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| Titanopsis calcarea, MR 2014 |
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| Aloinopsis malherbei with "Bill"_MR_2012 |
Titanopsis grows further north in southern Africa, from Namibia to the Great Karoo. T. calcarea is the best known of the group and was allegedly discovered by a not-so-alert naturalist who was walking over "limestone" only to discover the stones were really plants. Poor Titanopsis!
Titanopsis is very cold-hardy, but hates being damp and cold. So this one is definitely not going outside.... They can grow well outside in Southern California, I'm told. They should be grown in very porous soil, with lots of light, like all mesembs, but they only need water every two weeks or so.
Hi Marla,
ReplyDeleteYep, Titanopsis and Aloinopsis are two of my favorite small succulents. I was going to try and over winter a group of Titanopsis calcarea outside several years ago. I planted 7 into my cacti and succulent hardy bed in May. However, they never got the chance to test their winter skills as a local rabbit or two had them for lunch. Nibbled them right back to the ground, and then apparently dug the roots up and ate them too. Now I only grow them in pots. Both genera have plants with wonderfully textured leaf tips. Great plants. Hope you had a pleasant Valentine's Day!
Bob
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteThose Wascally Wabbits! That really is too bad, though. I had some trouble in my outdoor garden from Eastern Moles, I never found the moles but I sure found their tunnels! They chewed up the tap roots of some of my mesembs. Apparently they are highly gnawable plants, which I guess is why they've evolved such advanced camouflage! But the roots are very obvious to moles, sadly....