo and
glad to be on land again at the end.
recover from the journey which was easy
as we could already see some huge Before visiting the island we had gone to
Ferocactus diguetii (see front cover). There the airport to pick up our friend Eunice. We
were also some small mammillarias had made a few stops when we spotted
(possibly M. estebanensis) and some larger Pachycereus pecten-aboriginum in bud,
Mammillaria cerralvo. flower and fruit and Pachycereus pringlei in
bud and flower. n
After an hour we carried on to another part
of the island but at a slower speed. There Photos: Angie Money
Below: were more of the same and I found the (Please note that, because of the small scale,
Pachycereus pringlei biggest Mammillaria cerralvo. Then Enrico the map locations are approximate)
I recently acquired a complete mint set of me, and the illustrations seem to ‘fit’,
25 cards issued by Lamberts of Norwich there are one or two oddities. For
with packets of their blends of tea. The example, card No 10 is entitled
cards are undated, but are probably from Hickenia microsperma.
the early 1960s, since this set is the same
Hickenia is a genus from Argentina
as that issued by Amalgamated Tobacco in
published by Nathaniel Lord Britton
1961. Each card features a colour
and Joseph Nelson Rose in ‘The
illustration of a species of cactus on the
Cactaceae’ (1922). They recognised
front and a descriptive text on the back.
just one variable species now known
While most of the species are familiar to
as Parodia microsperma. Indeed, the
text on the card concludes:
‘Also known as Parodia
microsperma’. The name
Hickenia commemorates
Cristobal Maria Hicken, a
professor at the University
of Buenos Aires. However,
the name could not stand
because it had been used Malacocarpus mammulosus
three years earlier for a (Parodia mammulosa)
genus of Apocynaceae
containing one species native to
Hickenia (Parodia) microsperma Argentina now reclassified as
9
Cacti cards continued
10
The flowering of
Aloe erinacea
The winter of 2014/2015
by Philip Greswell
Reference:
1. Succulent Plant Site ZA.
http://www.succulents.co.za/
Winter wonders –
three small mammillarias by Tony Roberts
13
Winter wonders continued
I quickly began to realise that I needed to get I then do a bit of research to find out the origin of the
organised, as I was interested in the following: plant and the growing conditions there. I also have a
1 Duplication – when purchasing new plants was I comments section on the database, which notes
(unintentionally) purchasing a duplicate? anything unusual such as markings etc.
2 Naming and variations – I began to be aware of In addition to having a database of plants I like to have
the world of clones, subspecies, hybrids, cultivars some sort of reference with the plant itself. In the plant
and synonyms. The same name on two plants could pot I have a single white label that bears the number
throw up two quite different looking plants. that correlates to the spreadsheet. I also insert a
3 Provenance – not all nurseries are equal, so I second (coloured) label. The colour denotes a region of
wanted to understand if there were differences in the world eg South Africa (yellow) or Madagascar
plant quality and value for money. (pink). This second label has the name of the plant on
4 Growth – a general interest in growth but also to one side and on the reverse side I note:
see if it was affected by making changes to position 1 Nursery,
in the greenhouse or growing medium. 2 Date of purchase,
5 Origin – understanding the plant’s habitat and 3 Size when purchased,
growing conditions. 4 Size and date at repotting,
There are commercial database packages available 5 Growing conditions.
but, like all good accountants, I turned to Microsoft’s
Excel and created a spreadsheet to capture the above Recently I have started adding a third label to identify
data. Even with a simple spreadsheet it is possible to plants that have persistent pests. Red indicates a bout
sort the data by genus, nursery, date of purchase, of mealy bug and black – root mealy bug. This means I
country of origin etc. The spreadsheet has grown over am more likely to pick up these plants on a regular
the years to capture both an expanding number of basis to inspect them to see if the treatment is working.
plants and additional data as I have become interested The system I have developed over the years is peculiar
in other features, such as cold hardiness. to my plants and the time I have available. With more
I have developed a simple routine of allocating a time I might photograph the plants in flower and log
unique number (sequentially starting from one) to each these on the database. I do not experiment very much
plant. This lets me know how many plants I have with soil mixes but I know some people do and keep a
purchased and, as I record when they expire, I also diary of these trials. All of this information and more is
know how many plants are actually in the collection easily captured on a spreadsheet. The purpose of this
and their average life span. Each plant is measured article is not to dictate a particular methodology but to
and, along with date of purchase, nursery, cost, name share my practical experience of trying to keep tabs on
(including synonyms, subspecies etc) and any my collection. I am sure it will have changed again this
provenance details, is entered on to the spreadsheet. time next year. Happy logging.
