Tales from the Cryptanthus

Well, more like tales of the Cryptanthus, because while I may be a Crazy Plant Lady, I am not under the impression that plants talk to me. (Nor do I talk to them; if they want extra carbon dioxide, they can get it themselves.)

Anyway, I find the Earth Stars to be cool plants, so I've accumulated a few more this summer. I believe that these are all varieties of Cryptanthus bivittatus:

Cryptanthus bivittatus 'Ruby'

Cryptanthus bivittatus 'Pink Starlite,' I think

NoId Cryptanthus bivittatus varieties

All of the above were purchased at Home Depot, where I also saw what has got to be the worst example of plant marketing I've ever seen. Plant hucksters have been gluing strawflowers on cactus for years. Recently, they've been dyeing Phalaenopsis orchids blue. And now, they are giving us painted Cryptanthus:

Cryptanthus varieties defiled with pink and red enamel. These photos were taken surreptitiously in the store with my cellphone, (try saying that 5 times fast) hence the blurriness. These were in dish gardens, and in the one with the red paint, there is a naturally pink Crypt on the left.

This is ridiculous. I doubt the leaves will stay healthy with that stuff on them. Also, the painting was quite slapdash, and the result was ugly and totally unnatural-looking. It looked like a toddler had run amok with Mommy's nail polish.

But there are cute and clever things one can do with Crypts, as seen here in a couple of pics I took at the Chicago Botanic Gardens last week:

Flamingo topiaries in the Sub-tropical Greenhouse

Closer view of one of the flamingos, showing how densely the Cryptanthus are planted

I'm not usually a topiary fan, but I found these to be fun and fabulous uses of both form and color. Not something I'd try myself (where would I get enough crypts, let alone enough patience?) but definitely something that I can appreciate and enjoy sharing.

From the CBG, September and October 2010

Although it is open all year round, I tend not to visit the Chicago Botanic Garden from late fall until the early spring. For one, it is more than an hour's drive away from my home, and I don't care much for driving, even in the best of weather. (As anyone who has experienced one knows, Chicagoland winters do not fall into the category of "the best of weather.")

So these will probably be my last photographs from the CBG for a while.

Views from the Arid Greenhouse, which has been looking very nice lately. They have been sprucing the place up and adding new plants in the last several months.


Here is one of the new plants. The tag reads: Kalanchoe thryrisifolia 'Fantastic.' I really like the white variegation.

On to the Tropical Greenhouse. I have to admit, I'm not a big Cordyline fan. I like pink plants, I like purple plants. But something about the coloration of many of the Cordyline fruticosa varieties I've seen just seems discordant to my eyes. Not this one:

Cordyline fruticosa 'Bolero Bicolor.' This just about took my breath away.

I also like this one. Unfortunately I couldn't fine the identification tag, but I definitely recognize it as a Cordyline.

On to the outdoors. I like Dahlia flowers a lot, but I seldom plant any in my garden, because they seem to be earwig magnets. But I like admiring them elsewhere, and I thought this was both unusual and beautiful:

Dahlia 'Juul's Allstar.' I love the curled petals.

I often end my CBG posts with a picture of some of the ducks that frequent the water garden areas. Here is a something a bit bigger:

Trumpeter swan, (Cygnus buccinator.) The Garden has two pair of these, who apparently live there year round.

This picture is an example of the magic of both zooming and cropping. Though I wasn't very far away, this close would have been too close for comfort. I like my wildlife, especially really large, potentially foul-tempered fowl, at a bit of a distance.

Bringing In, Bringing On the Blooms

Maybe they are feeling a bit stressed by the change in the environment, since they've been brought indoors where it is warmer and less sunny. Maybe it is just the right time of year. But anyway, several of my succulents have decided that now is the time for producing flowers.

Aloe 'Doran Black'

Aloe greenii x lineata with bloom stalk. This will be the first time this plant has flowered in the four years I've owned it.

Unidentified Euphorbia. This is the third round of buds since early spring for this plant.

