Ahhh Baguio: A succulent fancier’s paradise

It was some time during the last extended weekend when I received a rather excited call from Johann Espiritu, this column’s photography genius. If I recall, it went something like this –"Kevin, I’m here in Baguio standing in front of a plant seller’s stall. They’re selling cacti and succulents, and my, everything is flowering! The flowers are beautiful." My first reaction was one of pure envy, and it wasn’t just because Johann and his family were up there enjoying the cool, crisp air of the City of Pines, while I was toiling away in very hot and very humid Makati. After that split-second reaction, Johann made an excellent suggestion which got me really excited. "Why don’t I shoot some photos here and maybe we can use it for the next column?"

That idea of Johann’s was heaven-sent. I’ve always wanted to do a feature on Baguio City ever since I started this column. I’ve mentioned in several past articles Baguio’s special qualities which are particularly beneficial to cactus and succulent culture. Now, I can expound further here.

Baguio City sits on a plateau in the Cordillera Mountain Range, about 1,500 meters (almost 5,000 feet) above sea level. To let you imagine it, the Tagaytay Highlands golf clubhouse is about 500 meters above sea level. And most of us know how wonderful the climate in Tagaytay is. On any given month, Baguio is always about 8 to 10 degrees centigrade cooler on average than any place in the lowlands (that includes Metro Manila, of course). While the average temperature there is about 20 degrees centigrade, it very rarely goes over 26 degrees centigrade on any given day.

Baguio has basically two seasons only: a wet and dry one. The wet season occurs from around end of May to October. During this time, Baguio can get very wet. In fact, the city gets the highest amount of rainfall in the entire country during the year. Its average rainfall is two times the average rainfall we get here in Manila. And you thought Manila was pretty wet, didn’t you?

During the dry season from November to early May, Baguio’s climate is absolutely gorgeous. It is during this time of the year when temperatures can reach below 10 degrees centigrade, and where average temperatures hover around 15 degrees. In fact, this is the closest we get to a temperate and dry environment in this country, not dissimilar to what one would find in many parts of California, that mecca for succulent culture. What’s more, Baguio has the wonderful condition of warmer days and absolutely cooler nights, sometimes with more than 10-degree swings from day to night and back to day. These conditions are absolutely ideal for rearing succulents. Most cacti particularly appreciate these warmer days and cooler nights, as these are very similar conditions in their native Mexican or Southern California desert habitats. Such conditions help cacti produce flowers in greater abundance.

Many South American cacti such as rebutias and sulcorebutias, which have a really tough time in our lowland conditions, thrive in the Baguio and Benguet highland environments, producing their beautifully colored flowers in profusion. In their native habitats of Northern Argentina to Bolivia, these plants are found growing at altitudes of 1,500 to 4,000 meters above sea level.

Baguio is a succulent fancier’s paradise. But I don’t mean you should have your plants under the elements. Remember that half the year, Baguio gets the most rainfall in the country, and leaving your succulents under these conditions will very quickly turn them into rotten mush as succulent roots are just not equipped to be constantly water-logged for long periods of time. There are exceptions, however. I have seen magnificent opuntias planted out in gardens or as hedges in the city, with their beautiful yellow blooms adorning their pad-like leaves. I have also encountered nice specimens of euphorbia lactea and allies. These can also be seen growing out in the open here in Metro Manila.

Johann photographed the plants shown here in the tiangge area by the mini-golf course at John Hay. Most of the plants were flowering profusely. The other Baguio hotspot for these plants is the Orchidarium at Burnham Park. Sometimes, my fellow "lowland" collectors wonder whether some of these plants are simply freshly imported, because the plants seem like they just arrived from a plane from Los Angeles. But I am told that there are some growers in the Benguet area who have mastered the art of culturing certain species of succulents, such as rebutias, mammillarias, notocactus, sedums and echeverias.

When you examine the growing medium used by these Benguet growers, you will also be very surprised; they grow their plants in pure leafmould, gathered from the forest floors in Benguet. No sand, no grit, no perlite, no broken brick. In short, none of the usual drainage materials that are so essential to ensuring a porous, well-draining medium for these water-sensitive plants. But these growers have clearly succeeded. It turns out that this pure leafmould medium drains excess water very quickly while providing highly nutritious feeding for the plants. I’ve experimented with this pure leafmould myself in my greenhouse, with mixed results. While plants seem to thrive in this pure leafmould over a year or two, I wonder if these will continue to thrive over the long haul.

Somehow, I suspect not, particularly in hot and humid Metro Manila, where pots retain their moisture for much longer periods of time. And what I noticed when I was in Baguio last year was that the growers there don’t grow the more "difficult" Mexican rarities like Ariocarpus, Turbinicarpus, and the like. These types of plants would be killed in a pure leafmould mix. But these Mexican rarities will surely thrive in Baguio’s climate with the proper mineral-based growing medium. In their native habitats in the Mexican deserts, these plants are subjected to hot days and quite cool nights, conditions that, for the large part, are replicated in Baguio’s climes. In these conditions, I expect plants like ariocarpus (which hardly flower in Manila) to flower quite profusely.

Have you ever purchased plants in Baguio, brought them down to grimy Metro Manila, then watched these plants slowly deteriorate and die even while you offer these the best tender loving care? I have. In particular, I have consistently killed the various "rose cactus" that I have brought down from the mountains (I’ve also never had any success with Baguio Pine here in Manila. But Tita Gretchen Cojuangco has had tons of success with Baguio Pine in the highlands of Negros). I suspect that it’s the altitude and cooler temperatures which these rose cacti (echeveria species) crave. Over a year ago, I purchased a bunch of cacti from Baguio, mainly various Mammillaria and Gymnocalycium species. Today, I still have 90 plants of the plants alive and seemingly doing well. Some have even flowered for me this year.

I’m still looking forward to having a greenhouse in Baguio some day tended by a well-trained and trusted caretaker. Unfortunately, and as many of us have seen through the years, the increasing urbanization of the city and its surroundings has resulted in a significant reduction in that special tree, the Baguio Pine. Did you know that with less pine trees around, the temperatures in the City can actually get warmer? I remember as a child that whenever we were nearing Baguio by car, we would stop the air-conditioning, roll down the windows, and see who would be the first one to sniff the first waft of fresh pine. Nowadays, we rarely do this anymore because of the sheer number of cars (a lot of them belchers struggling in the high altitude) and the resultant pollution. In fact, my Tito Max Soliven recently wrote about how Baguio is rapidly becoming the most polluted city in the entire country. I hope this trend is quickly curtailed. Baguio is a jewel which must be nourished and preserved, not just for us plant lovers, but for everyone.