Kalanchoe tomentosa: One Sweet Panda



K. tomentosa, the Panda Plant

 I admit, I have a penchant for fuzzy plants. Los Tres Amigos, the Mystery Mesemb, T. magnusiana.... Today's fuzzy wonder is Kalanchoe tomentosa from Madagascar, commonly known as "The Panda". Why it's called the Panda, I have no idea. Pandas are not generally pale green and brown, with polka dots.  But it is cute and fuzzy. Could just as easily have been called "The Koala" or "The Fuzzy Lemur".

K. tomentosa is very easy to grow, and much more polite than its cousin, the Kalanchoe "Mother of Millions". It grows well, but fairly slowly. It's easy to propagate, but doesn't try to take over your yard and the planet. I've been growing a few from some stray leaves. I dip them in rooting hormone, plant them in basic succulent/cactus mix, and off they go.

A stray Panda leaf.

Here they are; these have been growing for several months.

Can you spot the tiny lizard in the crevice?? He loves the Panda, too, apparently.

They thrive in sun and warmth, and can grow outside in Zones 9-12. They grow very well indoors in a sunny window. I water them once every 4-5 days, but they are in a very porous mix, so if regular potting soil is used, once a week should be fine. I use acidified water (9 drops vinegar to one liter filtered water), or rainwater, and cactus fertilizer diluted to half every month or so. They like less water in wintertime. Now I want to take a look at that shy lizard again!

Pensive Tuesday: How We Depict Them Part II

Sooo...my self-assigned assignment was a double depiction of one of my favorite plants. I chose my Lithops marmorata. No surprises there! First, a well-lit, basic photo of the plant so that others can know precisely what it looks like. I should have used a ruler in the shot, but it would not remain standing in the usual winds of our sandy dune.

Lithops marmorata

Then I painted them in a fairly abstract manner, in acrylics. Not very scientifically useful, but one heck of a lot of fun! I strongly recommend cutting loose with paint every once in a while, no matter the results....

I was gently reminded by a couple of perfumer friends that plants can also be depicted in an olfactory manner. So olfactory depictions (ie: perfumes) are another way to express your love of plants. Of course, I don't recommend using the scent of Senecio flowers...or hoodias.... And music/soundscapes are another great idea. Or combine all the senses in one work, there's a challenge! But I'm not going to attempt that challenge just yet.

Oh No! Really? Again? So Soon??

Babytoes (Fenestraria) is at it again. Yes! It's only been a month....

Are my Fenestrarias really blooming again?? So it would seem....

Oh yeah, it's Big Bloom Time....

I have never encountered a plant as exuberant as Fenestraria! Bloom Babytoes, bloom!

Mystery Mesemb of the Month: What Is It?

After my recent Faucaria post, in which I learned a lot about the changing taxonomy of mesembs and how nursery labels ain't always right, I found myself looking bleakly at a sorry little plant my local nursery gave me as a freebie when I bought a few supplies last week.  Scarred, withered, and forlorn, it sat in its pot, which bore a scuffed label, "Gibbaeum heathii".  I looked up this species in my books and went, "Huh. That's no G. heathii!"

Nursery labels can be...misleading. Okay, they can just be flat-out wrong.

So what is it?? Another Gibbaeum? A mutant G. heathii?? I'm thinking an Antegibbaeum fissoides. Or maybe a Cheiridopsis?  Many of my readers are far more expert than I am, so I am asking you to Name That Mesemb.  And thanks in advance for your good help! I am slowly learning. Really.

Here it is:

Mesemb mysteriosa

And here's a closer view, it's peeking around the corner now....

A new set of leaves (impossible to photograph yet) is emerging from the central leaf pair. It's got a velvety texture. That's all I can say! What is this creature of mystery?? And will it get along with my Lithops?

Tillandsia Magnusiana, and Some Guests!

I've been adding to my Tillandsia collection, which now covers a small tabletop. Oh well, who needs tablespace, right? I'm learning more about how these remarkable epiphytes work, and it's much stranger than I supposed. More on the science of Tillies in later posts, I haven't had enough coffee this morning to manage it at the moment. This is my newest addition, Tillandsia magnusiana:

T. magnusiana

This Tillandsia hails from Mexico and Honduras, and has a penchant for hanging out in oak trees. It has exceptionally soft, silvery "fur", which are really shield-like, gated contraptions for capturing and channeling water. No roots necessary! It's so soft, it's practically pettable. It needs watering every other day, just a good soak in acidified water, and monthly orchid fertilizer. It likes moderate, glowing light, nothing harsh.

And who greeted me on my lawn yesterday but some super guests, the Ibis Family! A little coterie from Ancient Egypt having a snack on my lawn.

Pensive Tuesday: How Do We Depict Them?

Today I'm musing about how we depict the flora and fauna that we love. Every fellow blogger reading this is making aesthetic and practical choices about how to illustrate their blog. I've seen some stunningly beautiful work out there, and I try to leave comments about it on those blogs when I see something truly marvelous.

Since most bloggers reading this are plant enthusiasts, I'll be talking (mostly) about depicting plants. And for those who don't blog but love gardening, or animals, or both, you probably photograph or draw or paint your gardens, pets, and so on. So we're pretty much all in this illustration thing together.

Dr. Nel fell on the horns of a dilemma when he wrote his book, "Lithops". He wanted to show how the Lithops looked in situ, in a formal, scientific way. But he also wanted to show how amazing they looked, how they looked to his heart, oh heck- let's- get -corny and say, in a more spiritual, all-encompassing sense. So he used both B&W photos, and watercolor paintings. Here's an example from page 154:

The watercolors in this book are just gorgeous. But the photos help me understand exactly how big each species of Lithops gets (see the ruler??) and what they look like precisely in their habitat. John James Audubon, my favorite naturalist/artist, worked in the years before photography, and he had a similar dilemma. His renderings are rich in scientific detail, yet truly from the heart. Here are a couple of squirrels:

J. J. does it all in one package, huh? Amazing!

So this week, I have a homework assignment for everyone who wants one (and who doesn't want homework??). Find a favorite plant in your collection, and try a scientifically accurate photo or photos. One that will help anyone identify a member of the same species, or in situ. Then choose any medium to do a "portrait from the heart" of that plant. Paint, collage, sculpt, draw, go digital. Whatever you like. If you have a blog, I hope you'll post the results and let us see them. But if you want to keep it to yourself and significant others, no problem.  It should be a fun exercise that illuminates our choices in how we depict the world we live in, and those living things we love! I'm going to try it, too, and I'll post the results next Tuesday.

An Amazing Lithops Book

Cape Town, South Africa, 1946. Just after the war, Botanics Professor G. C. Nel was able to publish his amazing Lithops monograph, fittingly entitled, "Lithops: Plantae succulantae, rarissimae, in terra obscuratae, e famailia Aizoaceae, ex Africa australi" though the University of Stellenbosch. Now the book is on the web, as mentioned by alert commenter Gaianursery on June 30.  It's available for download, all 161 pages, and it's safe, so far as I can tell, to do so:

http://www.lithops.info/download/lithops_nel.pdf

Here's the gorgeous cover:

It's in English and Afrikaans, with some German and Latin, too, and lavishly illustrated with photos and watercolor paintings. More about it tomorrow for Pensive Tuesday!