Ceraria pygmaea with ODD growth

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Tina
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Ceraria pygmaea with ODD growth

Post by Tina »

Here's my large ceraria pygmaea with a really odd growth, it looks like a portulacaria afra but is definitly growing from the root and not an odd cutting that has sneaked in, anyone got any experience of this, I did cut it off a few weeks ago as I wondered if it was like a rose 'sucker' that would drain the plant with unnecessary growth.

As you can see even the growth and colouring is untypical for a ceraria pygmaea :???:
ceraria pygmaea large odd growth 2018.jpg
ceraria pygmaea odd shoot2018.jpg
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Re: Ceraria pygmaea with ODD growth

Post by Diane »

Could it have been grafted? I believe that Ceraria can be grafted onto portulacaria, but you may know if you grew it yourself.
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Re: Ceraria pygmaea with ODD growth

Post by Terry S. »

Yes I agreed with Di, it is grafted onto Portulcaria afra which is one of the methods of propagation. This is also used as a stock for Ceraria namaquensis. I believe it was our own dear Gordon Rowley who pioneered grafting of this small group of plants.
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Re: Ceraria pygmaea with ODD growth

Post by MikeDom »

Wow, that's a lot of top growth Tina. Mine has always stayed very compact.

Apparently you can take cuttings and also root the leaves (although that wouldn't leave much of a plant for me :smile: ). Has anybody done this and do they produce a caudex also?
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Re: Ceraria pygmaea with ODD growth

Post by Tina »

Hi Diane,
I hadn't realised it could be grafted I don't mind them difficult on their own roots just slow I suppose this is the reason for such a large plant.

If you managed to root a cutting then its very unlikely to produce a caudex, my plants grow better with regular repotting.
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Re: Ceraria pygmaea with ODD growth

Post by MikeDom »

Thanks Tina, came across this page which answers all.

http://www.society.bcss.org.uk/index.ph ... gmaea.html
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Re: Ceraria pygmaea with ODD growth

Post by ralphrmartin »

I'd go with the graft theory too.

I don't know why all the Ceraria namaquensis plants one sees are grafted - it seems do do just fine on its own roots, and is not particularly slow.

It's a bit more surprising that people would graft C. pygmaea as I would not have thought it would develop a caudex if grafted. Does your plant have a caudex Tina, or is it just shrubby?
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Re: Ceraria pygmaea with ODD growth

Post by Terry S. »

My personal experience of Ceraria pygmaea (probably a cutting originally) is that it does not develop a caudex in cutivation, it just grows into a mini shrublet. I do not know if seedlings will develop a caudex. In habitat in the arid Orange River Valley it is essentially a low lump with a few leaves on top. The lump is exposed, not buried as Ian suggests. It is certainly a winter-rainfall area although the amount of rain is next to nothing!

I suspect the photo in the link posted above is to a plant that was originally dug up in the wild. The species, as Portulacaria pygmaea, is listed by SANBI as Endangered and is suffering significant reduction in numbers due to mining, overgrazing and poaching for horticulture. So lets stick with propagation in our greenhouses.
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Re: Ceraria pygmaea with ODD growth

Post by MikeDom »

Terry S. wrote: Wed Feb 20, 2019 9:19 am In habitat in the arid Orange River Valley it is essentially a low lump with a few leaves on top. The lump is exposed, not buried as Ian suggests. It is certainly a winter-rainfall area although the amount of rain is next to nothing!
I've had the caudex buried in this same pot for the past 7 years without giving it a thought. The plant flowers every year and is generally quite happy, the branches are firm. This winter I didn't water it much so it looks a little tired, but new growth is coming on. Pictures below.

IMG_5039.JPG
IMG_5040.JPG

So I turfed him out of his pot, raised the caudex and put him back. The very fine roots are filling the pot but it isn't potbound. The caudex is soft round the outside with a hard centre, and it will probably do it good to dry out. Interestingly, there are 2 thick roots coming out of the side of the caudex slightly higher than the base which weren't there when I buried him. Over that time the caudex has roughly doubled in size and the top growth never gets any bigger than it is now.

Difficult to get decent photos, but this is what he looks like now. I am interested as to whether the caudex hardens again, I can only assume it has been soft for many years with no ill effects.
IMG_5041.JPG
IMG_5042.JPG
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Re: Ceraria pygmaea with ODD growth

Post by Tina »

H all
and thanks for the reply, it doesn't have a true caudex but does have a very gnarly base so it must have been grafted at some time.
Regarding seed grown plants they have a definite small caudex, I still have 3 plants I grew from seed several years ago and they are lovely compact little plants in 23/4" pots.
See other thread: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=151927&p=164695&hil ... ea#p164695
ceraria pygmaea A  11_18.jpg
ceraria pygmaea B  11_18.jpg
ceraria pygmaea  11_18.jpg
Tina

varied collection of succulents and cacti but I especially like Euphorbia's, Ariocarpus and variegated agaves.

Bucks, UK
Branch co-ordinator, Northants & MK BCSS https://northants.bcss.org.uk
BCSS Talk team member, contact me- BCSS.Talk@Gmail.com if you want to volunteer or suggest a speaker plz.
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