Pleiospilos nelii resembles a small rock and typically grows in semi-arid areas; this stemless plant has two or four opposite grey-green to brownish leaves. The leaves have a deep fissure in the middle and small dark spots on the surface.
Flowers are yellow-orange and 2-3 inches across and emerge from the center of the leaves. Blooms occur in the afternoon and close at sunset. The flowering period is from early spring to August.
This plant great for containers.
Spilt Rock is an excellent choice for container gardens.
Don’t bag up and throw away your yard waste! Add them to your compost pile or use them to mulch your shrub or flower beds. If you have a mower shred the leaves by running over them and don’t forget to bag it up when doing this; by shredding the leaf litter this will assure that it will decompose faster. As you build up your compost pile sprinkle some fertilizer that contains nitrogen per 1 foot of leaves to encourage decomposition and remember to keep the pile moist.
Weeding
Weeds will continue to grow during the cool season. Don’t let weeds take over your shrub and flower beds. Your best defense is to keep the soil surface of the beds covered with 2-3 inches of mulch or commonly known in the green industry as weed suppression. Cultivation and hand weeding selectively removes weeds from the landscape. If weeds are scattered throughout the landscape, hand weeding may be the preferred management method. Hand weeding is time consuming, but is a must in all weed management programs to keep weeds from seeding. There is no getting around it; hand weeding must be repeated frequently until plants become established. Cultivation can damage shrubs with shallow roots, bring weed seeds to the soil surface, and propagate perennial weeds. When cultivating avoid deep tilling; this brings buried weed seeds to the soil surface where they are more likely to germinate. Continue reading Fall-Winter NewsLetter→
The Star Fish cactus flower, also known as carrion flowers, are cactus-like succulents with four-angled, coarsely toothed, spineless stems. Stapelia grandiflora is a low, perennial succulent; the stems, surface, and branching make them immediately recognizable. The stems are almost always erect and are usually uniformly green to reddish, depending on the extent of exposure to the sun. The stems branch near the base and form spreading clumps up to 2 ft tall; the stems are not much to look at, but the flowers are remarkable.
Carrion Flower
They are usually 3-10 inches across and usually flattened and shaped like five-pointed stars with a conspicuous round disk in the center. The fleshy petals are often fringed with tiny hairs. Flowers are colored with reds, yellows, browns, and purples, and many are spotted, barred, or mottled.
two series of corona lobes are present: an outer and inner corona
Carrion flowers are native to arid, usually rocky deserts in tropical and southern Africa, where they often grow in the partial shade of larger plants or rocks. Many of the species are confined to the Cape region of South Africa. Starfish Cactus usually are grown in containers and given a distinct cool, dry rest period in winter and require bright light, but most should not have full sun in the summer. Many species do well in partial shade. Flowers do well with light to moderate watering during the growing season, but must be kept dry during the winter. The soil must be extremely well drained, as the stems are prone to rotting if they stay moist. They are very tolerant of extreme heat, but must be protected from frost.
Propagate from cuttings taken in spring or summer. Allow pieces of stem to callus 7-10 days, and then plant in semi-dry soil.
Aloe africana is native to the summer moist coastal Eastern Cape in South Africa where it grows within thickets of shrubs from sea level to nearly 1,000 feet in elevation. This aloe is a solitary often unbranched small tree-like aloe usually grows up to 6 feet with rosettes densely crowded with gracefully arching 2 foot long lance-shaped thick grayish blue-green leaves that have prominent sharp red teeth along the margins and in a row running along the middle of the lower surface with older leaves skirting the trunk. Flowering on this species can happen at other times but most often in mid-winter to early spring (January – March) with an un-branched to few-branched 2 to 3 foot inflorescence of erect long-tapering terminal spikes of flowers that are orange in bud and turn yellow just prior to opening from the bottom of the spike upward.
The individual flowers are held in a downward inclination but uniquely turn upward toward the tips, making identification of this species quite easy. Plant in full sun in well-drained soil and irrigate regularly to very little – though from a climate that gets little frost and more summer moisture within its natural range, it adapts well to our Mediterranean summer dry climate with only infrequent summer irrigation and temperatures down to 25°F. This is a great plant that can be used as a focal point like a small tree aloe and under-planted with other succulents. Keep it back from the path as the teeth are sharp, catch clothing, and cut the skin; in flower, it is sensational and also very attractive to bees and hummingbirds.
This gorgeous, thornless hybrid Palo Verde makes a fine, upright shade tree. The yellow blossoms give it a dazzling display of color. ‘Desert Museum’ grows to be about 15′ – 30′ in height and width, but can be pruned to be kept smaller. Cercidium loves full sun and is impervious to heat; it can take the wind and adapts to poor soil conditions. This tree can be affected by powdery mildew if planted near the coast; it’s much better suited for the warmth and dry inland areas. Once established it only needs occasional watering.
This hybrid Palo Verde has its origin in three parent trees: Parkinsonia microphyllum, Parkinsonia floribundum, and Parkinsonia aculeate.
Tecoma x ‘Sunrise’ ™
This heavy blooming shrub can stand up to the worst heat of the low deserts and the humidity of the tropics, it’s well suited for xeric landscapes, but also responds well to moisture and fertilization in the summer. Its only limitation is sensitivity to the cold.
These flowers have a burnt orange throat accenting the inside of the flower. Each flower bud has a burnished copper color on it, and also on the back of each bloom; it’s best used in oasis and transition landscape design settings, moderately attracts hummingbirds.
