Hello folks! I hope this finds you all doing well. Yesterday, Friday the 14th, I went to Wagler’s Greenhouse to take a few plants. I took all but three of the Billbergia nutans (Queen’s Tears) and two of the four Alocasia ‘Portora’ I had separated and divided. Last time I went there I resisted temptation and didn’t bring any plants home. That wasn’t the case this time… I brought home eight plants. Well, I couldn’t help myself and I wasn’t in the resisting mood. After all, when I take plants and give them to her she gives me plants. This time she also slipped me a $20. 🙂 I still have two Alocasia ‘Portora’ to take because I couldn’t get them in the car. Mrs. Wagler was excited about the Queen’s Tears, especially when I showed her photos of their flowers. A few other people have brought her several other Bromeliads so it will be interesting to see how they work out. They do look AWESOME! Fortunately, she only has one of each.
All the plants I brought home were unnamed, but I already knew what six of them were. Two I didn’t know so I put their photos on the Facebook group called Succulent Infatuation. Within minutes, a member sent the ID of one of them. The other, however, remains unnamed for the time being. It is MUCH easier than looking at hundreds of photos. 🙂
In alphabetical order…
This cactus is an Acanthocereus tetragonus also known as the Fairytale Cactus. I think I had one of these several years ago that didn’t make it. I didn’t have an ID for it, but a member of Succulent Infatuation gave me the name not long after I posted the photo. I wasn’t going to bring one of these home, but this little guy kept giving me a sad look. I told him to stop looking at me like that and Mrs. Wagler said he was saying, “Take me home with you.” So, I gave in…
I really like Begonias and I spotted this miniature beauty that I had to bring home. It is a VERY small plant so I figured I could easily slip it in somewhere.
Its largest leaf is only 3″ long by 2″ wide. I like the way its leave spiral…
This one is a Crassula tetragona, also known as Miniature Pine Tree. I recognized this plant because I had taken a cutting from one at Lowe’s in 2012. Well, it was a very small cutting and it didn’t take root. This plant is currently 9 1/2″ tall. There were quite a few pots in the greenhouse with Kalanchoe diagremontiana growing in them as well and there is one in this pot. She has the same problem with them falling off in all the nearby pots like I do. She has the biggest plant I have ever seen anywhere!
She had several Peperomia obtusifolia so I brought one of them home, too. I had one of these before but gave it up in 2014. They make nice companions but have strange flowers…
I finally picked up another Schlumbergera truncata. Normal people know these as Christmas Cactus, Holiday Cactus, etc. She had pink, scarlet. and peach flowering choices so I decided on the peach. She said the scarlet was more of a bright reddish pink and the peach was more of an orangy color. I have enough pink flowering plants so the choice was clear. I am not a “pink” person except for maybe a couple of things in particular.  We are not going to discuss those on a plant and gardening blog, though. I haven’t had a Schlumbergera as a companion since I gave them up when I moved back here in February 2013, so I was happy to bring this peachy girl home…
She had several different Wandering Jew and I had been thinking about trying a few but never brought any home before. So, I decided I would bring this Tradescantia fluminensis variegata home with me. It could be the cultivar known as “Quicksilver’ but who knows… No telling how many years this plant been passed around or who she even got her start from and where they got theirs.
From photos online, ‘Quicksilver’ seems a little paler. The species Tradescantia fluminensis has green leaves but this is the variegated form. There are other cultivars available with different variegation, some half-and-half and one with a pinkish cast. This Tradescantia species is also known as the white-flowered Wandering Jew. It will be interesting to have a white-flowered member of the family although she said hers has never flowered…
At one time or another, this species has been a separate species. One of several names was Tradescantia albiflora…
I cut one of the stems in half and the other twice and stuck the cuttings evenly around the pot.
While I was at it, I decided to pick up a Tradescantia zebrina… This species is quite common but I have never had one so what could I do?
The undersides of the leaves are solid purple…
Who could resist a smile like that? 🙂
I still haven’t figured out what this little fellow is and I don’t even want to guess. Hopefully, someone on the Facebook will have an idea. If not, then I will post a photo on the CactusGuide Forum. There are so many possibilities and just guessing would always leave me wondering.
Later on, I re-potted the xGasteraloe ‘Flow’ and removed its four offsets. I also re-potted the Huernia schneideriana into a larger pot. I was going to re-pot the Aristaloe aristata (Lace Aloe) but became dark… Getting used to the decreasing day length now is cutting down on how long I can stay outside in the evening. Oh well, it happens like that every year. Sad to say, it will likely “F” next month. Some of you didn’t follow my blog before, so you don’t know what my “F” and “S” mean. Frost or freeze and snow… Once I get the Aristaloe aristata repotted I will post about all three.
