"Fat Plants" : cacti,succulents, caudiciforms, whatever..

[ruweiss]

Some strange forms among my small collection of succulent plants:
Orbeanthus hardyi
Ficus abutilifolia
Pseudolithos eylensis
Larryleachia cactiformis
Euphorbia turbiniformis
Echidnopsis bihendulensis
Escobaria vivipara cristata

[cohan]

I always like the little fat Ascleps, but the Euphorbia turbiniformis is really nice! Is it hard to grow on its own roots?

[ruweiss]

I always like the little fat Ascleps, but the Euphorbia turbiniformis is really nice! Is it hard to grow on its own roots?
[
/quote]
Cohan, I never saw a plant of Euphorbia turbiniformis on own roots offered for sale.
Maybe they grow too slow or are not easy in cultivation.

[cohan]

Well, Rudi, I've never seen that Euphorbia at all...lol.. Though some things seem to be grown only grafted when they are introduced into cultivation (speed might well be an issue then) and everyone thinks they wont grow on their own, then some years later, many people grow them fine without grafting.... In any case, this must be one of the most beautiful of Euphorbias, at this size at least....

[alpines]

Escobaria zilziana in flower in Kentucky today. Thanks to John Lonsdale for pointing me in the direction of Beaver Creek Greenhouses.

[alpines]

....and similarly, Echinocereus viridiflorus.
John was correct. This cactus thing is addictive !!!!

[ranunculus]

I suppose you'll be competing for the Pudsey Porcupine now buddy?  

Greetings from a damp and cloudy East Lancashire ... nothing changes!!!

[cohan]

Gorgeous plants, Alan Are you growing them in the ground?

[alpines]

Well firstly guys my apologies for not responding sooner but for some strange reason I haven't been able to access the forum for the past 48 hours. It kept telling me that the srgc site was not responding. Doesn't seem to have been a universal posting judging by your responses.

Pudsey Porcupine? I'm too 'spineless' to even attempt that amount of food anymore Cliff. Anything other than salads is a 'prickly' subject. Don't need any of your rain this year but it sure is hot here. Going to be cold here today though. Only 78 degrees!!!!

Cohan......I only bought these plants a few weeks ago from Roger Barlow at Beaver Creek Nurseries. Highly recommended. John Lonsdale pointed me in his direction. Well worth checking out his web site. http://www.rockgardenplants.com/index.htm
Yes, they are in the ground. I selected 18 plants which are cold hardy so I'm hoping for the best. I believe they'll need some cover from the rain in winter but so do many alpines, so I'm hopeful of some success. Many of the delospermas seem to survive the winters here so I thought I'd try some cacti too.

[iann]

Wow, just checked this thread and it seems like I missed a lot of mesembs.  I'll have to take my camera out this weekend ...

[alpines]

Definitely not hardy here but this is a pic of Maleophora crocea growing in a container and flowering today in Kentucky. I would be interested in knowing if anybody else has attempted to grow this outside and if so, what minimum temperature it will tolerate.

[iann]

Malephora crocea is widely reported as hardy to about zone 7 or perhaps 10F.  I haven't found it to be anything like that hardy and it has never survived in my garden.  Of course it has been below 10F both the last two winters   However, even potted specimens have been killed at around 20F.  I think there are several species or perhaps hybrids going round in cultivation with the same name, or perhaps just a wide range of provenances.

This one was killed last winter.  Luckily it grows fast and my insurance cutting is nearly as large now.

[iann]

Here's a few recent highlights from my cactus world.

[alpines]

Thanks for the hardiness info Ian. I'm supposedly Zone 6 but I don't take much notice of it. One ice storm and zones are meaningless!
Love your cacti photos. Do you grow everything in a greenhouse?

[iann]

I grow most cacti in a greenhouse, some highly xeric mesembs too, but more thirsty mesembs in outdoor containers and a few in the garden.  I also experiment with cacti outdoors but only a very few can even survive and they don't get enough heat to grow very well.