Hello everyone! I hope this finds you all well. It is a little strange I am still working on the October 11 update and it is November 14. I still have the 11 Mammillaria and eight other cactus and succulents to post updates about.

The weirdest thing is the Phlomis ‘Edward Bowles’. I always cover it up with a big pot when we are expecting an “F” and keep it covered all winter when cold temps persist. I covered it when we had the “F” on October 11, but forgot about it when we had the “S” and cold temps on the 29th. I noticed a few days ago it was the only plant not affected by the “F’s” and cold.

The daytime temps the past few days have been pretty nice, although a little breezy. I was able to take the plants in this post to the front porch for a photo shoot. All except the Huernia schneideriana because it is on the plant shelf in the bedroom all situated for winter. It is the last plant featured in this post and you will understand why I didn’t move it when you see it.

Without too much to say about anything else at the moment, let’s dive right into the post…

 

In the above photo, the Espostoa melanostele subsp. nana (Peruvian Old Lady) is proudly showing off her hairdo. Not that it is new, but there is an inch more of it. She grew to 7 1/4″ tall x 2 3/8″ wide since last October which is 1 ” taller and 1/4″ wider. She was only 2 3/4” tall x 1 3/4” wide when I brought her home from Wal-Mart in February 2016. I am glad to see the subspecies is also an accepted name.

To view the page especially for this cactus, click HERE!

 

The Euphorbia mammillaris (Indian Corn Cob) has done very well and the main stem has now grown to 5 3/4″ tall. The upper parts of the stem and side branches are covered with small ephemeral leaves and the few spines still persist at the lower level. There were remains of flowers on the top of the cutting when I brought it home in March (2019), so hopefully, it will flower soon. The hexagonal tubercles swell when it has ample moisture and shrink during dry periods. There isn’t much online about this plant but most information says they grow 13-15″ tall. Ummm… Llifle says up to 35 cm but it also says they are “moderately fast” growers and “will become large landscape masterpieces in 3-5 years” and “young plants are happy growing indoors where they can easily reach the ceiling.” Hmmm… I don’t about your ceiling, but mine is slightly higher than 35 cm.

Click HERE to view this plant’s own page with more photos.

 

The Ferocactus wislizeni (Arizona Barrel, Candy Barrel, Southwestern Barrel, Fishhook Barrel, Biznaga de Aqua…) is a very interesting plant to watch grow. Not that you would want to sit and watch it. 🙂 Earlier in the summer it started doing something weird as it was growing new spines. It almost looked like it was growing three apexes. Actually, it was growing new tubercles on three ribs at the same time. Of course, all cactus do this but this one caught my eye because the spines were red and prominent. I also like the odd shape of the ribs and the purplish color on top. It has grown to 2 1/4″ tall x 2 1/2″ wide now. It was 1 5/8″ tall x 2 1/8″ wide when I brought it home from Lowe’s on March 29. So, that is pretty amazing. It will be even more amazing when it flowers but that may take some time… This is a long-lived species, from 50-130 years, so I may have to give it to someone in my will. Hopefully, it will show me it’s bright orange flowers in my lifetime. Llifle says specimens up to 9′ have been recorded. Interestingly, in the wild, these plants lean toward the equator which can cause them to fall over after a lot of rain as the soil becomes loose.

 

The spines grew quickly, to say the least… I am so glad the hot glue stuck to the top of this plant is gone and it caused no permanent damage. I can’t say the same for some.

To view this plant’s own page click HERE…

 

The x Gasteraloe ‘Flow’ has done quite well this past summer and has grown. She produced her first flower this past summer as well. This plant is now 5 1/2″ tall x 10 1/2″ wide. I removed the offsets in this pot in 2018 and they and been somewhat “iffy”. One of the things we do we later think maybe we shouldn’t have done. Umm, notice I said “you” because I certainly wouldn’t want to blame myself.

I bought this plant unlabeled and posted its photo on Succulent Infatuation for ID. A member suggested it was x Gasteraloe ‘Flow’ and several others agreed. So, that’s what I have been calling it. A while back a blog reader asked what the difference was between x Gaseraloe ‘Flow’ and Aloe beguinii. Well, I had no clue so I looked up that species online. Oddly enough (laughing), some of the online images look like this plant and some do not. Then, when I posted update #1, a reader commented that the Aristaloe aristata was a Lizard Tail and not Aristaloe aristata. “What in the heck is a Lizard Tail?” So, I did a search for “Lizard Tail Aloe” and all I found were images and information of some weed. Well, maybe not a weed, but you know what I mean… When I was updating the page for this plant for this post, out of curiosity I looked up Aloe beguinii again… Low and behold, the common name is Lizard Tail!!!

