Stapeliad thread 2020

[Christian]

Those are lovely! Do you grow the Quaqua on its own roots?

Your Duvalia is a gem, and it is nice to see your Huernia whitesloaneana - this does not flower as freely as others for me.

[Aiko]

How do you grow the Huernia kennedyana?
I have tried it twice, but failed to keep them going for more than a few years each time. Got them to flower, though.

Would love to try it again, but you don't see them on offer a lot.

[Herts Mike]

Great pictures! A quaqua! Don't see those very often.

I envy your sunshine, it's pouring with rain here. Again.

[jfabiao]

Those are lovely! Do you grow the Quaqua on its own roots?

Yes, all on their own roots. Very porous mineral substrate and careful watering when the weather is cold (well, Lisbon-cold, which is a fair bit warmer than your cold) or wet.

How do you grow the Huernia kennedyana?
I have tried it twice, but failed to keep them going for more than a few years each time. Got them to flower, though.

No different than the others. But this is actually the second time I'm trying: the first time, all went well up to a point when stems started to shrivel and die for no apparent reason and I ended up losing the plant altogether. I find it is best to break the plant apart in as many pieces as possible and try to root them when this happens. Chances are that one of the pieces will become a "clean" plant with which you can restart the cycle.

Great pictures! A quaqua! Don't see those very often.
I envy your sunshine, it's pouring with rain here. Again.

Thank you.
Actually, our sun was paramount in my decision to give ascleps a second chance in my collection. I was tired of the uphill battle that keeping mealies away is, so I decided to try a different approach: exposing the plants to as much sun as they will take before starting to bleach out. I don't know if it's epidermis thickness or pigment concentration, but my very colourful plants have been generally mealybug free for most of the year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed (and spraying dimethoate preventively, just in case).
It's funny, but it rains more in Lisbon (yearly total) than in London. It's just that the regime is very different, a few heavy downpours with lots of sunny days in between. Much better for our plants.

[majcka]

How do you grow the Huernia kennedyana?
I have tried it twice, but failed to keep them going for more than a few years each time. Got them to flower, though.

Would love to try it again, but you don't see them on offer a lot.

We obviously have the same problem. I had one by K.W., but died on me this year.

[majcka]

How do you grow the Huernia kennedyana?
I have tried it twice, but failed to keep them going for more than a few years each time. Got them to flower, though.

No different than the others. But this is actually the second time I'm trying: the first time, all went well up to a point when stems started to shrivel and die for no apparent reason and I ended up losing the plant altogether. I find it is best to break the plant apart in as many pieces as possible and try to root them when this happens. Chances are that one of the pieces will become a "clean" plant with which you can restart the cycle.

That is a smart thing to do I suppose. Where was your tip when I needed one.

[ralphrmartin]

Are all those in flower now in Lisbon? Or are they some photos you have taken over time?
It's cold wet horrid weather in the UK...

[Aiko]

How do you grow the Huernia kennedyana?
I have tried it twice, but failed to keep them going for more than a few years each time. Got them to flower, though.

No different than the others. But this is actually the second time I'm trying: the first time, all went well up to a point when stems started to shrivel and die for no apparent reason and I ended up losing the plant altogether. I find it is best to break the plant apart in as many pieces as possible and try to root them when this happens. Chances are that one of the pieces will become a "clean" plant with which you can restart the cycle.

That was my strategy for my latest plant. But one of the cuttings did not root, and I did not really got a chance of continuing this with others. It wasn't a large plant to begin with.

Maybe we should have a swap for seeds again, jfabiao!

[jfabiao]

Are all those in flower now in Lisbon? Or are they some photos you have taken over time?
It's cold wet horrid weather in the UK...

Most of them are in flower now, or have been in the past couple of weeks (the file names of my pictures include the date the photo was taken). We're having a standard October over here, with some rain but plenty of sunny and warm(ish) weather. Only now are minimum temperatures going down to the 10C mark.

[Herts Mike]

That's a good sized pillansii flower btw.