Those Fascinating Cadi^ and Other Succulent Plants
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days are short. Even out of bloom, the should be unHghted at night. foliage is attractive. Provide extra humidity, as by misting Normal house temperatures suit occasionally or standing the pot on a kalanchoe, and it does not demand high tray of wet pebbles. Take care to avoid humidity. Keep it in sun. In summer, overwatering, the greatest cause of set the pot outdoors in light shade orchid mortality. Once a week is usu- where you will remember to water it. ally ample. Remove dead flower spikes, and shape When the plant is obviously growing, plants by pinching over-long shoots. feed it monthly with mild liquid plant Water when the soil feels dry. Two or food. three times a year, feed it with a mild FOR FURTHER READING: house plant fertilizer. To get bloom the following winter, Snyder, Rachel. The Complete Book for keep kalanchoe at a bright window in Gardeners, D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc., Princeton, N.J. 08540, 1964. a room unused at night, where no arti- ficial light reaches it. From late winter to Memorial Day you can buy HYDRANGEAS blooming in pots—pink through rose to tones of Those Fascinating blue, and sometimes white—huge trus- Cadi^ and Other ses of crisp flat flowers atop compact green foliage. Unless you live in a Succulent Plants mild-winter climate, it is best to accept your pot hydrangea as a beautiful but short-lived product of the florist's skill. \JAÁACTi and other succulent plants Keep it as long as possible by copious originate in areas where water is only watering (twice daily) and setting it in occasionally available, and are there- a cool bright place. The florist created fore conditioned to deal with long the plant from stem cuttings rooted the periods of drought. They possess struc- year before, artificially "wintered" in tural modifications enabling them to storage, and forced into bloom in a store moisture for use in times of warm greenhouse. scarcity. If you have garden space in the shade Such adaptations may be similar in outdoors, set the plant out there, re- both groups (note that all cacti are moved from the pot, to enjoy its hand- succulents, but not all succulents are some foliage the rest of summer. cacti). Storage areas include thickened Where winters are mild, the plant leaves, stems and coims. Leaves, which might succeed in your outdoor garden. transpire precious moisture, may be Set it in high shade, in humusy soil. eliminated altogether (with the stem Allow at least one square yard of taking over the process of photosyn- garden space for hydrangea. thesis), or the moisture in the leaves Specialty flower shops increasingly may be protected from evaporation by offer potted and blooming ORCHIDS. This a leathery surface, or covered with wiry trend will grow as more people learn or velvety hairs, thick spines or even how easy and durable many orchids are. with a powdery coating. New propagating methods have in- The very shape of many succulents creased the supply. A phalaenopsis hy- provides the same protection; globular brid or miniature cymbidium is a pot and columnar forms offer the least ex- plant of lasting value. It will come al- posed area to the drying effects of sun ready potted in suitable porous medium and wind. such as fir bark, and should need no Many times there are "look-alikes" in reworking for at least two years. the two groups. Certain cacti coming Give it a bright, cool window but from the New World closely resemble not intense sun. Since blooming may be counterparts in the Euphorbias of triggered by day length, its place Africa. 226 cactus in many parts of the world to- day. The majority of other succulents ( ex- cluding Agave, Echeveria, Sedum, Sempervivum and a few others) are indigenous to Africa and a few scattered areas in the Eastern Hemisphere. Both cacti and other succulents are excellent subjects for the outdoor garden, greenhouse or window-sill as they can put up with a minimum of care, provided they have a requisite amount of sunlight and their condition of hardiness is respected. Cacti for the outdoor garden in areas incurring frost are more or less limited to the genus Opuntia, but Pediocactus, Coryphantha and a few species of Echinocereus can also withstand frost in well-drained sandy soils, and in May and June will reward the grower with large satiny shimmering flowers of in- comparable beauty. If one is so lucky as to enjoy frost- free conditions such as those provided in parts of Florida, the southwestern A sedum for indoors. United States and California, then there are literally several hundred genera and thousands of species to choose from for How do we then differentiate be- an ornamental garden. tween