There is a practical side to this process and, over the of which are designed for the harsh environment of
last 16 years, I have tried various writing instruments, the garden and greenhouse. These are laminated and
labelling machines and plant labels. Not all have been have UV resistance. With various widths and colours
successful but items that have worked you can match them to the size and
well for me include: colour of the labels you use.
Pens – Staedtler Permanent Special F Labels – A couple of years ago I
is the best bar none. Look for the gold discovered Wells and Winter –
band around the bottom of the pen http://wellsandwinter.co.uk They make
Pencil – always good. Not such a the best labels and have a wide range
sharp contrast as pen but good for to suit everyone. I favour the six inch
sales plants coloured labels as they are robust and
Label Printers – Brother has always large enough for lots of information. So
provided good service. It sells a wide far they have not gone brittle and
variety of label tape cassettes, some snapped in the way of many labels.
15
In the previous article we finished our look at the range of smaller succulents that can be
grown. In this final part we look at some small cacti we can use.
Cacti are one of the most alien groups of plants that Chamaecereus
can be grown in the English garden and all the This poor thing has been subjected to more synonyms
more fun because of that. Modern thinking lumps than seems fair – take your pick from Echinopsis,
together many ‘old’ genera into huge, some would say Trichocereus, Cereus or Lobivia.
clumsy, mega-genera. I prefer, and still use, many of Chamaecereus silvestrii: – the ‘peanut cactus’ is too
the old-fashioned names as for me they give valuable familiar to describe. Tuck it into a dry, sunny rock
clues to horticultural differences, if not taxonomic. I crevice and this little fellow will quite happily, grow its
offer no apologies for this, green fingers out of the
just an explanation! For crack and flower profusely
example, if I see a nice but
unfamiliar plant for sale Cylindropuntia
labelled Soehrensia I know A group of Opuntia that
it stands every chance of have finger-like jointed
being hardy outside with pads rather than flat ones,
me. If it were labelled distinguished in Mexico by
Echinopsis I would not the common name ‘cholla’
really be any the wiser. as opposed to ‘tuna’.
These are generally from
Cultivation of cacti outside extremely arid regions but
is pretty much universal – a few species will tolerate
full sun and perfect UK conditions.
drainage. The largest
growing species can take Cylindropuntia imbricata:
a very slightly heavier soil, – one of the larger growing
chollas that is quite
in fact that is a good idea
variable in spination, size
as it gives a little stability
and colour of flowers.
to them; some get heavy!
Mine has been happily
Escobaria growing away, with a little
A genus of small, low- support, for many years
growing, generally globose but has not yet flowered.
little cacti, often clustering,
Cylindropuntia
found throughout much of
echinocarpa: – a recent
continental North America.
addition for me but
Names are a minefield as
cultivars of this more
many plants that are
compact species have
currently Escobaria have
proved hardy outdoors in
been, and may well end
continental Europe for
up being again,
many years. They have
Coryphantha and/or
Mammillaria. Said to be very dense spines, some
amongst the hardiest of very beautifully coloured.
cacti yet I find them tricky. Cylindropuntia whipplei:
Escobaria vivipara: – – again, a compact cholla
small greenish blobs with with very dense spines.
white spines and pink Some forms are very
flowers. Trichocereus tarijensis sitting in the snow silvery.
16
Gardening with succulents continued
Cylindropuntia echinocarpa
Denmoza
A genus of barrel cactus from Argentina, with one or
two species depending upon the authority, that has
largely resisted attempts to lump it within other genera
because of its rather peculiar floral structure.
