November 2, 2009

Small Orthophytum's

Orthophytum vagans
Orthophytum 'Brittle Star'
Orthophytum conquistense







I don't know why but their is some thing I like about the small Orthophytum's. Some are clumping and some send out stolons. I have no idea how many small Orthophytum there are I only have about 7 or so.


October 29, 2009

Deuterocohnia

Deuterocohnia longipetala silver form


Deuterocohnia meziana
Deuterocohnia  brevispicata 

Deuterocohnia  brevispicata 

Their is about 20 different Deuterocohnia's they are:
 
Deuterocohnia brevifolia
Deuterocohnia brevispicata
Deuterocohnia chrysantha
Deuterocohnia digitata
Deuterocohnia glandulosa
Deuterocohnia haumanii
Deuterocohnia longipetala
Deuterocohnia lorentziana
Deuterocohnia lotteae
Deuterocohnia meziana var.
Deuterocohnia meziana carmineoviridiflora
Deuterocohnia recurvipetala
Deuterocohnia scapigera
Deuterocohnia strobilifera var. inermis
Deuterocohnia strobilifera
Deuterocohnia schreiteri
Deuterocohnia pedicellata
Deuterocohnia seramisiana
Deuterocohnia scapigera ssp. sanctae-crucis
Deuterocohnia gableana


Deuterocohnia flowers can be bright yellow or yellow to orange and red.
Some have the flowers on stems that can be 3 or 4 feet in height and some do not. The flowers come from the center of the plant kind of like Cryptanthus (if it does have flowers on stems the stems are small and I can't tell). The plants with flower on stems can flower the next year on the same stem. Unlike alot of bromeliad's, Deuterocohnia do not die after flowering.

 

October 12, 2009

Orthophytum maracasense variegated










I have the variegated (bottem 2 photo's) and the non-variegated (top photo) form of this plant, but I started to grow the variegated form in a large 10 inch pot just to see if it will get as large as some will do if in a big pot. As you can see from the photo it will. The largest pot I use to grow them was a 6 inch pot but most of the time it was 4 or 5 inch pot.

I think most people grow there plants in to small of a pot which will slow down how large the plants will get. They should try to grow them in larger pot with more drainage material, I use one part peat and 3 parts peal-lite and sometimes I will add some volcanic rock if it is a big pot.






The non-variegated form is in a 6 inch pot, I might try to grow it in a larger pot next summer.

October 7, 2009

New Specie of puya

 


This is a new Specie of puya.
This is the story I got:
The seed came from a herbarium sheets that was being look at for identification of a new specie.
Seeing some seed on the herbarium sheets, the person though he would try and see if they would grow, guess what, it did and this is one of thoese plants.

I do not know how old it was or how many seed was on the herbarium sheets. I did see only about 6 or 8 plant from that seed.
The tag reads: Puya species cayata Ecuador HL 1-08

October 1, 2009

Orthophytum 'Stardust'




Orthophytum lemei X gurkenii

This Orthophytum when in flower get so big and heavy in falls over well before the pups start to show up.

I get alot of my plants from Tropiflora and this is what they say in one of the Cargo Report's sbout this plant

"Orthophytum ‘Stardust’ A very handsome cross of gurkenii x lemei by Michael Kiehl. Wide brownish leaves are heavily scurf-covered, giving the plant a silvery or slightly pinkish color. The inflorescence is a tall scape with short, burr-like branches made up of short, stiff, reddish colored bracts and white flowers."

This plant did not come from Tropiflora and I don't remember were I got it. My tag reads: Orthophytum lemei x gurkenii. When you see a cross like this one where gurkenii x lemei, gurkenii would be the seed plant but this lemei x gurkenii were lemei would be the seed plant.

This plant is in a 8 inch pot.

