A Profile In Diversity: Philodendrons

Another day in Test Garden Paradise

            Welcome back to another episode of Lost In The Farmer’s Market, where we take a look into varied topics regarding sustainability, horticulture and organic practices. This week I had intended talk about Philodendrons, but due to the extreme cold at the beginning of the year many of my specimens simply did not make it. While this is sad it allows for some unique and interesting filler material before we get to the main topic. I rarely use filler material in these posts but since I only have five specimens of Philodendrons, and technically one of those is a variegated version of one of the others that doesn’t make for a satisfying read. So, with that in mind, expect a bit of a test garden update. Let us start with some interesting stuff, first I did promise in an earlier episode that I would post more pictures of the Limelight Christmas cactus in normal camera settings to help you the reader get a better grasp of how different the variety really is.

I like this one because of the large bud in the background and the neon-pink looking petals.

Obviously I used flash to try and get more out of the petals themselves to show off the yellow-chartreuse.

Oh myyy! theres that yellow-chartreuse I was talking about!

How about that, it’s pink, and yellow-chartreuse and totally outrageous by Christmas cactus standards. I hope these new photos help all you out there really grasp what kind of colors Limelight is capable of.

But what’s this down here? What you see is a Dwarf Peace Lily in a domed terrarium, I recently came across a large batch of these plants, which were legally cloned. They do get larger eventually but what makes them much more interesting is that their blooms which are actually called Spadix, and the ‘petals’ are actually a modified form of bract.

If you recall, bracts are modified leaves that serve in place of flower petals for plants with differing floral arrangements. The colored ‘flowers’ on poinsettias are actually bracts while the true flower is the tiny thing at the center. Likewise, with Peace lilies which are not lilies but actually Arum, the crinkly thing at the center of the ‘flower’ is actually a cluster of flowers. In case you are wondering, this little gem is available at LeClair’s General store along with a selection of other terrarium options.

Phone photo does this no justice.

This picture is of the bloom of Hatiora/rhipsalis type cacti, it’s a bit blurry because it was taken with my phone but it does give a general idea. Now it’s time we get onto the actual topic at hand, the Philodendrons.

 

Epipremnum hybrid ‘Marble Queen’

Marble queen is sort of a hit and miss in the industry because it’s either got the genetic toughness of normal devil’s ivy or it simply does not. Add in that the unique white variegation inhibits its ability to photosynthesize and you get a very slow growing form of devil’s ivy that is almost anti-invasive. Unlike normal devil’s Ivy or golden pothos, the marbled white colors of Marble queen make it an excellent secondary plant in a pot with a faster growing but taller primary plant. For the purposes of accuracy there is a common misconception about devil’s ivy that is somewhat of a problem. Devil’s Ivy is not a true philodendron it belongs to the family Araceae, whereas the true philodendrons belong to the family Aroideae. Some could say this is splitting hairs as Aroideae is a sub-family of Araceae. The Aroideae sub-family includes two other very famous tough to kill house plants; Anthurium andraeanum aka Flamingo Flower and Zamioculcas zamifolia or the Zig-Zag plant. Ultimately the mislabeling of Devil’s Ivy is a minor offense because it is still somewhat related and true philodendrons and it go together so well that in terms of care they pretty much want the same things. In the pictured example (sorry, phone photo) I planted four marble queens around two tree philodendrons. The tree philodendrons would provide moderate shade for the marble queens and the marble queens keep anything else from sprouting in the planter. By the way this planter was at Leclairs and sold recently which is why I had to rely on a phone photo I didn’t get to the store with an actual camera in time.

Philodendron bipinnatifidum / selloum – Tree philodendron

            These house plants are nearly indestructible, they have a moderate growth rate and tend to be available in three separate forms (Leclairs offers two).  Normally in the plant trade you will see the variety pictured, a variant with less frilled leaf margins and another with incredible amounts of fills on the leaf margins. The variety that has smaller leaf margin frills is depicted below for reference. 