I am STILL working on the wildflower post. Yesterday afternoon I went out to take some better photos of a couple of plants. Wouldn’t you know it, I found another plant to photograph and ID. It has very, very interesting TINY flowers that I couldn’t get good photos of. Sometimes I have to take the magnifying glass to get good photos but I didn’t have it with me… It is weird how many weeds we take for granted have such neat flowers if we just take a closer look. You have to be careful, though, because while some wildflowers are herbal remedies, some are VERY poisonous… This plant didn’t look like something I would want to sample.
Well, I better close this post for now. I have a lot to do today but just wanted to get this post finished while I am drinking my morning coffee. Now I am finished with my coffee so off I go…
I hope you have a great weekend! Stay positive, safe, and be well. Smile at the world and it will smile back. Well, usually. 🙂 Don’t forget to GET DIRTY if you have time!
The Belmont Rooster 
No getting dirty here today – it’s raining! YAY!! I think it’s normal to go off somewhere and come home with something you hadn’t planned on or more than you actually needed. And most of the time it just feels right, doesn’t it?
I’m looking forward to your wildflower post. It should be a dandy! 😀
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Hello there Littlesundog! Glad you are getting some rain! That’s AWESOME! Yes, it is very normal to bring something home you hadn’t planned on, depending on where we go. When I go to the greenhouse or Lowe’s, you can almost bet I will bring home a plant(s). I think most people even do that when they go grocery shopping. It always feels right when we can bring homeless plants back with us. Hopefully, I can get the wildflower post finished in a few days. As long as I restrain myself from taking more photos… 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
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I bet you have brought home more than you took on previous greenhouse trips. I like those purple leaves.
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I am very sure of that, Jim. But there have been many times, maybe a few times, well at least once, that I went there and didn’t bring anything home. The purple does look really good. Want some? Anything you want, Jim, just ask. Plants that is… Little short of cash right now. 🙂 Thanks for the comment as always!
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HI Rooster – you brought 8 home! That is So bad!! Think I am going to allow myself 2 newbies when i go back to college tomorrow.
I do really love the tiny begonia – what is it called – i dont think i can see the name , sorry if i missed it – i have a begonia escargot that grows in that same swirly whirly way – but the rough leaves that start vibrant furry red often develop brown patches – they are hard work really to keep beautiful; that one looks really smart
All ready for wild flowers (and butterflies?) 😬
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Hello Debbie! ONLY TWO? GEEZ! I don’t know what the name of the Begonia is yet but I am searching. This one may be tough… Even an expert didn’t know. This will make two unnamed Begonias if I don’t figure it out. I have had a similar problem with crunchy leaves on a Begonia rex I used to have. The wildflower post will be ready soon. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
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One of my expert contacts for Begonia identification is based out here in San Diego County, California… His name is Michael Kartuz and he runs Kartuz Greenhouses. He’s considered a “living legend” by the American Begonia Society and was even honored at the 80th ABS convention in 2012. His business link is: https://www.kartuz.com/
I hope this information helps you and your devoted readers.
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Thanks for the link, Frank. Maybe I can make contact with Mr. Kartuz and see if I can get the new Begonia a name.
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Howdy!! I just discovered your blog a few minutes before typing this message and wanted to personally thank you for being a voice for holding the plant industry’s “experts” accountable for their occasional (and sometimes “more-than occasional”) mis-identification and misleading marketing of plants. It’s also become part of my OWN mission to offer my pesonal research and discoveries to known and respected names in the world of plants. I’ve found that, sometimes, anecdotal information is accepted far too frequently and many times the information isn’t ever challenged or questioned for it’s backing literature or documentation.
I’m actually in the process, now, of putting together information for one of my recent research projects regarding the correct identification of a particular Kalanchoe species and a related hybrid. I intend to put together a video to visually document the plants and their identifying characteristics as well as some literature, both of which I intend to disseminate to my contacts in the ornamental plant trade as well as to world-renowned reasearch facilites. (No, I’m not trying to boast or to over-inflate my work or myself; I’m just focusing on passing along my information to trusted organizations from which many businesses and higher-educational institutions source their information.)
Thank you for proving to me that there actually is an audience for “better” and more-accurate information regarding plants’ identification & care!! Keep up your GREAT work, too!!
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Hello Frank! I used to get really frustrated about the industry mislabeling plants and voiced my opinion more than once. What was more frustrating was when those misnamed plants were passed from one person to another carrying the incorrect name with them. A contact from The Missouri Botanical Garden informed me that anyone can use whatever name they choose as long as it is backed up by a valid description in a valid publication. She said it is very common for the tags with plants at the botanical gardens to be marked out and a different name written in by someone else. So… If a plant we know as, for example, Kalanchoe daigremontianum is labeled as Bryophyllum daigremontianum it isn’t incorrect. Those are two validly published names for the same plant. There is still a lot of disagreement between botanists which name to use. It all begins when someone decides to change a name for whatever valid reason. There are many plants that have had only one name, and others that have had multiple names. Thanks for the great comment and I hope to hear from you again.
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