New additions to my Forby Family.

[Julie]

My name is Julie and I'm a Phorboholic.

Yes that's right, I have a shopping disorder. I see a E.obesa and can't resist.. that little demon which makes my mother buy shoes when she already has more shoes than can fit easily in the house, comes out of the woodwork and makes me buy forbies!!

In the first garden centre I found a tiny one, about 3cm high and wide, and a slightly larger one, old enough to flower, with only 7 ribs. And so I had to get them both, parading them around in the basket like a proud parent with a baby in a carrier. In the second garden centre I found a E.something - thouhgt it was horrida but seems it's not (and the nicest specimen was the one with the least spikes / old flower stalks on it.) Poor things seem prone to going pear-shaped.. literally.

Ooops. And I promised myself I would not take on any more plants until I have a stable home.... but I could not resist them! They are sooo sweeet!

Horrida still has a couple of flower buds. Let's see what they do.



Post Edited (10-14-06 20:40)

[Rob]

hi Julie

I'm certainly NO forby expert but I dont think I see a E.horrida there!?

I have absolutely NO IDEA what the un-striped one might be. EXCEPT that if by good fortune it turns out to be a little boy you could have some interesting babies next year!

[Vic]

Maybe valida?

[Julie]

Hi Rob,

I think horrida got suck in my mind because of it's flower stalk spikes? I thought it might be meloformis but it's not that either, because this new one is not striped.

I'll ask Frank if I can't suss it out.

There are some water spots on the two obesas, and general grime and dried latex. Tomorrow I'll give them a once-over with a wet cotton bud.

Perhaps it's safe to say that if plants survive a garden centre, then anything I can do won't kill them.

--------

Vic, thanks! I think this is the little critter, near the bottom of this page.



Google images give quite a wide range of "inflatedness". Some look as though they have taken up so much water they are bursting like the one in the link, while others have much deeper valleys between the ribs. Some even have stripes - but these are green on green so maybe it's down to light levels, or just plain variation. Let's see if my little stripe-free zone develops some.



Post Edited (10-14-06 21:52)

[Rob]

I wonder if the striping is an age thing?
meloformis or vallida do seem a good starting place. I think they may even be lumped together now! There may well be a form of one which doesnt have stripes?

[Phil Hocking]

Search Google Images for Euphorbia valida. The very first one, and several of the others, is what I think of as E. valida. I've got one myself. That unstripey one is about as far removed as you can get. I don't know what it is though. I wonder if someone has been pulling the old flower stalks off your plants. They should be left on to give them character.

Phil

[Julie]

They don't say "don't buy a plant without a label" for no reason. *sigh*

There were half a dozen of these at Podington Garden Centre (somewhere near Rushden, Northants) and they were all labelled "cactus - mixed".

Rob - if it's a boy, do you think "he" would breed with my gals? Babies would be have to be labelled of course, and I'd make a leaflet "how to take care of your plant" to go with any that went to bring and buy sales.

John Young is kindly sending me a boy, so I would have to keep my gals apart, some with one and some with the other. I wonder what sex the two new obesas are.. this could get complicated.

And I would have to be very vigilant with flies, whipping the seedling bells on them quick when I see one. Although I have never seen a fly sit on a flower, they seem to prefer smacking into the mirror.

Oh no, this could turn out coffee coloured plants by the score!

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Phil, I see what you mean. Seems that there is something in my DNA that leads me to odd and unidentifyable plants, then.

I agree about the stalks, I'd leave them on. I chose the one which was not pear-shaped and had two new ribs forming... although others had more stalks.

I wonder why they go pearshaped? I've seen an obesa the same shape.



Post Edited (10-14-06 22:05)

[Bill]

Hi Julie

Have you seen this obesa on Ebay I reckon it's only about 3 inches (7.5cm) in diameter, currently at ?25.00 with 3 days to go :-0

[Phil_SK]

It's quite ridiculous, isn't it? holly gate must be kicking themselves for not discovering eBay sooner.

[Bill]

Yep totaly stupid, they also have a varigated H.attenuata that I hand an eye on but it's already 50% more than I wanted to pay for it.