My Top Ten Plants of 2010

There have been lots of ups and downs among the leaves this year. I've embraced a whole new category of plants (Bromeliads) and all but given up on others (Hedera, Begonia.) At various times, I've battled fungus gnats, aphids, spider mites, mealy bug, scale and white flies. (Out of these, only the mealies prevailed: I had to throw away my Hoya multiflora because I just could not get rid of the damned things. Over the years, I have occasionally had plants succumb to scale or spider mites, but with diligence, I can usually get the upper hand with them. But I've never won a battle with mealies, ever.) I've dealt with sunburn, root rot, and naughty cats (apparently, Nolina recurvata looks like something good to nibble on.) But there have been a few plants that have done well, caused or attracted minimal trouble, and just made me consistently happy over the past year. Here, in alphabetical order, (because I couldn't make up my mind how to rank them otherwise) are my top ten favorite houseplants of 2010.

1. Aechmea fasciata: This is a plant I was once afraid to try. I was sure that once I got one home, the flowers would immediate fade, the inflorescence would shrivel, and the plant would die soon after. Instead, the little blue flowers lasted a good while, the pink inflorescence lasted for months, and not only is the mother plant still looking good, there is also a good sized offset.

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2. Aloe greenii x lineata: This made the list as a first time bloomer this year.

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3. Astrophytum capricorne: This is another first time bloomer. The flower was impressive, but I think my favorite thing about this plant is its crown of thorns. (Yes, I know cactus have spines, not thorns, but crown of spines doesn't have the same ring to it.)

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4. x Chamaelovibia 'Captain Jessop': I'm not 100% certain of the ID. What I am certain about is that this little cactus put on a hell of a show this year. It is only 2.5 inches tall, but it bloomed three times, each time with flowers bigger than the plant itself.

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5. Epiphyllum 'David W. Grant' : Cacti were a big hit with me this year, apparently. At any rate, after several years with no flowers whatever, my only Epi bloomed twice, once in May, then again in October. The plant itself is rather ugly, but the flowers are wonderful.

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6. Hoya carnosa 'Krimson Queen': This plant needs no special care, continues to grow like a weed, has beautiful leaves, and bloomed all summer long. It also inspired one of my favorite posts and accompanying photo series: Six out of Seven

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7. Mammillaria formosa subsp. microthele: Once again the ID is a bit tentative, but there is nothing tentative about my love for what will always be Mom's Plant

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8. Monstera deliciosa: Another perennial sentimental favorite, because I grew it from seed, and because it is awesome. It survived a scale infestation this year, and keeps on putting out big, beautiful leaves.

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9. Sansevieria hallii: A handsome, trouble-free plant that grows slowly, but steadily. This year's new leaf ended up being taller and thicker than all the others that came before it.

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10. Vriesea splendens: The plant that started my successful entry into the wonderful world of Bromeliads. It went seamlessly from blooming to pupping, and continues to grow larger. And I love the dark patterned foliage.

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Honorable mention: Aglaonema. I can't single out a particular plant or species. Every one of my Ags is doing well and remains trouble free.


I'm looking forward to the coming year of growing. I know there are going to be difficulties. But I know just as certainly that there will be delights.

Possible Identification of "Mom's Plant"

In a February, I made post about my uncanny ability to zero in on, and purchase Mammillarias, despite preferring cactus with showier blooms. In that post, I wrote about a cactus that I could never seem to identify, a gift from my mother. Here is what I wrote then:

"About ten years ago, my mother took a trip to Las Vegas. As a side excursion, she and her friends also visited the Grand Canyon. At a gift shop nearby, she spotted a tiny plant in a tiny pot with "Grand Canyon" handpainted on the side and decided to pick it up for her plant-loving daughter. She flew home to New York with it in her purse. (Can you imagine what airport security would say if you tried to put a cactus in your carry-on these days?) She told me "I thought you'd like this to go with your other cactuses." The thing is, I didn't have any other cactuses, and the only succulents I owned were some Sansevierias. My apartment had obstructed west windows, and wasn't sunny enough for succulents. But I was determined to keep my gift alive and well. I balanced the little pot directly on the top of a window sash, right near the lock, so it would get the most sunlight possible. Three years later, when I moved to Illinois, it was still alive and moved with me. In its first summer outdoors, it bloomed. It had kind of nondescript, straw-colored flowers, but I loved them anyway. It is in a bigger pot now, but it still spends winters on top of a window sash, for optimum light, and it blooms every year....

I've never been able to identify it, despite asking in a couple of different forums and poring over picture after picture. It is small, solitary and plain. But I will always treasure it. My mom died suddenly last year, so it is now something special to remember her by. It gave me great pleasure to be able to show it to her in bloom in 2005 when she visited me here in Illinois. And I'll always smile when I think about her with a cactus in her purse."

Well, I now think I know what it is: Mammillaria formosa subsp. microthele.

Mom's plant, just beginning to bloom, this week. It will eventually have a ring of these small, pinkish flowers. (This photo is especially large when opened in a new window.)

Its solitary growth habit thus far is what was throwing me off, I think. Most pictures I've seen show it forming a clump of several heads.

But, ID or no ID, I will always treasure this plant.

This and That

It was a lovely day here among the leaves, and I spent most of it outdoors, cleaning up my garden. Sometimes it is hard to focus on house plants this time of year. But there are some goings-on to report.

