Epiphyllum blooming season in SoCal

                                              German Empress hybrid
This is epiphyllum blooming season in So Cal. Always forget how spectacular they are. This year the pink and  coral shades are blooming  now on the place, and reds are in the nurseries.

Epi’s bloom through the spring and into summer. My experience is that the bloom times are fairly unpredictable, but my plants are from plants that were 50 years old  when the cuttings, unnamed, were made. Modern hybrids are possibly more reliable?

America's Sweetheart hybrid

In  innocence (polite term  for ignorance) thought I could easily give a description of the various types of epi’s. Wrong. To generalize madly---modern epi’s are the result of hybridization with day blooming  types, hyliocerius and night blooming cereus.( The best account of the epiphyllum species is probably the website Got Epi’s ( http://gotepis.com/drupal/node/4.--- )   Highly recommended.

Meanwhile the word epiphyllum comes from Greek and means “upon the leaf” which is where the blooms occur.

                                                               e. akermanii

Though hard to classify neatly, most epiphyllum are easy to grow in So Cal--they like dappled shade, bloom best growing  in pots (mimicking the tree forks they like in their natural state), a bit of water, but not too much--every 10 days in the summer is good--- a potting soil for terrestial orchids works . Or use a formula especially for epis consisting of potting soil, bark, a bit of perlite. In other words-rich but fast draining. Every grower has his own perfect recipe.

                                                           Epi Rose Samoa
Generally grown from cuttings--- hopefully find a friend for free ones--- or a vendor on the Internet. Actually the free ones might come into bloom faster, if you can score an old leaf. Epi's bloom on older leaves. Vendors generally supply newer leaves, which are going to take maybe 3 years to come into flower.

 Epis are first cousins to Dragon Fruit ( a hyliocereus) (see earlier blog August 22 , 2011) . DF's take 2-3 years to begin flowering and fruiting. All hybrid epi's have hyliocerues in their parentage, otherwise they'd bloom only at night. The colored day blooming epi's have night blooming cereus in their parentage if they are fragrant. ( Surmise! This is tricky stuff. ) Here is the Night Blooming Cereus in one of the most goth illustrations around:

   From  Dr. Robert John Thorton’s The Temple of Flora.                                  1799.**

                                                                         

Though hard to see in this print, in the background there's  a clock tower pointing to midnight, emphasizing that the cereus flower lasts only for one night. It is very  scented.

Caveat emptor-- many of the plants called night blooming cereus aren't. They are epiphyllum oxypetallum which is a glorious and dazzling plant in it's own right.

                         Queen of the Night (Epiphyllum Oxypetalum)

The leaves of the Queen are flat, epi leaves.Night blooming cereus has funny, spiny,gangling  round leaves.( see 1799 illustration above)

                      Here is Night Blooming Cereus climbing a palm tree

 Some Night blooming cereus are temperamental along the So Cal coast. (Epi's aren't) Had one cereus that grew and lived for many years but never bloomed.Triangular leaf. Acanthocereus tetragonus. Too dry for it at 1200 feet up in the foothills.Acanthocereus tetragonust is a native of S. Florida, needs a more humid, tropical climate than our semi-arid foothills.Might grow along the coast in a sheltered hot spot?

                      

                               This one is also called Barbed Wire plant

Another cereus that blooms profusely along the coast in So Cal is c. peruvianus, which also bears fruit (pitahaya) . It blooms at night (of course) is scented and grows fast. Mine used to bloom in July. Gave it away and planted an apple tree instead.( Like apples better than pitahaya.)

                  c.peruvianus                         

Bet you're  glad we got that  sorted out.....

The weather this spring has swung so madly from hot to cold, accompanied by late rains it’s  no wonder the epis are in major  survival mode.” If the plant is very healthy it doesn't feel threatened and won't bloom"* We like to think plants bloom and fruit trees bare when they are happy. This is—to an extent, true. But they also react to stress by  blooming more and setting more fruit to ensure their survival, much as the human birth rate rises in times of war.

                                                                  St. Louis Spring hybrid

Stormy Weather

This one is a favorite-tempramental bloomer- but worth the wait for its fushia interior and scarlet exterior. The plant is about 20 years old. Blooms best if left in at least 1/2 day sun along the coast. Move into shade once blooms are set.

See even more epi's having a survival party at :
                                            EPICON XIII
                    The 13th International Epiphyllum Convention May 26 & 27, 2012
             http://www.sandiegoepi.com/epi/epicon_xiii

Notes

* quote from Got Epi's

** This has recently been re- published in several editions

Clivias--blooming now-great colors

                                           Clivia hybrid Gloria 

The last time I looked at clivias for sale was back in the Jurassic apparently, since I had no idea clivias come in peach, yellow, white, orange and green.

