My daughter, in keeping with her new sense of independence as a college student, picked out a small strange plant labeled 'perennial' that neither of us recognized, a short succulent with green leaves, a single straight stem and one small purple bloom.
This article will introduce the reader to just a few of the dozens of such weird plants. Euphorbias come in all shapes and sizes and one of the most commonly grown but unusual Euphorbias are the stick Euphorbias.
Basically all cacti are summer growers and spend winter basically comatose or at least very inactive in terms of growing or flowering. For those in cold climates, these cacti do best if kept outdoors under a shady tree or porch when it's warm and moved...
Also I will cover how to grow and care for your cactus so that you too can have a piece of flowering history. The phylloclades also arch downward.The Thanksgiving cactus leaves have soft points on the margins.The leaves are also very erect and tend to...
Discard the sap. Place the sap in a jar, seal the jar and store it in the refrigerator, using it as you need it.The gel will naturally turn brown over time. Place the leaf on a cutting board and cut your aloe leaf in half horizontally.
Use frozen prickly pear ice cubes in your cold beverages. Allow the fruit to thaw.Press the fruit gently with a potato masher so that the juice flows into the bowl.Drink your prickly pear juice right away, or pour it into ice cube trays and refreeze the...
Somewhere between too little and too much is a delicate balance.After the exhibitor follows the rules and enters a combination planting in a flower show, a 3-member panel of judges assesses it based on an established scale of points and places ribbons...
If the plant is inside, you might only need to water it once a month. Outside, the sun leaches moisture from the soil, it dissipates through more ground and other plants and weeds compete for it.Test the cactus before you water it.
Set it in a warm spot that gets plenty of light. Dragon fruit is the edible fruit from the Pitaya cactus, a member of the Hylocereus genus. Scoop out a teaspoon of pulp, making sure you get some of the black seeds.
Gallon-size containers can sustain the cuttings for the first year. Cuttings will only propagate successfully during certain months. Avoid over-watering in these early stages, as it may lead to rot.
Most of the best photos in this section were not taken by me, so check the credits as you peruse.In this article I will not try to cover all the cacti genera, as that would be a monumental undertaking for a short article.So I will limit this overview...
Alluauadia flowers look nothing like cactus flowersIn my previous article the lesson was that just because something looks nothing like a cactus, it doesn't mean it's not a cactus.And here I guess the lesson is that just because something looks like it...
In the Crassula family (Crassulaceae) there are a lot of plants that mimic other plants leading to endless confusion by gardeners, growers and even botanical gardens.Echeverias are one of the most popular and beautiful pot and landscape plants in this...
It was completely normal at the time, but grew rapidly thanks to my overwatering and the very rich, fertile soil. Plants that crest early in life tend to stay somewhat immature and rarely flower or develop a reproductive functional anatomy.
Sicilian farmers developed a method for producing larger fruits with fewer seeds. It is used or has been used for food, medicine, livestock feed, fencing, an ornamental, and an indirect source of dye.
This article is an introduction to some of the more unusual-looking cacti that some might not at first identify as cacti. Usually when someone thinks of cactus, they visualize a typical segmented Opuntia, stout barrel cactus, or some tall, spiny columnar...
And of course, to make money.Pots specifically designed for succulents tend to be very ornamental , useful, well made and costly.And they are not always easy to find unless one looks online or goes to a succulent show and sale.Sometimes one can find cheap...
The root system of a barrel cactus is shallow, but large and net-like, enabling the cactus to catch as much water as possible during desert rains.The shape of the barrel cactus is a precision design, directing any dew or rain directly to the roots of...
Germination occurs in the presence of sufficient water and warm temperatures.After seed germination it can take several months for the basic barrel shape of the cactus seedling to become visible.
Your Agave attenuata plant should start growing within three to four weeks. The Agave attenuata is a relatively rare plant from the mountains of central Mexico, although it is becoming very popular with gardeners in the U.S., especially those in the southern...
Many cacti are ornamental for a variety of reasons: their spines, their overall shape and size, or their amazing flowers. Just be careful if it gets cold where you are (below freezing) and take measures to protect your plants; freeze damage never completely...
Regular watering encourages the cactus to produce flavorful, well-formed fruits. An inch of water typically moistens the top 6 inches of soil. The cactus requires 25 to 50 inches of rainfall or supplemental irrigation a year.Irrigate dragon fruit plants...
Water cacti from overhead with a strong stream of water to remove mites. If your plant only has whitish discoloring, you can heal it by moving it into the shade. Severe burns show up as hard brown scars on the burned surface.
In many cases, fungus on cacti is accompanied by secondary infections of mealy bugs or gnats. Fortunately, cactus fungus is susceptible to natural methods and commercial fungicides, so it can usually be treated before it kills the plant.Remove exposed...
We have tried them, and found many include plants that eventually take over, die in winter, etc.This has forced us to forge ahead on our own, and when we lose a plant, we feel guilty and stupid.
Probably the very best month of the entire year for seeing the flowers of succulents is February. This should at least help you get some idea of what one might expect to see flowering in the succulent world this month, a time of year when much of the...
Indoor cacti may receive too little sun, too much warmth and too much water to allow the plant to achieve this dormant state.Plant the cacti in a medium-size planting pot to allow for several years of growth.