Philodendron bipinnatifidum / selloum – Tree philodendron

Tree philodendrons are nice because they are more tolerant of cold than most of their species, they can handle some dryness in the soil but are dramatic enough when wilting that it’s hard to miss that they need water and they make plants for containerized arrangements. For note, the word Philodendron comes from the Greek words Philo meaning love or affection and Dendron meaning Tree. Since most philodendrons will climb up any surface they are offered it is no surprise where the name came from.

 

Philodendron hybrid ‘Moonlight’ – Moonlight Philodendron

            This central stem type philodendron is the sole survivor of my collection of varied philodendrons of it’s type. The Duke of Orange and Midnight philodendrons of the same type all were lost in the deep freeze during early January.  As sad as that is, this moonlight philodendron has been vigorous all winter and as you can see is doing quite well in the living room. What makes this plant unique is that it’s new growth emerges bright chartreuse green, then it matures to a darker shade of the same color. In theory it also will bloom in a few years and the bloom is a spadix that emerges white or pink.  I should say that this Philodendron is a moderate to slow grower which is refreshing when compared to a lot of philodendrons. I may have some of these at the market this spring/summer.

 

Philodendron cordatum – Heart Leaf Philodendron

            Don’t mind the dust folks, I’ve had this specimen for years and it’s the most tolerant house plant I’ve ever seen. For those of you who are thinking, ‘why don’t you use leaf polish on those leaves…get that dust off.’ The picture does not accurately show how big this plant is. There are hundreds of leaves that would need that treatment and honestly in nature dust isn’t an issue so why bother in a house setting? If you can get a heart leaf philodendron, then you’ve got your self an air purifier that can also to some extent purify water. While I do not quite understand the mechanism that triggers this response at times heart-leaf philodendrons will exude water from the tips of their leaves. This may be surplus water or a means of increasing humidity, but at times there can be a noticeable amount of it. Unfortunately, I do not know of any scientific studies that have ascertained how clean the water is but since my plant is a house plant it’s not exactly receiving acid rain. Either way, in Heart-leaf philodendron is moderate-somewhat fast growing and its clinging roots can latch on to your walls. Fortunately cutting it back does no real harm and the cuttings can be rooted in water and given away or sold with a relatively quick turnaround. If the plain green foliage isn’t your thing then Philodendron cordatum ‘Brazil’ is your alternative.

Philodendron cordatum ‘Brazil’

Brazil is much more colorful, is a bit slower growing but the random bright green banding on the leaves is quite charming. As a final note to those of you with pets,philodendrons contain insoluble crystals of calcium-oxalate which are released by a chewing action and are mildly or moderately toxic to cats and dogs. Symptoms of poisoning by philodendron include drooling, frothing at the mouth, vomiting, lack of appetite and pawing at the mouth. This may also include swelling of the oral cavity and this could lead to respiratory complications if left untreated. But enough on philodendrons, this brings to a close the second post of February 2018 and a look at the biology of Arum and Aroids when grown as house plants. For note this is where the advertising starts because it keeps the Test Garden’s supplied. As always barring terribly wet and cold weather or illness I still manage a vendor’s space at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Maxwell street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. I sell four things primarily during the winter months and they are:

Soup Kits - $6.00

Seasoning Packets – $2.00

Whole Garlic – $1.00

Beyond the expected faire I am pleased to announce that the first vegetable plants of 2018 will be offered this weekend. All plants offered are cold hardy, but may need some protection if the weather dips below 35 degrees. This is the start of many good things to come as I can confirm that I will be offering Nobel Spinach and Purple Vienna Kohlrabi in the coming weeks also. Stay tuned for all those garden crops you didn’t know you wanted but suddenly you do.

Parris Island Romaine Lettuce – $3.00

Lacinato/Dinosaur Kale – $3.00

Italian Parsley – $3.00

If the market isn’t your thing or your schedule does not allow you to go there my premium exotic house plants can be purchased in attractive clay pots with unique embellishments at LeClair’s General Store. LeClair’s General Store is located on 1212 Fort Bragg Road in Fayetteville North Carolina.