Sometimes plant ID can be very tricky especially with cultivars and hybrids. What is worse is when we buy plants that are unlabeled. Noticed I said “we” again… “WE” have to rely on others for help and do online searches to figure out the name. Not all information online is 100% accurate and only part of the images are the plant in question. Some are just photos of plants posted on websites that have nothing to do with plants. Being “slightly” familiar with who the suppliers are for the local greenhouses, Lowe’s, and Wal-Mart make it a little easier. Once I get an ID suggestion, I check out the company’s websites to see what similar plants are currently available. Sometimes that is a dead-end… Knowing what is on the market during the time period “you” buy unlabeled plants is important. However, plants with certain cultivar names now could be the same plants with different cultivar names several years ago offered by other growers. Unpatented names are renamed and so on… So, it is a gamble that what we call plants is actually what they are. Just think how many species have so many different common names, and even several scientific names… Then there are times when I have brought home unlabeled plants from local greenhouses. Plants that have been given to the owner by others that were given to them and so on… Passalong plants are great!

I have said it many times but I will say it again. I am not a plant expert. I just like growing plants and writing about them hoping to spark interest and maybe help someone along the way. I always try to share links on the plant pages to websites that have been written by those more knowledgeable than me.

 

I really enjoy this Gasteria sp. (Ox Tongue, Cow Tongue, Lawyers Tongue…). It is only fairly attractive but it is weird. Its leaves are very stiff, almost plastic-like. I still haven’t figured out the species and is quite possibly a hybrid. It is just strange how it showed up at Wal-Mart. The two times I posted for an ID on Succulent Infatuation all I received were “likes” or someone telling me it was a Gasteria. I already knew that! I may be able to get a suggestion from a particular hybridizer… Hmmm… Maybe I should meditate with it in my hands. Whatever its name may be, it has grown. Currently, the two plants together are 3 7/8″ tall by 6 1/2″ wide. They were 2 3/4″ tall x 3 3/4″ wide when I brought them home on March 19, 2018. Wow! That’s 2 3/4″ wider!

I sent a message to Kelly Griffin a few days ago, one of the foremost Aloe hybridizers who just happens to work for Altman Plants. He said, “I don’t see it as a species but it does look a little bicolorish. (I assume by saying “bicolorish” he meant Gasteria bicolor, which is a synonym of G. obliqua). We found pillansii in the wild with this milky leaf color. I would suggest it is a hybrid but certainly, without a flower, it is difficult to determine provenance or even narrow it down. Many growers sell both species and hybrids. It very could well be from our nursery as we supply plants for Wal mart and HD and Lowe’s.”

I also just received approval to become a member of Succulent Dreamers. It is a Facebook group with over 100,000 members. I posted photos of this plant so we’ll see if they have any suggestions. Over 200 people have joined in the past month. If you do join this group or Succulent Infatuation, be prepared to drool…

UPDATE: After several days of posting photos of the above Gasteria, only two “likes” and no comments! Weird with over 100,000 members. Some days there are a lot of new posts and maybe mine was posted on an inactive day. Then it was overrun by new posts. I will repost…

Click HERE to view this plant’s own page…

 

The Gasteria ‘Little Warty’ and its kids are doing GREAT. Their leaves are definitely not smooth. The main plant has grown quite a bit since I brought it home from Wildwood Greenhouse in May. It is now 3 1/2″ tall x 3 1/2″ wide. It was only 2″ tall x 2 3/16″ wide! The offsets fell away from the main plant when I repotted it so I put them in their own pot. Together, they have also grown to 1 1/2″ tall x 2 7/8″ wide. I repotted it mainly because the plug wrapping was sticking out above the soil and I wanted to remove the netting. I don’t like it. 🙂 Most commercial growers use plugs to grow their young plants in then greenhouses that buy plugs put them into pots. If I owned a greenhouse I would remove the plug wrapping… From what I have noticed, it is an ordeal for the roots to grow properly. I always remove the wrapping once I know it is there. The roots of some plants grow through the small holes in the wrap with no problem, but others have some difficulty and the roots become very cramped up.

