The Succulent and Cactus Lady : May 2023

About me

🌿 I've been gardening ever since a child, when I spent time with my father in his vegetable garden. But my fascination with Echeverias started in the 1980's, when my father gave me a pot with five Echeverias, which turned out to be E. imbricata. At first I wasn't much interested in them and planted them in some obscure corner of the garden and completely forgot about them. How great was my surprise when, a couple of months later, I noticed that they had spread and made a beautiful display - I was hooked!

Monday, 1 May 2023

Eve's Needle (Looking back)

(Austrocylindropuntia subulata)
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Family: Cactaceae (kak-TAY-see-ee)
Genus: Austrocylindropuntia (oss-troh-sil-in-droh-PUN-tee-uh)
Species: subulata (sub-yoo-LAH-tuh)

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In February 2014, my dear friend Elizabeth Kendall sent me a tiny piece of this Eve’s Needle through the post. Unknown to us, the Post Office was on strike and after a month of being missing in action, the parcel finally arrived with the poor little Eve’s Needle definitely looking worse for the wear. I immediately prepared a pot with some good soil, ample drainage and carefully transplanted her to her new home. Now, almost 8 months later, she has transformed into a beautiful specimen, standing almost 40cm (15") tall.

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Austrocylindropuntia subulata is a large tree-like cactus, up to 13 feet (4 m) tall with round cylindrical joints, up to 2 feet (60 cm) tall and 1.5 – 2.5 inches (4 – 6.5 cm) thick. The green leaves are nearly cylindrical, up to 5 inches (13 cm) long. The spines are light yellow, 1 – 2 per areole, up to 3 inches (8 cm) long. The flowers are red, 2 – 4 inches (5 – 10 cm) long, followed by reddish to red fruits up to 4 inches (10 cm) long.

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This plant is suitable for growing indoors or in containers, is drought-tolerant and produces beautiful red blooms. Needs regular watering but be careful not to over-water.

Eve spent a couple of days under cover as we had a lot of rain over the past two days

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Native to the higher elevations of Ecuador and Peru, this plant was originally introduced to South Africa for the biological control of Opuntia ficus-indica, Eve’s Needle has been declared a Category 1 weed in South Africa as it is a great invader. When the plant gets top-heavy, pieces break off and take root where they fall, soon forming a dense wall of cactus killing anything that grows in its path. So I will be very careful to contain Eve in her pot, trimming regularly and keeping an eye out for any fallen leaves, needles or little pieces that might break off.

UPDATE : My Eve's Needle in March 2016, ready to be planted into a suitable spot in the garden where it will be easily controlled so that it doesn't spread as it is regarded as a bit of a pest here in South Africa. I also found this information that The Eve's needle will rarely bloom in cultivation, but when it does, it produces long, coppery red, showy blooms. Its fruit is oblong with small spines.

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Featured Succulent

Echinopsis grows pretty much anywhere. Here in South Africa they can tolerate summer temperatures of 30°C or greater, which is hot enough to spur growth of both Echinopsis pups and their amazing flowers. They also tolerate cold temperatures well during winter months. However, I bring my potted ones inside during hard freezes or their water-filled bodies will freeze as well. Compared to most cacti, Echinopsis bloom fast and furious. They typically begin blooming in spring. Most blooms only last one or two days and they frequently open at night. But it’s common to have several buds on one plant developing at different rates; so a single plant can be in bloom for several weeks. As a general rule, the smaller the diameter of the blooms a Echinopsis species produces, the more blooms the plant produces. Species that produce monster blooms (some over 6” in diameter) tend to have fewer blooms as so much plant energy goes into producing each one. Echinopsis generally begin to produce flowers when they are two or three years old. Echinopsis is a large genus of cacti native to South America, sometimes known as hedgehog cactus, sea-urchin cactus or Easter lily cactus. One small species, E. chamaecereus, is known as the peanut cactus. The 128 species range from large and treelike types to small globose cacti.

A garden requires patient labour and attention. Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfil good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them. Gardeners are well primed to provide food for birds and animals, but the key to encouraging the widest possible range of wildlife is to think of creating a habitat for creatures to live in. The most important aspect of this is the provision of shelter from the weather and from predators, as well as a place to lay eggs, rear young or hibernate.

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Monday, 1 May 2023

Eve's Needle (Looking back)