Variegated form of Massonia pustulata 17 Mar. 2008

¤Variegated leaves of Massonia pustulata The variegation is too subtle to mention?

We already knew that there were a few variegated seedlings of Massonia pustulata among many other normal seedlings in our seed bed. We transplanted them this month and we noticed that there were more variegated plants than we knew, up to 10 plants.

The variageted plants are smaller than normal ones yet the leaves are not deformed. We moved them into different pots and we are taking special care now, though we are not sure they are virus-free.

Plants suffered from the climate change17 Mar. 2008

The summer of 2007 was as terrible as ever. Due to the excessively high temperature we lost several bulbs of Massonias which we expected to get the seeds from every year. We have grown them for years and it was the first loss of the bulbs. Moreover, a few rare species of Bulbine were also gone from our greenhouse.

¤Cotyledons of E. multifidum Yes, they look the same as the other species...

Long scorching summer is of course a distress to almost every plant yet, it may not be always a bad thing to plant growers. Some Eriospermums showed self-compatibility in 2007, which we had believed strictly self-incompatible.

Bulbines | Eriospermums | Massonias and their allies | Ornithogalums
Haworthias

Bulbines are monocotyledons, usually small herbaceous plants. They grow in dry areas of Africa in main. Their flowers have tufts of hairs and it is the unique feature of the genus.

They seem to consist of a couple of subgroups. One is of evergreen summer growers, bigger and robust. The other is of deciduous winter growers, smaller and sensitive to careless cultivation.

Seen from a succulent lover, their most attractive characteristic should lie in the fat leaves. Adding to this some winter growing species have translucent parts, or 'windows', on the leaves like Haworthias.

Eriospermums are perennial, small herbaceous plants with subterranean tubers. They grow in subsaharan Africa and they center in dry areas of Cape Province.

They are famous only among some succulent lovers for the exceptionally unique foliage. For example you are seeing only one leaf of Eriospermum dregei on this image.

Their drought tolerant nature is notable as they can survive without water over an entire growing season. They are generally easy to grow yet the supply is scarce probably due to difficulty of propagation, or due to scarce demand.

These are well known bulbs which occur in Cape Province. We have little to argue matters about Lachenalias because many other people know more than us. The main flower season is spring yet some species flower earlier in winter, and some other species are said to flower in autumn.

The flowers are showy, beautiful, or cute at least, and often fragrant. Moreover many species have ornamental markings on the leaves. We believe they are one of the best pot plants for window sill in spring.

They are easy plants at cool greenhouse. Propagation is also easy and many nurseries offer Lachenalia bulbs so you can get them easily.

These bulbous plants are very impressive for opposite leaves as well as a brushy umbel of flowers. They form into very small genera of just several species though, the identification and classification are still confusing in horticultural scene.

Massonias are the most popular of all the allies. Especially Massonia pustulata has been already so popular among succulent growers in Japan that it may be considered a common species.

Both Massonias and Polyxenas are comparably easy to grow but we don't know whether Daubenyas are the same or not because we have little experience of them.

Besides 'Star of Bethlehem' some Ornithogalums from southern Africa are marked by interesting foliage. Ornithogalum apertum has many spiral leaves and O. unifoliatum has only one leaf which looks like a pestle or a baseball bat.

They are also easy to grow at cool greenhouse but species with special foliage are rarely offered at the present.

Though Haworthias are from only arid areas in South Africa, they are one of the most popular plants for succulent enthusiasts in the world. They are small but very patient of drought as long as the temperature is moderate.

Haworthias' leaves have a large variety of shapes, markings and textures. Moreover many of them have various patterns of translucent part on the leaves. We can say that variety of Haworthia plants is virtually infinite.

Easiness of Haworthia's cultivation is remarkable yet you should understand that they really hate both damp soil and excessive humidity.