So much for a winters rest
So much for a winters rest
One day shy of the winter solstice here downunder and what do I find when I get home from work but N. lenninghausii in my outdoors bed in bloom
Re: So much for a winters rest
Seems like its not ready to rest just yet!
Mark
Mark
Re: So much for a winters rest
A friend of mine emigrated to Australia for a time and said in the area where he lived the cacti never got a proper winter rest and tended to grow all year. He did not recognise the plants compared to what he was used to in the UK as they grew far faster and though not etiolated had a far greener appearance. A couple of his friends from Australia came across to the UK and we took them around to a British collection that had Escobaria's as densely spined as Mammillaria hererrae which we drooled over, but they said they were obviously not grown correctly because you could not see the green body between the spines! He judged a show there and gave a Melocactus with a cephalium the prize as it would have taken many years to that stage in the UK. They were all shocked and told him it was only set from seed a few years ago, so to them it was the equivalent of just an easy raised seedling!
We all have our own ideas as to what is the normal look for our plants, usually based on our own climate and growing conditions. Some in parts of India have a job flowering Sulcorebutias's since it does not get cold enough in winter. Some in the UK were complaining they could not flower many Echinocereus since it seems their greenhouses were too warm over winter as required for the other plants they grow, a problem often shared with windowsill growers in centrally heated houses. My Sulcorebutia's and Echinocereus flower OK, but the greenhouse does go down to freezing every winter. However my conditions are far too cold for Melocactus and the tropical Cereoids.
We all have our own ideas as to what is the normal look for our plants, usually based on our own climate and growing conditions. Some in parts of India have a job flowering Sulcorebutias's since it does not get cold enough in winter. Some in the UK were complaining they could not flower many Echinocereus since it seems their greenhouses were too warm over winter as required for the other plants they grow, a problem often shared with windowsill growers in centrally heated houses. My Sulcorebutia's and Echinocereus flower OK, but the greenhouse does go down to freezing every winter. However my conditions are far too cold for Melocactus and the tropical Cereoids.
Re: So much for a winters rest
Could indeed be the reason as I do notice my outdoors plants growing all through the year. It's just about as cold as it will get now (creeping close to freezing during clear nights but still climbing up to high teens during the day) and been getting lots of rain lately so plants would still have an incentive to grow.
The outdoors plants naturally don't get pampered with a stay in watering like my potted plants do during the colder months and I'm seeing quite a difference in growth due to it.
The outdoors plants naturally don't get pampered with a stay in watering like my potted plants do during the colder months and I'm seeing quite a difference in growth due to it.