A tribute to our readers
August 21, 2004 | 12:00am
This column has received numerous responses, queries and contributions from readers across the country and even abroad, and I must say, I am grateful for your interest in these wonderful plants and this fascinating hobby of ours. As a tribute to our readers, I would like to highlight just a few of the contributions I have received to date. There will be more mailbag columns in the future.
Let me start with Ryan Lee, who has an interest in euphorbias, haworthias, and other succulents. In fact, Ryan does something that I generally don’t have the patience to do – raise some of his plants from seed. Ryan has raised some temperamental Globose euphorbias from South Africa from seed, namely, E. obesa and E. symmetrica. Quite a number of growers here have had difficulty growing and sustaining these plants as imported juveniles or adults. I have been somewhat luckier, as my one obesa and symmetricas have not given me too many problems so far. But by raising these plants from seed, Ryan is assuring his wards a better chance of surviving here, as the seedlings normally are better able to adapt than imported plants.
Ryan writes, "At first they (the seedlings) looked like lollipops but now they’ve either become lower or their base has become fatter. I never realized how slow they grow. It’s strange that each one (of the E. obesa seedlings) seems to be colored differently – one is bluish, another yellow-green, and the other brownish-green." Ryan planted the seeds in September 2003, and as of April 2004 (when he sent me the photos), his seedlings look more and more like the adult plants they will become. And, very much like us humans, there is variability among the plants, hence, the different coloration they have assumed even if these are being raised in the same pot and under the same growing conditions.
On Ryan’s other succulents, he contributed an excellent photo of H. cooperi v. truncate, a beautiful, translucent-leaved heavy offsetting species. Ryan writes, "I water it every day because if I don’t, it becomes a bit soft." He waters his other succulents almost every morning, because when he used to water once a week last year, his wards started to become light brown from the base. And some became completely covered with a corky bark. That just goes to show what different microenvironments can have on one’s growing regimen. In my case, if I watered my plants every day, these would soon turn to mush. But Ryan has obviously had success. Of course, seedlings can and should take a lot more moisture if they are to grow and remain healthy. Most expert growers keep their succulent seedlings constantly moist for up to their first year of life. Thereafter, they taper off the watering to the more usual succulent-watering regimens.
Cindy Trinidad was bitten by the succulent bug over a year ago and she’s been collecting ever since. As can be gleaned from her various photos, Cindy is also an excellent photographer. Photography is her other hobby and I may ask Cindy to do a photo shoot for a future article. Right now, her collection is housed in a "small space" in her garage. With the growing number of plants she has, I’m sure that space will be expanded sooner or later.
Edna "Bo Peep" Franco is a professor at the Ateneo de Manila University and the executive director for the Ateneo Center for Organization Research and Development. She also used to work for the Quezon City Mayor Sonny Belmonte, when he was president of Philippine Airlines back in the early ‘90s. Bo Peep’s Mom is a regular reader of this column. She obviously read with interest my discussion on the night-blooming epiphytic cacti, known locally as the "Queen of the Night," a few months back. The scientific name for this species according to Dr. Madulid’s encyclopedia, Pictorial Cyclopedia of Philippine Ornamental Plants, published by Bookmark, is Epiphylum exypetalum. This species flowers only in the evenings, and only for one night. It produces a wonderful dama de noche type fragrance. The flower dies the next morning.
Fortunately, a friend of Bo Peep’s was able to photograph this plant in its fascinating bloom. I understand that friend started to photograph the flowers in the early evening, and stayed up until past midnight to document the flowers in full bloom. The photos show the gigantic white flowers of the Queen of the Night at various stages of development during that one evening, truly a wonderful sight to behold.
Lastly for now, an overseas contribution. Didit Ledesma, a statistics specialist at the AVRDC — World Vegetable Center in Tainan, Taiwan, sent me some wonderful photos of her recent trip to the Queen Sirikit Botanical Gardens in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Didit, who was formerly with the UP Los Baños, said that among all the greenhouses in the Botanical Gardens, it was the cactus greenhouse where she "lingered the longest". The plants there were just beautiful. I’ve not been to Chiang Mai myself, but I should plan a trip there very soon to see the beautiful exhibits that Didit saw. The closest I’ve been to in Thailand is the world-famous Chatuchak weekend market in Bangkok, where one can find many beautiful and rare succulent specimens. If you find yourself there one day, make sure you bargain down the prices.