Cylindropuntia whipplei
Denmoza rhodacantha: – the only species I have
grown, but extremely variable in the look of its spines Echinopsis
from fine, almost hairy, spines akin to Soehrensia
The mega-genus that has enveloped many others. I
formosa to grapple-hook affairs reminiscent of a
have tried lots and lots, most die after a short while.
Ferocactus – and everything in between. But all have
the odd tubular red flowers. This has been consistently Echinopsis oxygona: – consistently my hardiest
one of the best cacti for me outside and, as it gets to Echinopsis outside, this will spread to form a clump of
some size, in time can look very impressive. My oldest miniature barrels that can, in a good year, cover itself
plant is around 60cm tall. with those showy pale mauve flowers.
Opuntia sheerii
Gymnocalycium subgibbosum var nigrum: – I am not all pretty hardy customers, take up a lot of space and,
entirely sure about the validity of this name but it is to me, quickly become unattractive. O. humifusa (syn.
how the seed packet came labelled 20 years ago. I still O. compressa) in particular is totally bullet-proof but
have it, the dark grey colour makes it look half dead a totally collapses each winter and rarely looks good
lot of the time. It regularly produces its waxy cream for long.
flowers. It is certainly not the prettiest cactus I grow
Opuntia fragilis: – slightly different to the above, this
but it is the most enduring!
has small rounded pads and makes a neat little bundle
Opuntia with impressive spring flowers. Various selections have
An enormous and widespread genus of plants from been made. Unfortunately for me my badgers seem to
most of the new world. Many are winter-hardy find this species irresistible and I have yet to keep it for
throughout Europe and so it boils down to personal long before it gets dug up and eaten.
preference which you grow. They do have a tendency Opuntia sheerii: – this for me has been the most
to make plants of just three or four pads high before impressive ‘tuna’. It has very short, almost fuzzy straw
keeling over and ending up as a sprawling mess. I now coloured spines and so far remains upright. Flowers,
grow a very limited number as they take up a huge when they appear, are lemon yellow the first day,
amount of space and can get very weedy very quickly. fading to peach. It has been hardy with me through the
Opuntia polyacantha, microdasys, humifusa, recent bad winters although I would guess it is not
phaeacantha: – I lump all these together as they are ultimately as hardy as those species listed earlier.
Trichocereus schickendantzii
Soehrensia Trichocereus
A group of globular or squat barrel-type cacti mainly A large genus of mainly columnar cacti, now moved
from Argentina. Some forms seem to remain solitary, into the even larger genus of Echinopsis. Many are
some forms seem to cluster. These seem to be worth growing.
extremely good growers in my garden, along with Trichocereus schickendantzii: – this has grown into a
Denmoza my favourite ‘smaller’ cacti to grow outside. spectacular plant for me. A slim columnar cactus that
They flower regularly and, in time, can attain quite readily offsets, the columns seem to topple over very
impressive proportions. quickly and then crawl along the ground. Over a period
Soehrensia bruchii: – these seem to be variable but of around 15 years mine has made a weird Medusa-
are typically apple-green globular head of ground cover that
or barrel shaped globes reaching never fails to catch the eye of
to 30cm across, sometimes visitors. Flowers, when
clustering, usually with short and produced, are immensely
light spines. Flowers are borne in showy white saucer-sized
rings near the top of the plant affairs that last but one night.
and can range from bright scarlet These few mentioned cacti are
to burnt orange. Some of my but the tip of the iceberg, a
plants have been growing few selected plants that I grow
outside happily for 15 years. or have grown.
Soehrensia formosa: – this Growing cactus and succulent
species seems more inclined to plants outside is fun and
grow into a barrel and is typically rewarding. Of course not
smaller in diameter than everyone can grow every plant
S. bruchii. The skin is a dull but it is fair to say that anyone,
green and generally covered in anywhere, can grow a few. Be
very dense spines that can be bold in your plantings, do not
long and fine, almost inviting you be put off by occasional losses
to stroke them! Flower colour is and enjoy the successes! n
a strong chrome yellow.
Photos: Paul Spracklin
Both of the above are often
Paul Spracklin is a garden
available and, with each species designer with a specialist interest
being so variable, it is hard not in gardening with succulents. See
to keep buying them! Trichocereus schickendantzii in flower his website Oasis Designs
20