I meant to cut the rosette of this Echeveria runyonii from its leggy stem to re-root, but never got around to it. Small offsets are forming at the base of the stem.

E. runyonii blooms up close. It is hard to get a good picture because of the reflective nature of the plant's glaucous coating, which is why the flowers seem washed out in both pictures. They are much more orange in person. Also your blogger needs hand lotion, since her fingertips appear to have developed a glaucous coating of their own.

Echeveria 'Black Prince' just getting started. Its flowers will be red-orange, if I recall correctly.

Unidentified Echeveria. The "rosette" to the left is actually atop a bloom stalk, which is hard to see at this angle. I think this will be the first time for flowers from this plant.

One thing that makes me think that it just happens to be blooming season, for the Aloes at least, is a recent trip to the Chicago Botanic Gardens, where their grouping of Aloe thraskii either in bud or in flower.

Aloe thraskii group at the CBG earlier this year

Plants in bud yesterday, with a blooming Yucca (I think) in the background

Closer pictures of an A. thraskii in bud

Plant in bloom

Finally, at least one cat's curiosity got the better of him during today's photo session:

Luke says "Hi!"

Bird of Paradise, and Art Among the Leaves

I own two Bird-of-Paradise plants, one Strelitzia nicolai, aka White Bird of Paradise, named for its white flowers, and Strelitzia reginae, which has the more familiar orange flowers. Because they are indoor plants, I do not expect to see them flower anytime soon. The brightest light I can provide for them indoors is bright enough for them to grow nice foliage, but I'm sure that it is not bright enough for blooming.

Previously posted picture of my Strelitzia reginae. I grew this from seed in 2003 or 2004, so I suppose it is still a bit immature for blooming, even if I had better light for it. This is the first season I didn't put it outside for the summer. I plan to do so in the future, as I believe that is the best way to induce it to flower, if indeed it ever will.

Strelitzia nicolai, center. As I understand it, these almost never flower in the home, regardless of conditions, but are great foliage plants. Peppermint (bottom right) finds it, like all plants, unworthy of his interest.

But even if my plants refuse to cooperate, I do get to enjoy one Strelitzia flower in my home:

Bird in Paradise, 1996, by my husband Bob. The flower was drawn from life; the background landscape is drawn from his imagination.

When we first got together, Bob had this colored-pencil work in storage in the basement, as for some reason, he wasn't particularly fond of it. But I loved it from the first time I saw it, so he had it matted and framed, and now it hangs outside the door to our bedroom, in our upstairs hallway. Our home is filled with his artwork, and my plants, and I love it when they complement each other in this way.

And this past week, I finally got to see a blooming BOP plant in person. A specimen in the Chicago Botanic Gardens Tropical Greenhouse had a solitary bloom.

Strelitzia reginae flower. Though I have seen them in tropical bouquets, this is the first time I've seen one attached to a plant.

Full plant from the CBG. Much taller than my S. reginae, but much shorter than my S. nicolai.

More of Bob's artwork can be seen here, on our family website. A post featuring his stained glass work, juxtaposed with my houseplants, can be found by clicking the "Art" label at the end of this post.

In Praise of Succulents: Euphorbia edition

In a post from last November, called An Unexpected Favorite, I shared my thoughts on my largest Euphorbia lactea. I also mentioned that I find Euphorbias in general fascinating, and a little scary, what with their often vicious spines and equally vicious (and viscous) sap. But I delight in their dangerousness, not unlike girls who go for bad boys. And like certain so-called bad boys, who are real sweethearts once you get them home, these have all been a pleasure to have around the house.

The Euphorbia lactea that I wrote about previously. The non-crested portion of the plant continues to grow at a much more rapid pace than the crest. I have finally noticed some growth in the crest this summer.

Another view of the same plant on the porch along with the NoId Euphorbia I wrote about last week, and two small crested E. lactea. At least I think the pinkish one is an E. lactea.

Euphorbia milii. There are two different varieties in one pot. As seen here, the variety with the darker, more rounded leaves has pink flowers. The plant with the longer paler leaves has bi-colored flowers that are predominately yellow.