To all our readers, thanks a lot for your contributions and support. And if you have something interesting to share, please don’t hesitate to write me about it. Again, I should be featuring a number of other tributes in the future.
E-mail the author at succulentophile@yahoo.com.
Let me start with Ryan Lee, who has an interest in euphorbias, haworthias, and other succulents. In fact, Ryan does something that I generally don’t have the patience to do – raise some of his plants from seed. Ryan has raised some temperamental Globose euphorbias from South Africa from seed, namely, E. obesa and E. symmetrica. Quite a number of growers here have had difficulty growing and sustaining these plants as imported juveniles or adults. I have been somewhat luckier, as my one obesa and symmetricas have not given me too many problems so far. But by raising these plants from seed, Ryan is assuring his wards a better chance of surviving here, as the seedlings normally are better able to adapt than imported plants.
Ryan writes, "At first they (the seedlings) looked like lollipops but now they’ve either become lower or their base has become fatter. I never realized how slow they grow. It’s strange that each one (of the E. obesa seedlings) seems to be colored differently – one is bluish, another yellow-green, and the other brownish-green." Ryan planted the seeds in September 2003, and as of April 2004 (when he sent me the photos), his seedlings look more and more like the adult plants they will become. And, very much like us humans, there is variability among the plants, hence, the different coloration they have assumed even if these are being raised in the same pot and under the same growing conditions.
On Ryan’s other succulents, he contributed an excellent photo of H. cooperi v. truncate, a beautiful, translucent-leaved heavy offsetting species. Ryan writes, "I water it every day because if I don’t, it becomes a bit soft." He waters his other succulents almost every morning, because when he used to water once a week last year, his wards started to become light brown from the base. And some became completely covered with a corky bark. That just goes to show what different microenvironments can have on one’s growing regimen. In my case, if I watered my plants every day, these would soon turn to mush. But Ryan has obviously had success. Of course, seedlings can and should take a lot more moisture if they are to grow and remain healthy. Most expert growers keep their succulent seedlings constantly moist for up to their first year of life. Thereafter, they taper off the watering to the more usual succulent-watering regimens.
Cindy Trinidad was bitten by the succulent bug over a year ago and she’s been collecting ever since. As can be gleaned from her various photos, Cindy is also an excellent photographer. Photography is her other hobby and I may ask Cindy to do a photo shoot for a future article. Right now, her collection is housed in a "small space" in her garage. With the growing number of plants she has, I’m sure that space will be expanded sooner or later.
Edna "Bo Peep" Franco is a professor at the Ateneo de Manila University and the executive director for the Ateneo Center for Organization Research and Development. She also used to work for the Quezon City Mayor Sonny Belmonte, when he was president of Philippine Airlines back in the early ‘90s. Bo Peep’s Mom is a regular reader of this column. She obviously read with interest my discussion on the night-blooming epiphytic cacti, known locally as the "Queen of the Night," a few months back. The scientific name for this species according to Dr. Madulid’s encyclopedia, Pictorial Cyclopedia of Philippine Ornamental Plants, published by Bookmark, is Epiphylum exypetalum. This species flowers only in the evenings, and only for one night. It produces a wonderful dama de noche type fragrance. The flower dies the next morning.
Fortunately, a friend of Bo Peep’s was able to photograph this plant in its fascinating bloom. I understand that friend started to photograph the flowers in the early evening, and stayed up until past midnight to document the flowers in full bloom. The photos show the gigantic white flowers of the Queen of the Night at various stages of development during that one evening, truly a wonderful sight to behold.
Lastly for now, an overseas contribution. Didit Ledesma, a statistics specialist at the AVRDC — World Vegetable Center in Tainan, Taiwan, sent me some wonderful photos of her recent trip to the Queen Sirikit Botanical Gardens in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Didit, who was formerly with the UP Los Baños, said that among all the greenhouses in the Botanical Gardens, it was the cactus greenhouse where she "lingered the longest". The plants there were just beautiful. I’ve not been to Chiang Mai myself, but I should plan a trip there very soon to see the beautiful exhibits that Didit saw. The closest I’ve been to in Thailand is the world-famous Chatuchak weekend market in Bangkok, where one can find many beautiful and rare succulent specimens. If you find yourself there one day, make sure you bargain down the prices.
To all our readers, thanks a lot for your contributions and support. And if you have something interesting to share, please don’t hesitate to write me about it. Again, I should be featuring a number of other tributes in the future.
BrandSpace Articles
<
>