Clivia originates in S. Africa, and is pefectly adapted to So Cal—and surprisingly tough if grown in light shade. Gets by just fine on whatever rainfall we have. Available locally for gardens are the usual suspects in orange and salmon.

                                               c.orange
 

                                  Teaparty hybrids from                                           (northamericancliviasociety.org bred by Tom Wells)
However, if this is not enough glory—you can buy very fancy (ie fairly  expensive--- about $8.00 U.S dollars for a packet of3 )--- seed for clivias in an amazing range of color and form and grow them in pots, take them to shows and win prizes . ( It does, however take about 3-4 years for them to flower from seed.)
 
Local nurseries have both orange and yellow plants in stock at about the same price as agapanthas. ( A bargain.)
 
 For seed try  (http://www.hiltonclivias.co.za/sales/pictures/listings/44_29.jpgsee). Or http://www.capeseedandbulb.com/ or http://cliviamart.com/, or http://cliviausa.com/. The last site is the most informative.

What’s more, there’s a Clivia Society http://www.cliviasociety.org/    Who knew?

 Much tempted to take a flyer on some seed and fling myself into the whole clivia adventure.

Growing clivias:

 Clivia  leaves will burn in the sun, so in the interior valleys in So Cal, under  50% shade cloth is the easiest way to grow them.

                                                    Salmon
For those devoted readers in northern climes who want to grow clivias as houseplants see Google where copious notes abound on growing them as indoor plants. Basically the same culture as a hippeastrum.
                                  

My experience is to grow them as you would an agapantha, but be sure the clivias are in shade. Regular garden soil. Mine have grown happily for a lot of years with almost no care. They bloom in the spring—right now along the So Cal coast. Being so cavalier with them is possible because they are S. African, Cape of Good Hope native----and their  original climate is so much like ours. 

                                               

You know my methods, Watson……Clivias were first  collected c. 1814 by William John Burchell

                                  

     

Accompanied by 10 Hottentots and 2  wagons Burchell explored and collected 50,00 plants to the Royal Botanical Garden at Kew, funding the expedition himself. ( He was the son of a wealthy nurseryman so he had both money and practical experience.) You can read his Travels as a Google digitalized book----free ** 

Burchell’s book about his expedition was  apparently , or possibly (?) inspired by Humboldt. Burchelle followed Humbodt’s footsteps to S. America (Brazil) kept copious notes which he left to Kew. His Travels in the Interior of Southern Africa, was published and re-printed in 1967.

Burchell's watercolor of crossing the Berg River

He also found  this very decorative zebra:

                                                                              

  Burchell encouraged the British settlement of S. Africa which eventuated in the Boer War; Britain wresting South Africa from both the native S. Africans and the Boer settlers. They had proceeded the British in appreciating the wonders of the Cape climate, flora and fauna.

Despite his achievements Burchell  he never attained super hero status. .Burchell’s efforts were not fully recognised by his contemporaries. ( Darwin’s Voyage of the Beagle was a hard act to follow.)

 Burchell,was unlucky in love (his fiancé jilted him). His outstanding work as a botanist went largely under-appreciated. He became reclusive  in his later years and ended up committing suicide

. His delicate sensibility is evident in this water color from his South American travels.
                      

                                
                          The Beach at Rio de Janiero

Clivias are his present to the present. Burchell  may not have been a super hero but he was asplendid botanist, artist  and plant explorer, and an interested observer of Cape life under the Dutch.

Here's his water color of a kraal.    

     Notes: http://www.americancliviasociety.org/Article-5.html. *from an article in the American Clivia Society website.

** For Travels in the Interior of S. Africa- go to: http://play.google.com/books/reader?id=4r8NAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&hl=en

Recommended, free and entertaining. Thank you Google!

                 

                               

                                         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cloud forest concept and Alexander Humbolt



                

                                             the Humboldt Current



Pelicans feeding -Humboldt Current

 The Humboldt Current ---isn't that somewhere off South America? What is it anyway?

 It's the cold current that creates some of the world's richest fishing grounds,* and makes for excellent  wines from South America. It creates cloud forests.

                                            Cloud Forest

 It is one of the few reminders in the New World of it's least appreciated , super hero naturalists, Alexander Humboldt.

The idea that a climate  could being more than one place—that a cloud forest can exist in on the Olympic Peninsula, in Guatemala, in Brazil, on the Azores—that breadth of conception we owe to  Humboldt, naturalist, geographer and explorer in the New World.

 Humboldt is an Promethean character on all counts. He’s a figure of the Late Enlightenment, or an early Romantic, depending on what you see in his work. (He and Napoleon were born in the same year, and despite the fact most of us have never heard of him, in his own time ,Humboldt was as well known as was Napoleon.)

  Here’s his self-portrait (did I mention he was an accomplished artist and draftsman as well?)