September 28, 2009

Dyckia marnier-lapostollei plus







These 3 plants are some of the most beautiful dyckia's. Some what wide leaves for a dyckia with silver frosty look with a bit of purple.
The top plant is Dyckia 'Avalanche' Dyckia marnier-lapostollei var. estevesii x fosteriana x platyphylla.
Middle plant is Dyckia marnier-lapostollei.
And the bottom plant is Dyckia marnier-lapostollei var. estevesii

September 20, 2009

Dyckia 'Cherry Coke'

Dyckia 'Cherry Coke' this plant everyone should have. It is not rare or that hard to come by. It is just is a great plant, color all the time, easy to care for makes offsets all the time. The plant in the photo mostly only get water when it rains in my yard and look how good it looks. It's in a 10 inch pot.


September 17, 2009

Front yard













The top photo is of my front yard. Photo was taken in July 2006. The tall cactus is gone and so it the Yucca rostrata. A Yucca weevil did a way on my Yucca rostrata and I did a way with the cactus.


The photo's below are from today.

September 16, 2009

Dyckia Chocolate



I think this is a Dyckia platyphylla hyb. can't find anything about who made it.


A nice plant some what hard to grow well. Doesn't like cold and doesn't like to stay wet.

 

Deuterocohnia lotteae




Only have this one for about a year and it has not flowered. Can't wait for it to flower as the flowers should be red. A small green plant only about 2 inches.

Deuterocohnia brevispicata x Dyckia reitzii var. rubra


This is a xDyckcohnia a bigeneric hybrid.

Deuterocohnia brevispicata
x

Dyckia reitzii var. rubra

Deuterocohnia brevispicata is a large plants with large spines all green and will flower from the same flower stem for more then one year

Dyckia reitzii var. rubra I do not have so I can't tell you anything about it, I have been looking for it seems no one has it any more.


I guess this plant get it color from Dyckia reitzii var. rubra.


Have had this plant for about 6 years has not flowered and made any off sets.








Deuterocohnia brevispicata a big and bad bromeliad. I need to re-pot this but I am frightened just thinking of it.

September 15, 2009

Encholirium horridum x Hechtia macdougallii


This is not my plant (wish it was). this plant has it all, great color, no spines plus get large. Is this some thing?


Encholirium horridum

x

Hechtia macdougallii

Who would have thought this cross would made a spineless plant?

September 14, 2009

Encholirium horridum



I love the shape of this plant a nice ball. I have seen this plant growing in the ground and it's doesn't look this nice with its leavers on the ground. A hard to come by plant because it doesn't make pups of offsets you have to grow it from seed. Easy to grow and some what fast. With the leaves covering the pot you have to make sure it get water.

September 13, 2009

Puya mirabilis


This Puya can get larger if you let it and I do have one in a 3 gallon pot. But if you keep it in a small pot it will stay small for a longer time and flower like this one is doing.

I don't like this plant much brcause it has small spines that come off easy and are hard to remove plus the flowers do not last that long. It will make seeds with out any help if you would like more of them. Oh no.

Deuterocohnia longipetala


I have 3 different clones of Deuterocohnia longipetala this is the best white one.
So far this is a small plant in a 8 inch pot. I have some Deuterocohnia's that are in a 3 gallon pot and need to be in a much bigger pot.

September 9, 2009

Orthophytum glabrum




Anyone see Orthophytum glabrum do this? Or is it some thing else?

The photo on top is the way Orthophytum glabrum always flower but the photo below it shows what this is doing. I a few pots of what I though was Orthophytum glabrum but it might be something else.

August 30, 2009

Dyckia brevifolia Moon Glow / Dyckia 'Yellow Glow'





I have few
Dyckia brevifolia 'Moon Glow'/ Dyckia 'Yellow Glow' plants, but not all turn yellow like the ones in the photo.

All are from the same plant in the photo but show no yellow all, why is this?
















August 20, 2009

Hechtia caerulea and tillandsioides?











Hechtia caerulea is the top 2 photos


One of my favorite Hechtia's is caerulea and tillandsioides. Why? No spines to eat you. Hechtia caerulea has small lavender flowers and Hechtia tillandsioides small white flowers. They look the same until they come in to flower, Hechtia tillandsioides is a larger plant of the two. I could be wrong about the names of these two plants. I have seen the name Hechtia lindmanioides and purpusii also for these plants and also the differences may just be male and female plants. I an really confused about that they are. But I like them.