cacti and other succulents? It is Colorful lawns can be created by the not always easy. Presence or absence use of members of the ice-plant family of leaves can be helpful; size and bril- (Aizoaceae); charming borders can be liance of flowers also, but the real test fashioned of Echeveria, Sedum, Sem- comes by learning to recognize the pervivum, etc., all of which produce aréole. masses of flower. The aréole is possessed by cacti Pin-cushion plants (Mammillaria) alone, and consists of cushion-like modi- can be combined with white-haired fication on the body of the cactus from columnar cacti (Cephalocereus) and which arise spines, hairs (and the golden-barrels (Echinocactus grusonii) barbed hairs or spines of Opuntia), to design a delightful desert garden flowers, fruit, and often the new filled with interesting and bizarre growth. shapes. The flowers of cacti are usually more Take care to provide the best ex- conspicuous and most often appear posure to the sun, a soil which is one- from aréoles near the top of the plant. half sharp sand and one-half rich loam In other succulents they are inclined or leaf mold, and occasional water. It is to be less showy and more likely to emerge from between the leaves or from the base. In addition, with a very minor possi- AUTHOR Helen B. Fogg of Merion Sta- tion, Pa., is an active member of the ble exception (a form of Rhipsalis), all Cactus and Succulent Society of America. cacti are native to the Western Hemis- CO-AUTHOR John M. Fogg, Jr. is Director phere. It is sometimes hard to believe of the Arboretum of the Barnes Founda- this because of the vast areas of escaped tion, at Merion Station. 227 not true that these desert plants want Clay pots, which allow transpiration, no water at all or that they enjoy im- require more watering. They are per- poverished soil. They merely put up haps more attractive, but harder to keep with poor conditions, but do their best clean and heavier to handle. blooming with more charitable treat- To the previously mentioned soil ment. mixture (sand, rotted leaf-mold, loam) Although most of us are not privi- many growers add a little bone meal, a leged to grow tender plants out of small amount of superphosphate and a doors, we still can make gardens of small amount of cow manure (these are cacti in summer by sinking the pots in optional). the ground to produce attractive effects, A few camphor crystals tend to dis- and at the same time give the plants courage the root mealy-bug. The pot a summer vacation in the fresh air. should have a drainage hole which is For indoors the choice is almost limit- covered by broken crock. less. One may, according to one's fancy, Most succulents and many cacti can have cacti with such intriguing names be propagated from cuttings or offsets. as "Sand dollar" (Astrophytum aste- Cacti should be allowed to dry about rias), "Bishop's cap" (A. mtjriostigma), 48 hours and succulents for half that "Old man" (Cephalocereus senilis), time or until a callous has formed. Dip "Old lady" (Mammillaria hahniana), the calloused end in a rooting hormone "Powder puff" (M. bocasana), "Peanut- and stand on the surface of a damp cactus" (Chamaecereus sylvestri), "Rain- sandy mixture, propped up with tooth- bow cactus" (Echinocereus dasyacan- picks or other suitable support until thus), "Boxing-glove" {Opuntia rooting has taken place. Cover the top mamilhta), "Bird's-nest" {Mammillaria of the soil with a quarter inch of sand. camptotricha), "Rat-tail" ( Aporocac- Do not water for at least a week. tus), "Silver-torch" {Cleistocactus When and if mealy bugs are evident, straussii), and so forth. remove them with a fine camel's-hair The common names of succulents brush dipped in rubbing alcohol. other than cacti can also engage our Red spiders attack many succulents. fancy and as fully live up to the image An effective cure is a forceful spray of created. For example, there is the cold water or a weak solution of Volck "Plush-plant" {Kalanchoe tomentosa), Oil Spray. "Adam's needle" {Yucca filamen- It is well to know the place of origin tosa), "Airplant" {Kalanchoe pinnata), of your plants, as most of them require "Baby'S'toes" ( Fenestraria rhopalo- resting periods. Those from South phylla), "Tiger-jaws" {Faucaria), and Africa, for instance, rest during the many other names which summon up summer and require little water at that the image of the plant. time. Cacti, on the other hand, need a One can make a really fanciful and long dry resting period and should re- diverse collection. ceive no water from mid-October to To grow these plants into healthy mid-M arch. During these months they specimens and make them flower—any welcome a temperature down to 40'^ grower's supreme ambition—it is neces- to 45° F, but still prefer full sun.