 Humboldt was absurdly well educated, a Romantic, a radical, a Prussian aristocrat (?) who  lived most of his life in France, wrote in French, and  was a freethinker like Jefferson. Yet --- Humboldt  persuaded the king of Spain to let him travel, and explore  Spanish S. America---the first "heretic" allowed in since the Conquest  (c. 1634)

                    Humboldt  mapped and explored the Orinoco River ( 1799-1804 )                      

one of the world's great river system-- enormous, swarming with extraordinary animals . He entered  and described a region totally unknown to most Europeans. The Orinoco area is steaming—4 ° from the Equator                   

                    

Humboldt and his botanist companion, Aime Bonpland, travelled by dugout canoe accompanied by mountains of equipment --a miracle in itself--- and encountered an Alice in Wonderland collection of   animals.

Dugout canoes, present day, Orinoco River

                         The cabybara, a kind of giant guinea pig


                      

                   much favored as a snack by the native jaguars and crocodiles

(Jaguars, in turn, were hunted for their coats by the Carib Indians of the region)

                                      Orinoco crocodile (50 feet not unusual)

Humboldt wrote about the creatures, plants, Indians, mission fathers in his Personal Narrative --(out in paperback with a wonderful cover.)

Humboldt, looking the Byronic hero, accompanied by Aimé Bonpland, busily taking notes (Bonpland did a lot of the grunt work) and various indigenous people who managed to transport everyone and all the equipment in the dugout canoes--the most "tender" of crafts--without losing any person to the caimans or crocodiles. (En passant , Humboldt also  described the piranha.)

The tone of the Personal Narrative is cool---intrepid, good-humored in the modern translation.  (Humboldt wrote in French. An 1889 digital copy is on the Internet, more romantic in tone. ) . Humboldt  sympathized with the Wahara and the other tribal people he met, finding them “sad “ rather than savage, depressed by their subjugation to the Spanish, and made “stupid” by being forced into drudgery and farming by the mission fathers.

Humboldt who  was deeply anti-slavery, thoroughly disapproved of the mission system of forced labor.

Besides the Personal Narrative, Humboldt's Essay on the Geography of Plants sets out his revolutionary descriptions linking plants with geographic features, rather than places. In the process he created a new scientific method based on careful data, elevation, weather systems, ocean currents (as the cloud forest in the Azores Chile, Japan etc.) and other empirical data. (see The Humboldt Method in  W)

This book, though frequently published has never been available in its present form, printed and edited by the U. of Chicago Press, as an e book.**

We'll let Stephen T. Jackson who edited this edition have the last word:   "the legacy of Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) looms large over the natural sciences. His 1799–1804 research expedition to Central and South America with botanist Aimé Bonpland set the course for the great scientific surveys of the nineteenth century, especially Darwin’s travels to South America, and inspired such essayists and artists as Emerson, Goethe, Thoreau, Poe, and Church” 

Super Hero!  But what I loved the most was Humboldt's ability to empathize with his subjects-- the "unfortunate capybara" pursued by jaguars, flinging itself into the river, only to be eaten by a crocodile. 

Science with a heart.

** " Among the most cited writings in natural history, after the works of Darwin and Wallace, this work appears here for the first time in a complete English-language translation".

*W says "The Humboldt Current LME is considered a Class I, highly productive note: (>300 gC/m2-yr), ecosystem. It is the most productive marine ecosystem in the world, as well as the largest upwelling system. The Humboldt’s high rates of primary and secondary productivity support the world’s largest fisheries. Approximately 18-20% of the world’s fish catch comes from the Humboldt Current LME. The species are mostly pelagic: sardines, anchovies and jack mackerel. The LME’s high productivity supports other important fishery resources as well as marine mammals. The cold, nutrient-rich water brought to the surface by upwelling drives the system’s extraordinary productivity.

The Mexican Lime (Citrus aurantifolia) Talks Back

Truly  demented readers will doubtless remember the Mexican Lime that has been Mano a mano with me since 2009. For less passionate readers  (see Dec 13 2009 blog)--- bought this lime tree, put it against a hot wall where it lost  its leaves when the temperature dropped into the 30’s. Thinking it was dying, applied first aid a la UC Davis by wrapping it in Christmas lights.

Then moved it to south side of the house on snazzy new terrace. Lime responded by bearing 3 very seedy  limes ( 6/9/2010). It then promptly once more lost its leaves in the next cold spell.Argh.

No image--I was planning to give it away!

Had the gardener move it to a 20 gal black pot, return it to the west side, but this time sheltered by a bamboo hedge (the roots) while its head was in the west sun. The plan was to give it to some non-gardener who would give it a new home, not knowing how surly and unfruitful a tree it was. (Wanna buy a duck? …)

The Lime got watered occasionally along with 2 other potted tangerine trees with whom I had no quarrel. Au contraire, they were good trees and bore profusely.Forgot about putting the lime on Craig’s list temporarily and finding a new home for the balky thing.