Some of the flowers have opened on the Noid Mammillaria I wrote about in my last post, and they are lovely. The pink color was washed out a bit by the flash; it is deeper and richer than in the photograph.

I've tentatively ID'd this as Mammillaira zeilmanniana, but that could change. In the meantime, I've nicknamed it Captain Hook.

I decided to make a new Haworthia bowl using the Haworthia attenuata and NoId Haworthia I purchased last weekend.

The third plant is an Haworthia tessellata. I wish I'd have noticed the bits of gravel between its leaves before I took the picture. D'oh!

Last but not least, the buds on the plant that I had tentatively ID'd as Mammillaria spinosissima 'Un Pico' have opened. Again, the photo doesn't do justice to the pink of the flowers.

Mammillaria spinosissima 'Un Pico,' I believe

Despite the length of the spines, this plant is not nearly as treacherous as "Captain Hook."

I Can't Seem to Stop: More New C & S

On Saturday, my husband and I went to Home Depot to pick up some topsoil to level an area in our back yard. Of course, I had to wander into the houseplant section. And of course, I couldn't resist the impulse to buy new plants. So for the fourth time this month, I found myself purchasing small pots of cacti and succulents.

Clockwise from the top left: Haworthia NoId, crested Echeveria (perhaps E. runyonii) NoId Mammillaria, some cactus or other that is not a Mammillaria, and a Haworthia attenuata variety. These are in 1.5 inch pots.

I was drawn to the Mammillaria largely because it was the only plant with real flower buds in a sea of glu-fers (Garden Web C&S forum slang for cacti with glued-on strawflowers, a heinous marketing ploy among certain suppliers.) This Mammillaria returned my admiration and became quite attached to me. Literally. This thing has really horrible hooked spines that stuck in my skin while I was setting up this photograph, and refused to let go. The whole plant was dangling from my fingertips, and hurt like hell. I had to call my husband for assistance.

Up close and personal with the hooked spines.

The other NoId cactus. I think those might be beginnings of flower buds at the crown, which I why I bought this one.

Not to be outdone, Bob picked up the non-Mammillaria cactus and found himself with a spine embedded in his finger. And to think, I don't buy Opuntiads because I'm afraid that the animals might hurt themselves. If tonight was any indication, I think the biggest danger would be to the Homo sapiens in the household.

Yes, Mamm

I'm not a huge cactus fan, but I do have a few. When looking at other people's collections, what generally catches my eye are the large, showy flowers. "I need to get some of those," I tell myself. But then, whenever I am tempted to actually purchase a cactus, what genus do I gravitate toward? Mammillaria. It took me a while to realize this, since I suffer from partial cactus blindness--I have trouble telling one genus from another. While Mammillaria flowers are pretty, they do tend to be on the small side. But there is something about the shape of the plants and the patterns of the spines kept attracting me, so I bought plant after plant without realizing what they were.

And so the other day, while wandering through K-Mart, a display of fresh cacti and succulents caught my eye. In addition to purchasing a couple of small Crassulas and Sedums, I was enchanted by this little cactus:

My new purchase. A look through the Mammillaria pages at CactiGuide.com makes me think that it might be Mammillaria spinosissima 'Un Fico'

By now, my cactus vision has improved somewhat: I can usually recognize Mammillarias when I see them. But I thought this plant was charming, and I bought it anyway. If it does turn out to be Mammillaria spinosissima "Un Fico," then it will have fairly large flowers for the genus.

Here are some of my other plants:

Mammillaria elongata

A cute little NoId that I've posted about previously

Another NoId Mammillaria. M. karwinskiana ssp. nejapensis was once suggested to me as a possible ID.

I believe this is Mammillaria bombycina

I would like to talk about my very first Mammillaria, which was also my very first cactus ever. About ten years ago, my mother took a trip to Las Vegas. As a side excursion, she and her friends also visited the Grand Canyon. At a gift shop nearby, she spotted a tiny plant in a tiny pot with "Grand Canyon" handpainted on the side and decided to pick it up for her plant-loving daughter. She flew home to New York with it in her purse. (Can you imagine what airport security would say if you tried to put a cactus in your carry-on these days?) She told me "I thought you'd like this to go with your other cactuses." The thing is, I didn't have any other cactuses, and the only succulents I owned were some Sansevierias. My apartment had obstructed west windows, and wasn't sunny enough for succulents. But I was determined to keep my gift alive and well. I balanced the little pot directly on the top of a window sash, right near the lock, so it would get the most sunlight possible. Three years later, when I moved to Illinois, it was still alive and moved with me. In its first summer outdoors, it bloomed. It had kind of nondescript, straw-colored flowers, but I loved them anyway. It is in a bigger pot now, but it still spends winters on top of a window sash, for optimum light, and it blooms every year. I couldn't find a decent picture of it in bloom, but here it is now:

My mother's gift. It is a bit shrunken at the moment, since it doesn't get watered in the winter, but it will look larger and a bit less densely spined once its seasonal rest is over.

I've never been able to identify it, despite asking in a couple of different forums and poring over picture after picture. It is small, solitary and plain. But I will always treasure it. My mom died suddenly last year, so it is now something special to remember her by. It gave me great pleasure to be able to show it to her in bloom in 2005 when she visited me here in Illinois. And I'll always smile when I think about her with a cactus in her purse.