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Showing posts from May, 2018

(Accidentally) controlling pests with weeds

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A grasshopper on Acalypha amentacea . Some species from the genus are popular garden plants, including A. hispida , A. reptans , and A. wilkesiana . Like every gardener, I have a constant battle with both pests and weeds. Pests are often seasonal, while weeds can pester any time of the year. Some months ago I noticed a seedling of Acalypha amentacea growing on one of my pots, and for some reason, always neglected to pull it out every time I weed around the humble garden. When it was the size of a small shrub, I finally decided to get rid of it, once and for all. That is when I noticed a grasshopper resting on one of its stems. Then another. And another. And then I noticed the plant's chewed leaves. This meant only one thing: the hoppers are feeding on the Acalypha . And that is when I also realized that my plants ceased exhibiting grasshopper damage. You see, during the hotter months these hoppers make a salad bar out of my garden, and I have lost quite a considerable number ...

A flower with a very 'manly' scent

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Orbea abayensis was described in 1978 Michael George Gilbert, but as Caralluma abayensis . Peter Vincent Bruyns transferred it to Orbea in 2000. The species name was derived from Abay River in Ethiopia, the so-called 'Blue Nile'. These plants occur on ledges on alluvial soils deposited above gypsum, at elevations from 1200-2300 m above sea level. Alluvial soils are often loamy with very fine sand components and carried by flood waters to be deposited many miles further, when the flooding subsides. Such soils are highly fertile. Compared to many other stapeliads, O. abayensis appreciates more moisture, with its soil preferably more loamy and nutrient rich, and calcareous. However, these plants are very amenable in cultivation using other substrate materials, for as long as it is not overly laden with organic matter, or there is risk of plants rotting or stems collapsing from too much stored nitrogen. My plant is maintained in a purely inorganic mix in full sun, and water...

The starfish-like Orbea dummeri

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Hailing from East Africa, Orbea dummeri is one of the most well-known of the stapeliads, with flowers that look more like sea creatures with bear-trap maws and tentacled arms than anything else. Their ease of growth and free-flowering habit also contributes substantially to their popularity worldwide. These plants bloom during spring to summer, sometimes extending up to early autumn. Note the inward-pointing trichomes around the corona. These may serve to facilitate the entry of potential pollinators to the vicinity of the corona, but dissuade them from leaving too soon, forcing them to linger on the corona and therefore increasing the likelihood of them picking up a pollinia or effecting pollination. Because it's from equatorial climates, O. dummeri is very easy to maintain in the tropics. The plants can withstand very harsh conditions, from full sun and prolonged periods of drought, to heavy rains. The plants are better off sheltered during tropical typhoons, however. ...

The unusual Tillandsia intermedia

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Tillandsia intermedia has got to be one of my earliest tillandsias, which means that the original plants may have harked back to about fifteen years ago. Through the years I have had quite a few clumps separated from the main plant, but have to admit that I have also neglected specimens that have broken off and left them to die, although some have landed on suitable landing spots which saved them from an untimely demise, albeit totally neglected. Flower of Tillandsia intermedia  Carl Christian Mez described T. intermedia in 1898 based on plants collected by Langlasse near Cihuatanejo, on the western, Pacific side of Mexico. Whereas most tillandsias produce offsets from the bases, this one is distinctly viviparous, which means that the new growths are produced from below the inflorescences. This habit is shared by only a few other species within the genus. Due to the behavior, plants have the potential to develop into curtain-like masses. In my place however, strong winds an...

A reliable bloomer is in bloom again

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This is an orchid that blooms only once a year, but is capable of carrying a few hundred flowers at once that any wait is worth it. This orchid is Eulophia andamanensis , a terrestrial from grasslands and open areas in the Andamans Islands, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, northern Sumatra, and Malaysia. At the onset of the dry season the leaves are shed and the plant rests as dormant, above-ground pseudobulbs. During this period it is watered only to prevent total desiccation and kept in shade. Once the erect inflorescences start appearing, the linear leaves also begin developing. By this time the entire plant can be in flower for about three weeks, although it is not unusual that new inflorescences are produced as the older ones age, which extends the blooming period. Each flower is 2 cm across and odorless. The sepals and petals are a rather dull greenish-brown color, but the labellum is stark white with purple-brown veining, with attractive wavy margins edged greenish. I ...