Click HERE to view the Gasteria ‘Little Warty’ page. Gasteria ‘Little Warty’ is a cross between Gasteria batesiana x Gasteria ‘Old Man Silver’ from Australian hybridizer David Cumming.

 

The x Graptosedum ‘California Sunset’ is doing very well. Much better since I have found a proper name for it. My plant collecting friend from Mississippi, Walley, sent me a rooted stem in July 2018. It was pretty tall and the top part broke off. The leaves were green at the time he sent them, but with more light their colors came out. Eventually, I took leaf cuttings and left them on the back porch in full sun. They grew nicely and they have turned into a great looking pot of plants. One they looked like this I was able to find a positive ID. Well, I posted the photo on a Facebook group and several agreed x Graptosedum ‘California Sunset’ was the name. I checked Google Images and it looks good to me. That may not have been its original name, but that is what it is now. 🙂 You can look at photos of many x Graptosedum cultivars and they basically look the same. I don’t have a page for this plant yet…

Walley is an avid plant collector and travels to plant shows and many nurseries buying plants every year. His yard is incredible! Walley is an older gentleman whose wife passed away a while back. Then he started dating… I believe he may have found the right one because they have been spending a lot of time together and traveling for several months. So, I don’t know what his yard looks like now since he had other interests. I haven’t talked to him for a while, but I see his posts on Facebook. He is having a good time and that is very important. 🙂

 

I really like the Gymnocalycium saglionis (Giant Chin Cactus). How can you not like a plant that looks like this?  It is possibly the subspecies Gymnocalycium saglionis subsp. tilcarense described on Llifle. Plants of the World Online, however, says the subspecies is now a synonym of the species. I still don’t get it. I think maybe the botanists (and many others) that are trying to straighten out the multiple scientific name issue haven’t gotten around to approving many of the infraspecific names. I am sure there is a logical explanation. They were already approved at one point. I turned around and started telling Jade (the cat laying on my bed) my opinion. She looked at me like I was going to say something brilliant then laid her head back down and ave a big sigh. Hmmm… Not even the cat cares what I think about it. 🙂

ANYWAY! This AWESOME cactus now measures 2 3/4″ tall x 2 7/8″ wide. Of course, you can see that in the caption. Hmmm… I guess I need to say those were its measurements on October 11 since it is already November 13. How many more days will go by before I get this post finished?

This plant DOES have its own page which you can view by clicking HERE… There are more photos.

 

The Haworthiopsis limifolia (Fairy Washboard, File Leafed Haworthia) is looking very interesting as always. It measured 3 1/2″ tall x 3 1/8″ wide on October 11 and measured 2 3/8” tall x 3” when I brought it home from Wildwood Greenhouse in May. It is a really neat looking plant with the raised ridges on its leaves. Llifle lists several varieties of this plant but there are none listed on POWO. I have not repotted this plant since I brought it home because it was in a large enough pot already. I think it was probably bought as a plug then repotted at Wildwood… SOOOO, I should have checked to see if its roots are bound up inside a net. Hmmm… I didn’t think about it until I updated ‘Little Warty’s’ page…

You can view the Haworthiopsis limifolia page by clicking HERE.

 

Hmmm… To say the Huernia schneideriana (Dragon flower, Carrion Plant) has been growing would be an understatement. I kept it on an old milk crate along the wall on the front porch because it doesn’t like to much sun. It must have like this location because…

 

It is LOADED with flowers!

 

The flowers usually grow from the lower parts of the stem but…

 

These appear to be growing on the outside of the pot. That is because they are growing from a branch… The flowers are supposed to smell really bad which is where one of the common names comes from. They are so small who could tell.

I have had this particular plant since 2015 To view its own page click HERE.

Hopefully, someday the Stapelia gigantea will flower as much as the Huernia. Their flowers are HUGE so they might stick up the house.

That’s it for the third update! I still have two more which will be a little weird… I repotted a few cactus and succulents so it kind of screwed up the October updates. Hmmm… This is November. 🙂 I suppose I can continue with the updates and pretend I didn’t do the repotting yet. LOL!

Until next time, be safe and stay positive. Keep warm or cool depending on where you are.