Known in my household as the "Evil Pointy Plant of Death" my Euphorbia tortirama, here and below, is currently in bloom.

I took particular delight in taking some pictures of Euphorbias during my last few trips to the Chicago Botanic Gardens:

Euphorbia abyssinica variegata, the full plant in all its convoluted glory above, and a closeup below.

I'm sorry that I didn't note the name of this species, but I love its variegation, which can be seen more easily here below. The flowers in both pictures are from a nearby Aloe. Edited to Add 9/9/10: I saw the tag today. The plant is Euphorbia pseudocactus.

Last, and certainly not least, is a Euphorbia lactea crest that puts my little plants to shame.

Of course, I haven't had 100 percent success with Euphorbias; I've lost both Euphorbia obesa and Euphorbia suzannae in the past. But those small setbacks have left me eager to try both again in the future.

In Praise of Succulents: Kalanchoe/Bryophyllum Edition

What can I say about the related genera Kalanchoe and Bryophyllum that I haven't already said about succulents in general? They are attractive, easy to care for, and come in a variety of shapes, colors and forms. These plants will put up with less-than-ideal indoor lighting better, than say, Echeveria. They seem equally happy under fluorescent lights, or in my south window during their winter indoors. Their only downside is a tendency to drop leaves and get leggy over time, which is not uncommon among succulents. A leggy Kalanchoe tends to look like a peculiar palm tree, with a notched stem and a small crown of leaves up top. Even that has a simple remedy: Take cuttings and start anew. The cuttings root quickly, and the stumps that are left behind will usually sprout new growth.

On the downside, they are quicker to sunburn than some other plants. They are also not the best plants if you want consistent flowering indoors (except of course for the ubiquitous Kalanchoe blossefeldiana.) I have, however, been treated to Bryophyllum flowers now and again.

Here is a selection of most of the plants of this group that I'm growing at the present:

Two Kalanchoe beharensis flank a Kalanchoe orgyalis. The plant on the left sprouted from the stumps left behind when I took the cuttings that resulted in the plant on the right. More detail can be seen if this photo is clicked for the larger version.

Closer view of K. orgyalis. I do find this a bit more difficult to grow than my other Kalanchoes, but I keep trying because those coppery leaves are worth it.

Rooted K. orgyalis cuttings in a 2.5 inch pot

K. beharensis 'Napoleon's Hat' This was one of those with a small crown of leaves on a tall stem, so I cut it back about three weeks ago. It has already rooted.

Kalanchoe tomentosa varieties. I believe that might be K. tomentosa 'Chocolate Soldier' on the right.

Kalanchoe luciae

Two different pots of Kalanchoe beharensis 'Nudum.' This one has also been a bit difficult for me. I started out with a couple of large cuttings in 2005, which was slow to root, and then never flourished. But I was able to salvage some leaves, which produced the two smallish plants seen here.

Kalanchoe millotii

NoId Bryophyllum variety

Bryophyllum tubiflorum, one of the Mother-of-Thousands species. You can see the plantlets on the leaf tips, ready to drop and cause mayhem. I really don't mind having these pop up in my other plants from time to time, but I can see how they can cause problems for other growers, and become invasive in the wild.

A petite Bryophyllum NoId. Another eager propagator.

Here are some Kalanchoe pictures from the Chicago Botanic Garden from this year and last. They seem to be favorites in the Sensory Garden outdoors, where plants with different textures are often featured.

Kalanchoe beharensis 'Fang' from this year. The little protrusions on the bottoms of the leaves, which give this variety its name, can be seen in the larger view.

Also from this year, in the greenhouse. This is identified only as Kalanchoe beharensis cvv.

Same variety, outdoor in the Sensory Garden last year. Though it looks smooth, it actually has a velvety texture. Though, to speak in fabric terms, the "nap" isn't as thick as the Kalanchoe beharensis varieties that I grow.

Previously posted picture of Kalanchoe thrysiflora, from last year's Sensory Garden.