Contents Volume 23. No 2
Summer 2012
Editorial and more.. | Trevor Wray |
Roland Tebbenham |
|
Roland Tebbenham | |
Trevor Wray |
|
Trevor Wray |
|
Some thoughts on Seeds | Doug Rowland |
The Zone Show | Trevor Wray |
A First Flower Stimulates Research | Roland Tebbenham |
EDITORIAL and more..... |
Welcome
to the Summer edition of NN.
After
the driest winters it seems it only needs the issue of a ‘drought order’ to
cause continuous torrential rain. Growth in the garden, of both wanted and
unwanted plants, (I mean weeds), has been phenomenal. Slugs and snails as well.
What it all means for our cacti and succulents under the shelter of a greenhouse
I do not know. I assume that since it has been clouded and colder than usual it
is bad news but I can’t see any difference… So far!
A
rare Adromischus?
Summer
is a great time to repot and clean up*
Adromischus plants. Dead leaves look untidy and are a seed bed for the moulds
and mildews that romp through the choicest kinds in winter. Dead flower stalks
are a trellis for spiders’ webs which detract from the beauty of the smallest
kinds.
Summer
is also a good time to propagate these plants; it is never safe to have only one
of a kind, or with me, even three or four! When tidying up you often find that
fallen leaves have rooted and produced small plants and accidentally detached
leaves soon will. The most vigorous kinds can be broken up. There is little
point in producing a washing-up bowl full of an Adromischus unless you are after
a first at the National Show, (oh you are?).
While
working through and replacing the faded and broken labels I realised I had a
rare Adromischus, at least on the internet. A web search for Adromischus
‘Hummel’s Frosty’ produced zero hits. Now Ed Hummel was a Californian
nurseryman well known for his Crassula ‘Hummel’s Sunset’. His name for
‘Frosty’ is apt, but whether it is a species or a hybrid I do not know,
however it is a vigorous grower by Adromischus standards. My congested 5”
pan-full was broken up to produce two reasonable plants for my collection,
several small plants and lots of leaves. So lots more ‘Hummel’s Frosty’ in
Northants country.
*Reading
over my shoulder… ‘Summer is a great time to clean up… “Ho, ho, ho,”
went the F.L.
Translation
of article in Succulentopi Journal
You
may have seen this on-line journal on the internet. It is in French but, if like
me, you aspire to only ‘O-level’ you can use Google translation services to
help out and get an approximation. Actually for much of this text it is very
much an approximation, but never mind. There are some nice pictures.
My
interest was taken by an article on Vasconcellea.
You what? You rightly say. (Also known as Vasconcella)
Yes Vasconcellea, (or Vasconcella),
a genus in the Caricaceae. You what? Surely you are familiar with this family?
Never
mind. It appears that these ‘pachycaul’ small trees grow from the sea to the
foothills of the Andes The article suggests their culture is probably similar to
the cacti with which they coexist; Armatocereus
cartwrightianus,
Copiapoa
coquimbana
and Eulychnia
acida.
Errr… maybe.
The
Vasconcellea are often called 'mountain papaya', because they grow in the
foothills of the Andes, although some also grow by the sea. The fruit of many
species are locally consumed: V.
chrysophila
and V.
pentagona
in Colombia and Ecuador, V.
candicans
in Peru for example. Two species, V.
pubescens
and
V.
x heilbornii,
especially the
cultivar 'Babaco', are grown for their fruit on a larger scale. These are cooked
as vegetables and canned, particularly in Chile, or used in confectionery.
As
Vasconcell… whatever, is not recognised as a succulent in the ‘Guide to
Shows’ you cannot exhibit it in a BCSS show. So it is purely for the botanical
gardens and the Chilean version of Bird’s Eye, but the journal has an
interesting article on Titanopsis. I like these! The translation does not…
“It
was by chance discovered that Marloth the type species: based on what he thought
of the limestone, he crushed one of the plants. His mistake he took out the
species name, calcarea (Jacobsen 1960) Schwantes and later was inspired to name
the genus.”
But
never mind, the pictures are lovely and we get the drift.
There
follows an article on Ariocarpus
and I was attracted by cultivars A.
retusus cv.
‘Maruibo’ and A.
fissuratus cv.
‘Godzilla red leaf’. I don’t suppose I will be buying these for a few
quid. (Or perhaps not till the Czechs get their hands on them). There is a forum
with the usual forum articles (but in French) and finally a superb image of a
Eriosyce eriosyzoides in the Quebrada Pinte, near Vallenar, Chile.
And
I learnt that Quebrada Pinte translates
as ‘Paint Creek’. I always thought that a Quebrada was a Quebrada.
Do
look at the images and perhaps struggle with the French, it is worth the time.
You can download these pdf magazines at http://www.cactuspro.com/biblio/en:succulentopia
The
National Show
We
are now just a few weeks from the National. Held only every four years and
definitely worth the time to visit or exhibit some plants. Be warned; the
standards are high!
Enjoy
the mag and the summer when it comes.
Trev
Back issues of the NMK Branch magazine |
Northants News Volume 22.3 |
Northants News Volume 22.2 |
Northants News Volume 22.1 |
Northants News Volume 21.3 |