Just a Few Updates for the Weekend....

The Mysterious Lithops Flower.  Rika's Lithops flower did something weird, but so did Dorothy's---looks kind of like a Fourth of July firecracker!

We've had blistering heat, cuz' we're stuck under a high pressure heat dome at the moment.
Still, it's meant the wild bunnies are in our yards munching grass every morning and we love to watch them.

Hope you're having a good weekend and keeping cool!

Frithia diva blooms!

OK, that's not the real name, it's a Frithia pulchra. But she's such a diva! She likes to have all conditions just so....Sometimes she gets pale and limp, then perks up and blooms right when I think she's a goner. She likes LOTS of morning sun, but not much afternoon sun or she limps out again. She prefers a nice glass of Viognier in the afternoon, to sip in the shade. (OK, I made that up, but it wouldn't surprise me....)

I read on Steve Hammer's website that Frithia really need an acidic environment with quartz in the mix. So she's got her quartz gravel in her soil now, and I'm adding vinegar to her water to make our very alkaline tap water (which I filter first) a pH of 6. That seems to be her perfect pH, at least for now...but maybe she would like me to move the house a little to the left??

An Excellent Read: Mesembs of the World

"Mesembs of the World" was penned by a host of well-known authors- Smith, Chesselet, Jaarsveld, Hartmann, Hammer, van Wyk, Burgoyne, Klak, and Kurzwell. Each one has a great love and huge store of knowledge about our favorite plant family- the Mesembs! Published by Briza in South Africa in 1998 in English, this substantial book has over 400 illustrated pages of pretty much every mesemb known to people at this point.

The book is divvied up into types of mesembs, such as "weedy", "tongue-leaved", and so on. This can be either useful or frustrating, depending on whether you want to look up an identified plant (frustrating), or are trying to identify some cool plant you just found (useful)! But if you're trying to find info on Aloinopsis, for example, there's a handy index in the back.

Each plant is described thoroughly and succinctly with excellent instructions on how to grow it at home. Even recommended soil types are given. The photography of each plant in its native habitat is extremely helpful. Each genus has a map to show where it grows, and a complete list of species.

It took me a while to find a copy of this but I'm so glad I did, it's really a treasure trove of information, and it's just a lot of fun to read!

Prototype Cactus Pot in Red

Here's the prototype for some earthenware pots for cacti. The little Ferocactus latispinus seems to like it. Do you see what it's posing with?? The Devil's Backbone! So of course it's happy, isolated in its new pot from the Kalanchoe Fatale.

I'm not sure about the accents in blue, they are made with an opalescent glaze called Bluebell, but I'm not crazy about it. So the next batch of pots are either plain, or accented with a glaze called Aztec Turquoise, which is a matte green/blue and very subtle. The blue here just sort of pops too much. The aged look is done by rolling the red clay on a mat that's just had buff clay rolled on it. I don't know what I think of the "weathering effect", the next batch does not have it....

I'll blog on the next batch in a week or so and you all can give me your opinions.

Audrey's Odd Flower

Perhaps because we are solidly mired in Tropical Storm Debby, and there's been no sun for awhile, Audrey's flower sort of bloomed...oddly. But she's still cute, and I had to take a "glamour shot" (cuz' hey, there's not much to do on the weekend when you're sitting  in the middle of a tropical storm!)....

I guess that's called making the best of it! And some local rabbits came to visit us, taking shelter in backyard gardens from the high winds and rain along the river:

They found some nice mint, thyme, and basil in my garden, there's lots to share this time of year.
Hope the weather's treating you all well, and Debby exits sooner rather than later!

OUCH!!

This could never happen with a Lithops....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18553950

Seriously, though, poor Mr. Mason is in for a long recovery and my prayers are with him. Those saguaros can weigh a ton. They look great in photos, but they do have a tendency to topple.

And cacti can be dangerous. I still remember a very bad encounter with an Opuntia in Arizona when I was 7. Apparently the fruits need to be parboiled and cleaned of glochids before being eaten....

Mother of Millions: A Cautionary Tale

Here's a scary little story for the weekend. Once upon a time, when other people lived in our house, the family was gifted with a cute little Kalanchoe daigremontiana from Madagascar. It was known by the cuddly name "Mother of Millions", but also, the creepier "Devil's Backbone". At some point, someone threw it outside into the backyard instead of into the trash. This plant is one tough survivor, and here's why:

Every leaf is edged in tiny plantlets, ready to grow and prosper in Zones 9-11. I planted two in a pot to see how fast they grew, and within just a week, there were mini kalanchoes, all ready to invade new worlds!

This plant is listed as invasive in Texas and Florida in the US. And it's highly toxic, to boot. However, lizards and geckos seem to thrive in its poisonous depths, I suppose it protects them well from predators? How does this plant stay in check in Madagascar? Any invasive succulents in your part of the world?