August 2014 - Genus of the Month - Adromischus

[Apicra]

Not so nice Adros?

Well, roanianus is not very exciting, nor orientalis, nor ramosus, humilis/fallax are boring, not many fili. filicaulis ... but fortunately most are so widespread that a nice form (red spotted?) can be found somewhere.

They are as difficult as Haworthias to divide up into taxa - just seem to flow across the landscape - which suggests that they have evolved relatively recently.

So which are the best for cultivation? 'Bryan Makin ' is hard to better? But a pure white, well-grown leucophyllus has great beauty. And I've always liked cooperi ...

Best wishes,
DT

[ChrisR]

I think they are all interesting....in their own way.

To play devils advocate and counter Derek's opinons.....roaneanus has nice zig-zag stems and makes attractive plants for hanging pots....(liebenbergii ssp) orientalis is one of the most easterly growing species (hence the name).....humilis is quite rare and I find a pig to grow....fallax is one of only 3 rosette forming adros (if you include phillipsiae which is really a Cotyledon IMO) which has really unusual dark reddish flowers.

But everyone is obsessed with marianiae and her myriad of forms - there are so many more to try which are much easier to grow!

[ChrisR]

......but Adros.....all look wrinkled and brown in habitat

Lindsey.....I'm shocked.....shocked!

Are my habitat pictures above of wrinkled & brown Adros?

I'll try to post some more habitat pics soon to convince you they don't.

[ChrisR]

I'll concede that this one is brown & wrinkled......but then it's supposed to be

Adromischus marianiae 'herrei' north west of Springbok.

A.montium-klinghardtii south of Alexander Bay - amazing wind blown sand blasted sculpted rock.

A big silvery form of A.alstonii on Black Face Mountain in the Richtersveld.

A large plant of A.sphenophyllus by the Valley of Desolation near Graaff-Reinet.

A lovely spotty triflorus near Touws Rivier.

triflorusTR.JPG (252.61 KiB) Viewed 4067 times

Not many brown & wrinkled ones there Lindsey

[Tony R]

Thank you Chris for posting some superb habitat plants. I had hoped my taster of Adromichus cooperi in the Plant of the Month article would lead to some photographs from the expected aficionados and I have not been disappointed

[Ivan]

Genus of the Month - Adromischus something new for me.
I love all this education I am getting. Thank-you!

[ChrisR]

Here's a few more Adromischus in situ.....

A.marianiae form - like a red 'alveolatus' - in shallow grit pans near Kliprand.

A.filicaulis - a wonderfully spotted long leaf form to the west of Springbok. It rained all day and I was soaked having helped Derek try to find his lost camera (how do you lose a camera on a tripod?!!) and the farmer of this land took pity on me and let me borrow some dry boots!

A.marianiae 'kubusensis' in the Kosiesberg. A really long walk to a very remote area. I'd like to go back there.

A.diabolicus growing on the south side of a Bushmanland hill in deep shade, as usual for this species. This was the first time we'd seen diabolicus and I recall a great sense of achievment.

A.bicolor growing on the famous Springbokvlakte farm. They were such lovely dwarf plants in fantastic condition.

A.subdisticus - vicinity of Willowmore.

A.cristatus var zeyheri in deep shade near the Kouga Dam. We picked a bad route down and found this totally by chance while decending a hillside and got scratched all over by thorny shrubs for our trouble. It was worth it!

[Liz M]

Seeing these plants in habitat makes you realise what great plants they are. You cannot really hope to reproduce these conditions in a pot in a greenhouse. So, the plants don't do themselves justice and not so many grow them. These are really stunning growing in the rocks and the light is so much stronger there than here.

[srboisvert]

adromischus schuldtianus by srboisvert, on Flickr



Adromischus Schuldtianus - birmingham branch bcss autumn show by srboisvert, on Flickr



Adromischus @Birmingham Branch Cactus Show by srboisvert, on Flickr



Adromischus marianae by srboisvert, on Flickr



Adromischus cooperi by srboisvert, on Flickr



Adromischus Herrei by srboisvert, on Flickr



Adromischus Cooperi @ Cactus & Succulent Society of Greater Chicago Show 2013 by srboisvert, on Flickr



Adromischus cv Bryan Makin @ Malvern Garden Show by srboisvert, on Flickr



Adromischus cooperi leaf cutting by srboisvert, on Flickr



adromischus schuldtianus ssp juttae by srboisvert, on Flickr



43Crassula Group, Adromischus Subgroup, two plants, maximum pot size 11cm by srboisvert, on Flickr



May meeting CSSGC - Adromischus marianae fa. herrei by srboisvert, on Flickr

[ChrisR]

Seeing these plants in habitat makes you realise what great plants they are. You cannot really hope to reproduce these conditions in a pot in a greenhouse. So, the plants don't do themselves justice and not so many grow them. These are really stunning growing in the rocks and the light is so much stronger there than here.

They are great plants Liz....much under-appreciated IMO. You're also correct in that it's often difficult to get them looking as nice as they do in the wild. But if you're prepared to give them their ideal place in the greenhouse, with practice it's quite easy to replicate their habitat looks. Rarely are they found in full sun in the open in habitat anyway. Many species prefer shade. They are usually found under bushes, in shady rock cracks, under over-hanging granite lips, etc. I often have trouble trying to find one in the open to photograph and when I do, it is often because the bush once protecting it has died and eroded away. There are some plain green leaved forms of A.filicaulis for example that will always look boring, but they aren't the type we should grow. A dull looking plant in a pot is usually purely down to cultivation methods. In most cases, with hard treatment - top shelf, gritty soil and easy on the water, even in the UK one can achieve colours in cultivation just as nice as you see in my habitat photos. I know because I do.