Happy New Year 2020!

Aloe thraskii (Dune Aloe)

Aloe thraskii (Dune Aloe)  

During one of our walks on the beach at Umdloti, not far from Ballito (KwaZulu Natal), I came across these large Aloes growing right on the beach. Fascinating! Not many plants can withstand the onslaught of wind and sea spray and yet, here was this beautiful specimen absolutely thriving in these conditions. Hence the name, Dune Aloe.

Indigenous to South Africa, it is a lovely plant for coastal gardens. This Aloe is a single-stemmed plant with giant, thorny-edged leaves that curve outwards and downwards, like fleshy arches. The sturdy inflorescence's with their racemes of bright yellow flowers appear in June and July and it is one of the few aloes that will withstand wet conditions

Pronunciation : AL-loh THRAS-kee-eye 
Afrikaans: Strandaalwyn
siXhosa: Ikhala
IsiZulu: Umhlaba 

The Dune aloe grows fast in cultivation and is especially suited for coastal situations as it tolerates wind and salt air. It can be grown in inland gardens with mild winters and not overly damp summers. 

It can grow up to 10 feet (3m) tall and is naturally found in dune vegetation along the coast of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape of South Africa. It is a hardy plant but not completely frost resistant.

Aloe thraskii is classed as Near Threatened in its natural habitat, due to habitat loss from urban and coastal development and illegal collecting for the specialist succulent horticultural trade. Experts estimate that 20-30% of the habitat has been lost to urban and coastal development in the last three generations (generation length 20 years). Severe storms are also likely to become more frequent with climate change, and may impact more severely on dune systems in the future.

Candelabra Tree (Euphorbia ingens)

Something that has totally surprised me since we moved to the North Coast of KwaZulu Natal (South Africa) eighteen months ago, is the fact that succulents and cacti grow so beautifully here. I've never seen so many succulents as here in Ballito! I mean, a succulent and a cactus is a desert plant, and yet, here they are, thriving in a tropical, wet climate and being totally at home in an average rainfall of  828 mm (32.6in) per year. EVERY garden boasts dozens of succulents and probably never needs watering!

On my way to town one morning, I spotted these glorious flowers cglowing in the sunlight, so I stopped to take a picture. It was only then that I noticed the large Euphorbia hiding in the shade. At first glance it looked like the Euphorbia had these lovely flowers, but when I got closer, I noticed that the flowers belonged to the tree behind the Euphorbia, an Ant Tree (Triplaris americana), an alien invasive from, yeah, you guessed it, Central and South America. (You can read more about this tree HERE.

Afrikaans : Naboom

Native to South Africa, this tree prefers warm areas and can survive in areas that go through long periods of drought or are generally very dry. It usually grows on rocky outcrops or in deep sand within bush-veld vegetation. Distributed throughout KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, Limpopo Province, Gauteng, North-West Province, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and further into tropical Africa. If you are looking for a low maintenance addition to a rock or succulent garden, this large cactus-like tree is ideal. It can grow up to 40 feet (12m) tall,

The flowers attract butterflies, bees and other insects, which collect pollen and nectar from them, pollinating the trees in the process. The seeds are a good source of food for many fruit and berry eating birds. Birds also like nesting in these trees; hole-nesting birds such as woodpeckers often use dead sections.

 
It is important to mention that Euphorbia ingens is a poisonous plant. If ingested, the latex can pose certain health threats. It can cause skin irritation and even blindness on contact. Since it is considered to be toxic, a lot of people avoid planting them in areas accessible to children and pets.

There is a bright side to the toxic nature of this plant – the poisonous latex makes sure that pests bring no damage to the plants.

Crassula multicava

Crassula multicava (pics taken in Sheffield, Ballito, KwaZulu Natal

For months I've been passing this Crassula on my walks and then, suddenly this week, a pink mist of blooms greeted me as I rounded a bend. I knew all along that it was a Crassula, but the flowers finally allowed me to do a full identification.

Pronunciation - KRASS-yoo-la mul-tee-KAH-vuh
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English: Fairy crassula
Afrikaans: Skaduplakkie
IsiXhosa: intelezi; phewula
IsiZulu: umadinsane

    •    Canopy Shade
    •    Deep / Full Shade
    •    Dry Shade
    •    Light or Dappled Shade
    •    Partial Shade
    •    Sun
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Crassula multicava is particularly useful for dry shade and to cover unsightly spots. It is tender to frost. There is a distinct difference in appearance depending on the position in which the fairy crassula is planted: in deep shade the leaves are larger and dark green and the plant has fewer flowers while in full sun the leaves are smaller and light green and flowering is profuse.
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The flowers are tiny stars on thin stems held above the leaves

And just look at all the benefits of this gorgeous ground-cover!

    •    Attracts bees, butterflies or other insects
    •    Border
    •    Container
    •    Edging
    •    Filler
    •    Ground Cover
    •    Mass Planting
    •    Pioneer for new gardens
    •    Rock Garden
    •    Stabilize Banks
    •    Suitable for coastal gardens
    •    Wild Garden

Indigenous to South Africa, it is found from the southern part of the Western Cape, through the Eastern Cape to Natal and Mpumalanga, in thickets, along river and stream banks and in forest margins. Spreads easily, but it  responds well to pruning: use hedge cutters to remove as much of the foliage as you wish - recovery time is short and the reward is a dense carpet from which a pink mist of blooms will arise. Prune after flowering and seeding have taken place and again in early to mid- winter. Although very vigorous in well-composted, deep soils, this tough little crassula will thrive in clay or sandy soils. Give them a good start with some compost and mulch, and water until established. They propagate easily from seed, from stems and leaves that root and from tiny plants that grow on the tips of the flower stalks.

(Info from Khumbula Nursery)

Succulent addiction

(A warning: If you have any propensity towards cactus love to begin with, moving to the desert will increase it exponentially!) 

The funny thing about succulents is, once the bug has bitten you, it lasts forever. When we left Gauteng a year ago, I gave all my babies away to a good home, often thinking about them, missing them and visualizing starting a new family as soon as I could.

My new (temporary) home didn't allow for much gardening, but the minute I could, I found a space, called it my 'propagation station', and lovingly cultivated a few cuttings. Most were cuttings or leaves given to me by friends and other succulent-lovers and some were collected the old-fashioned way, picking up shed leaves and broken pieces off garden pavements.

Next month we are moving to our permanent coastal home (yes, we decided to stay in KwaZulu Natal!) and now my little collection is ready for re-location to their new home. Soon I'll be able to dig into some soil again and feel the earth move beneath my feet! 💚💚💚

Crassula perfoliata - the first flower!

Dedicated to all you succulent-lovers!

The first flower! Now for the long wait, as I hear this can take quite some time before it opens!

Crassula perfoliata is an attractive summer-flowering succulent with greyish-green sickle-shaped leaves and red flowers. It is easily grown from cuttings or seed. This indigenous South African plant is confined to quartzitic sandstone outcrops (rarely shale), from the Groot Winterhoek Mountains and Port Elizabeth in the south to Umtata in the north-east. The plants grow solitary or in small clusters on north-, east- and west-facing cliffs along dry river valleys. It likes temperatures of about 25°C and the average daily minimum about 10°C and somehow I don’t think this plant is frost-hardy, so I will be bringing it inside for the winter.

Family : Crassulaceae
Common names : Propeller plant, Sekelblaarplakkie (Afrikaans)

Camera : Canon EOS 550D
Taken in my previous garden (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa)

Happy New Year 2019!

In this coming year, plant dreams, pull weeds and grow a happy life!