Apparently the deva in charge of this tree has a wicked sense of humor--why am I not surprised?

The lime tree today  covered with blossoms . Bees are clustered on it. ….. okay, okay….flowers are being pollinated. Can’t give it away--- now. Score: Lime 3, this gardener 0.

Chastened--- resolve to be more respectful of plant communications in the future.

Scrub Jay W

 Standing in the kitchen door, brooding over defeat at hands of lime tree when Cheeky Bird whisks into the kitchen past my ear, lands on the counter and squawks at me. Cheeky Bird is a scrub jay who has trained the entire household to give him peanuts---or else.

(This is a w common photo, but since to the uninitiated eye, coastal Western scrub jays all look alike…. Cheeky does not trust cameras.) What is so remarkable about Cheeky Bird is that he has taught 2 generations of offspring to :

1) recognize the peanut givers from the non-peanut givers in the household (2 to 2)

2) Get the peanuts by sitting on the handle of a basket ---but not come in the kitchen. Instead the offspring make a small chuckling noise as if to say, “I’m here, waiting…” whereas Cheeky  himself is noisy demanding and unabashed about coming into the house.

                                                                        W

 Cheeky is a corvid. The group includes ravens, crows and jays. Crows and ravens have been studied pretty extensively-- see http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/ravens/introduction/1506/ on Ravens.
 The U of Oregon did a whole documentary on crows (called, believe it or not, Crows) which played at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. The scientists at U OR were rather astonished to find crows recognize individual human faces, have "culture" , teach their young to recognize the good guys from the bad guys.

 So far as I know, jay birds are bereft of a scientific study on their intelligence, but size doesn't count. Jays recognize individual faces, and teach their offspring to recognize people just as crows do. It's also been established jays and crows have episodic memory---they don't forget where they put their car keys....

Next: a new super hero---- Alexander von Humboldt

                                                  

David Austin "English Roses" for So Cal and a Meilland

Darcy Bussell

This rose is named for  the premier ballerina of the Royal Ballet. She was 20. Darcy went from strength to strength as a dancer and was awarded the OBE. Here she is in Balanchine's Rubies.

The rose named in her honor  --unlike some of the Austin roses---  is especially recommended for our zone and will " will remain bushy and compact even in the warmest areas, making it ideal for the front of rose beds or the mixed border" . And it smells good. If you can't find this rose in stock now at your local nursery, hasten to the Austin website and order one there.http://www.davidaustinroses.com/american/Advanced.asp?PageId=1893.

David Austin is too well known to need any detailed biography here--and it's all on the Austin website anyway. However, he's my hero because all his roses smell like roses used to smell, and some smell absolutely heavenly. Austin roses have a character of their own. The first ones this gardener tried all grew nicely but were slow to establish themselves-- Gertrude Jekyll, Graham Thomas,Pilgrim,. However, Teasing Georgia and  Abraham Darby took off running

. In recent years Austin has his  roses sold in this country,  grown in Tyler,Texas, and many of them are totally  adapted to our climate.




Jude the Obscure

This rose , besides being spectacular has won some impressive prizes for scent  which is described as " having a strong fruity fragrance with hints of guava and sweet white wine". Hmmmm.....this sensual delight is not one of Austin's more appropriately named roses . It applies to one of Thomas Hardy's more depressed character( which is saying a lot, as most of them are depressed.)  Jude hangs himself. Perhaps Mr. Austin is not a great reader? Any votes out there for re-naming it Jude Law, a sensual delight to the eye even if we don't know how he smells?

                                           

                                             Molineux

This lovely won the medal for Best Scented Rose of the Year** . What makes it a sure thing  is the fact that it is named for the Wolverhampton Soccer Team.With recommendations like that ........ how can we lose? 

Not to be missed is another recent rose

Lady Emma Hamilton

And what did she do? Quite a few scandalous things***. She was a country girl who made it in London, (she was Romney's favorite model) married a Lord and became the lover of British  naval hero Lord Nelson. Austin named the rose to commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar. Well, okay, perhaps a bit of a stretch..... but Lady Emma is luscious has a strong "fruity scent of pear grape and citrus. It is vigorous and free flowering. 

Last but far from least, is Meilland's Yves Piaget,  named for the president of watchmaker/jeweler SA Piaget. ( Piaget is a famous  French firm of long standing ---made watches for Napoleon). Yves It is a superb rose, tough, undemanding and disease resistant .

Yves Piaget

This rose smells spicy, and has great substance which makes it a great cut flower. It lives without complaint, on grey water from the washing machine and is a particular favorite in this garden.

Notes

** at the Royal National Rose Society Trials

*** See movie starring Vivien Leigh and Lawrence Olivier That Hamilton Woman made when Leigh and Olivier were young and in love. In black and white, not a memorable  film but do they  look good.