Contents of the Summer 2010 Northants News

Summer Flowers                                 Roland Tebbenham      

Following on from my articles on June and July flowers, here are some more plants that flower (for me) in August. Most are easy to grow, though some do need a little more care.

I start with an easy Mesemb – Cylindrophyllum tugwelliae. With a habitat in The Little Karoo in Western Cape Province this species forms neat stemless tufted groups of cylindrical to three-angled, grey-green leaves around 8cm long. The many-petalled flowers last ten days or so, opening around noon and closing each evening. This is an undemanding plant requiring bright sun and regular watering to encourage flowering. 

(Ed: Preparing this web page reminded me I had just been repotting another plant named for Mrs. Anna Tugwell. Mine was called Bijlia tugwelliae and looked vaguely similar. Could they be the same and synonyms? No, I couldn't remember what the flowers were like but I found a five sided capsule typical of Bijlia on my plant. Cylindrophyllum  has up to eight. Hopefully yellow flowers will prove mine is correctly named.) 

Cylindrophyllum tugwelliae

 

Monadenium mafingense   Monadenium mafingense

By contrast Monadenium mafingense prefers shadier conditions. It is a geophyte from north-east Zambia and north Malawi where it inhabits rocky crevices. I keep mine above 10°C in winter and water freely during the summer. My plant forms short stems with opposite, fresh-green leaves with tough hairs beneath; the flowers are borne singly with deep red bracts; this is a small-scale beauty! Monadenium is a genus of over 70 species in the Euphorbiaceae. The plants inhabit tropical and sub-tropical East African habitats and thrive given warmth all year round. Many geophytic species have been discovered quite recently, so keep your eyes peeled for more dwarf gems.
 
Now we move to the extremely hot, dry habitats of Namibia and the Northern Cape of RSA. Sarcocaulon, recently transferred to Monsonia, are woody stem-succulents with persistent petioles forming blunt stalks or long spines. I keep all my ‘Sarcocaulons’ on a high shelf in full sun. Despite their natural habitats and tough appearance they need regular watering; periods of drought stop growth, which can be very difficult to restart. My ‘Sarcocaulon burmannii’ is apparently an unresolved taxon. However it is a pretty plant with neat white flowers that appear irregularly during the summer months. The fragile, almost papery petals contrast with the strong, spiny stems and greyish leaves. Buy one if you relish a challenge!

Sarcocaulon burmannii

Left: Sarcocaulon burmannii

Leuchtenbergia principis   Leuchtenbergia principis

Now for some of my favourite cacti: firstly an old Leuchtenbergia principis that flowers for me annually in midsummer. It is instantly recognisable in that it has tapered triangular tubercles tipped with long, papery grey-green spines. The large flowers are yellow with darker centres. Leuchtenbergia principis is the only taxon in the genus and prefers generous watering when in growth and a well drained mineral soil like many Mexican cacti. It grows steadily and I keep both my plants in quite deep pots to accommodate their taproots.

Leuchtenbergia principis

I have included two species from Turbinicarpus, the fashionable genus of dwarf grey-green or blue-green plants. They are Mexican and like the foregoing prefer gritty mineral alkaline soils and full sun to perform at their best. Turbinicarpus alonsoi was discovered in 1996; it has curved whitish, dark-tipped spines and neat magenta petals with darker mid-stripes. The first appearance of buds in the crown of the plant promises a brilliant show a few days later. Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus ssp. klinkerianus is similar except that the flowers are white with pinkish stigmas. The buds are striped with brown. Both these species grow slowly and make handsome specimens in small pots. My plants produce two or three flushes of flowers per year and the colour contrasts of bodies, spines and flowers add interest to any collection.

Turbinicarpus alonsoi

Turbinicarpus alonsoi

Above: Turbinicarpus alonsoi and Below: T. schmiedickeanus

Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus ssp. klinkerianus

Turbinicarpus schmiedickeanus ssp. klinkerianus

Eriosyce islayensis   Eriosyce islayensis

My last plant may be less well known. The old genus Islaya is now treated as a section within Eriosyce. The name Eriosyce islayensis covers plants from coastal habitats stretching from Peru into Northern Chile. I have grown it under another name for twenty years – its first flowers finally gave its identity away to sharp Editorial eyes. Fortunately I grew it in a gritty acidic soil mix with only modest watering. According to Kattermann’s book on Eriosyce the plants obtain their water from coastal fogs and only reach reproductive maturity after many years. The attractive features for me are the lemon-yellow flowers with their acid-green tinge. They do look fine surrounded by abundant wool and strong brownish spines.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about and seeing some of my flowering plants. I plan to continue this irregular series in future, Editor permitting of course. I kept a diary of plants in flower week-by-week during 2009. This activity encouraged me to inspect my greenhouse more frequently than in past years. It has emphasised that when you grow cacti and succulent plants you really can have flowers all year round. I hope you enjoy your plants in flower and that you may share some of them with our readers.

Roland

Ed: Thanks Roland. Rereading, I noted ’It has emphasised that when you grow cacti and succulent plants you really can have flowers all year round.’ and I thought, YES, absolutely true!

 

 

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