The online magazine for cactus and succulent enthusiasts Issue 18 September 2018 This issue includes: Adenia Part 2 types, shapes and forms by Nick Gash Czeching it out two leading Czech nurseries by Ian Woolnough Adenia stylosa, Ankarana Editorial names and I must admit I am none I repotted the Coryphantha at the the wiser. start of the growing season, It’s well-known that growing cacti something that was long-overdue. Coryphanthas are slow-growing takes patience. Of course there are It must have breathed a sigh of plants and it is generally some precocious species that relief as it stretched its roots in its considered that many of them will show off their flowers at an early smart new 3.5inch pot. age, but many cacti are a lot more not flower until they are around sedate in their approach to eight–ten years old. Mine must be Or was it just that it had finally flowering. older than that, since it was a reached the right age for this reasonable size when I acquired it particular plant to flower? So I was delighted when one of my back in 2010. coryphanthas decided to flower for I guess I will never really know, but the first time this year. I bought it in So what factors prompted it to I will certainly be interested to see 2010, from a garden centre, produce its first flower this year? if it flowers again next year. labelled C. palmeri, which is now, Well one obvious contender is the according to the ‘New Cactus UK’s summer heatwave, Lexicon’, C. compacta. Kathy which was officially Flanagan, in her article on declared on 22 June and Coryphantha in the ‘Essex stretched through July Succulent Review’, September and the beginning of 2017, remarked that C. palmeri can August. Although be “associated with two different temperatures were hot, species C. compacta and the plants were largely C. delicata”. I have peered intently shrouded in shading for at pictures of plants under all three most of that time. During the hot weather I acquired two large fans which meant the conservatory (where the The Essex Succulent Review is plants are grown) had considerably And finally, after all that waiting, published quarterly in March, more air-movement than has been here’s a not particularly good June, September and December. the case previously. picture! It is available on-line free of charge. Visit the website www.essexsucculentreview.org.uk to subscribe to the mailing list or email: Sheila Cude Past issues are archived on the website. © The Essex Succulent Review may be freely distributed while the copyright of the text and pictures remains with the writers and photographers. Permission is required for any use other than reading, printing for your own use or storage. Editor Sheila Cude Address 25 Macleod Road London N21 1SW Phone 020 8340 1928 Email Sheila Cude The British Cactus and Succulent Society (BCSS) is the National Society for growers of cacti and succulents in the UK. Zone 15 covers Essex and For more details see BCSS events or north-east London. email Dave Appleton 2 Czech–Mate? A proposed trip to the Prague Czech Republic by James Gold Avid readers of this journal will know that I organise an no annual Continental Cactus Crawl. It is usually a group Br of approximately 30 Crawlers, and takes place over a four-day period. This year we visited 13 nurseries across The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and, for Straw the first time, France. For those interested, a wry and amusing summary of each Crawl is penned each year Man by John Watmough and published in the Essex Duration – (Eight Days) Succulent Review. It is a full two days I ‘inherited’ the Cactus Crawl from John and Joyce on the coach to Jackson, who originally created the Crawl back in Prague and 1999. In an attempt to make the Crawl ‘my own’, I hence two have tried to reinvigorate it and keep it relevant to the days back. A needs of Crawlers, by changing the parking/pick-up day or two in arrangement, hotels and most importantly adding six Prague, a day new nurseries to the list. It is sad to note that John to/around Brno passed away in July. However, I am proud to carry on what he and Joyce started. and one day in an adjacent region. Perhaps the next logical step is to look beyond the The first day might traditional European countries which we normally visit be a long trip from the UK to Stuttgart with a visit to, and look east to the Czech Republic. There are say, Uhligs. certainly great things happening there in the cactus and succulent world. A lot of good Czech growers Timing – May/June attend the BCSS National Show, the annual Haworthia As the growing season is behind ours. Society Convention and, of course, ELK in Belgium. I Nurseries I have emailed and called many nurseries have even met them at the French National which is with many not responding at all. The nurseries I did almost exclusively French. To that end, I circulated this correspond with varied enormously. Quite a lot were years’ Crawlers with a ‘straw man’ (see right) and 12 hobbyists who could not deal with a coach load of Crawlers came back with positive responses. people and had very little stock. I list below nurseries Overall the trip will be quite different to the current from which I had a response: Cactus Crawl. Four, probably more like five, long days Otaker Potyka will be spent sitting on the coach. In addition, there will Pavel Karkoska be shorter journeys on all other days. At this point and Petra Pavelka (Prague) – very promising before I do any more work on this, the question in my Rudi – nr Brno mind is, how many people are interested in paying Hajak £800 for an eight-day trip to nurseries that are all Dubens unvisited? How many people would sit on a coach for Jasana + 5 days? Is it a cost-effective way to buy plants? Kakteen Ph Flora· Jareslav Snicer Having had a very positive response from 12 Crawlers I would very much like to know if other enthusiasts Cost – (£700–£800) would be interested in such a trip. Even better, would Likely to be twice the Crawl price, for obvious reasons. be feedback and information from those who have experience of the nurseries in this part of the world. I If you are interested or can help with any have already had support from a number of people but, information, I would be most grateful. in particular, I must thank Ian Woolnough for all his James Gold help. He has also written an article on two of the larger Mobile: 07765 131883 Czech nurseries (see page 4 of this issue). Email: James Gold 3 Czeching it out Visiting two leading Czech nurseries by Ian Woolnough Fig. 1 The roof-top greenhouse above the garage was crammed with choice and rare grafted goodies rowing cacti and succulents in the Czech Republic, as Git is now known, is a popular hobby. Having seen talks and heard tell of the incredible plants, what fantastic growers they are and the great hospitality offered I was keen to see all this at first-hand. Fig. 2 Trays of grafted plants including some of the yellow M. luethyi 4 Czeching it out continued Above: Fig. 3 A tray of cristate pediocacti on cold hardy stock Above right: Fig. 4 By gouging out the growing points of grafted plants a large number of offsets can be grown very quickly enabling significant numbers of grafted plants to be produced in a short period of time During the last few years I had met Czechs at ELK, the European convention held in Blankenberge, Belgium during early September, and marvelled at the range of rarely-seen, well-grown, choice plants they sold. In the early years especially, they were very competitively priced, (although of late they seem to have realised that they were perhaps too cheap and their prices have increased quite a lot as a result). On a number of occasions I had popped across the channel to visit collections and wholesale nurseries open to the public in Holland and Belgium and decided that extending one of these trips further east, to include Germany and the Czech Republic, was required. So, back in 2012, I made my Fig. 5 Some amazing Astrophytum forms Fig. 6 A tray of Gymnocalycium spegazzinii forms all with different habitat locations from where their seed was collected 5 Czeching it out continued Fig. 7 Otaker Potaka first visit, with some companions, based in ending up giving change from £12, if senior centre left, in Brno. On the way to and from the Czech memory serves, and the food was excellent the central Republic we stopped at nurseries in (the beer was not bad either!). greenhouse area Germany, but I found their prices far too conversing with Mike Anyway on to the plants and growers. I high, (it is overall a very expensive country), Harvey of Norwich would break down the growers I know of and hardly bought anything from there, Branch through our into two groups; a number of larger, more something I was grateful for once I had student interpreter commercial growers and then hobbyists seen what else was on offer during the trip. who tend to specialise and sell plants The Czech Republic in contrast is a very through co-operative type arrangements. reasonably priced country and our Although we visited some of the smaller excellent ‘pension’ – a bed and breakfast – hobbyist type growers, and saw their wares was great value for money.