This is their Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/leclairsgeneralstore/

The Visit NC page’s Listing:

https://www.visitnc.com/listing/leclair-s-general-store

These days I am generally at the store at least twice a week, maintaining stock and/or delivering new materials so if you go to visit the store there is a fair chance I’ll be present to answer your questions. If not, you can always send me questions through this blog or visit the farmer’s market or pay attention to what Sustainable Neighbors is doing at the link below.

https://www.meetup.com/SustainableNeighbors/

            This brings to a close the fourth LITFM post of the new year, stay tuned the next episode which should be posted on the 8th of March. The topic will be: A Profile In Diversity: The Aloe Family.

P.S.

            Hit up LeClair’s General Store and be the first to own a pre-made terrarium with a exotic plant that is guaranteed to be the focus of conversation. Currently in the store there are four terrariums; with a single plant in each. The options are Dwarf Peace Lily, Artillery Plant, Fairy Castle Cactus and a Dwarf Arrowhead vine.

A Profile In Diversity: The Holiday Cacti

            Generally speaking, most people think of cacti in a very limited light; they expect cacti to look like the Saguaro, Prickly pear, Barrel Cactus, or even the Mammillaria, and yet this is only part of the big picture when it comes to Cacti. To further blur the line, a lot of cacti don’t have the word cactus in their common name while a lot of succulents are called cacti but are not. A good example of the former is the Eve’s Needle (Austrocylindropuntia subulata) which is a true cactus and a relative in the Prickly pear family. An example of the latter is the Pencil Cactus (Euphorbia tirucali) which is not a true cactus. To add to this confusion, many thing that cacti grow only in deserts, and dry areas in the Midwest when in fact cacti have adapted to survive on mountainsides (san pedro cactus), grasslands (lawn peyote), and even in forests (the holiday cacti). The diversity as seen is quite impressive and thus many ask what defines a cactus since it’s known that all cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti. The key defining features of a cactus are the following.

1.      They tend to originate from habitats with some level of regular drought.

2.      They show a number of adaptations that conserve water.

3.      They generally have a thickened stem structure that stores water.

4.      Most species have lost the ability to produce true leaves.

5.      The spines we see are actually highly modified leaves.

6.      Stems perform photosynthesis.

7.      Cacti often have shallow fibrous root systems designed to suck up any rain that may fall.

8.      Cacti stems are often ribbed which allows them to readily expand or contract during or after a rainfall.

So, with that said in this episode of LITFM, we are going to take a look at one of the most widely distributed true cacti in the world, the Holiday cactus. Now I know I did an episode on this prior but this year I have quite a number of photos to demonstrate the variety of colors that these forest cacti can bring into your home. But first, I know what some of you may be thinking, ‘Christmas Cacti are bland most of the year’, this is absolutely true however they are also one of the most tolerant easily propagated cacti known. This allows for someone to grow them with a minimum of fuss and very little special care other than a repotting every few years.

In fact, the holiday cactus are almost polar opposites in terms of care to what we would actually expect from a cactus, they like soil with organic content, don’t like being pot bound for too long and don’t like bright direct sun.  It is a common trick in the agriculture business to claim there is an absolute difference between the Easter, Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti when in fact, the only difference in their bloom time is how many photo periods of increasing and waning sunlight they are exposed to. Thus, you could get an Easter cactus to bloom at Christmas and a Thanksgiving cactus to bloom at Easter with careful management. Generally, there are two primary groups of Holiday cactus in the trade; (Schlumbergia truncata) Christmas Cactus and (Schlumbergia berkleyii) Thanksgiving Cactus. The two are differentiated by the fact that the first one has angular stem segments (they’re called pads) and is commonly also called crab cactus and the second one has rounded stem segments. Literally the number of photoperiods these two species of cacti see is all that differentiates their blooming time but of course we’ve seen this before as this is similar to what is done with Poinsettias and our perennial garden bulbs. Literally on a small scale we are playing a bit of god by tricking a somewhat simpler life form into performing its yearly ritual when it’s convenient for us. In the Agriculture trade we do this a lot; that’s why certain plants arrive at the nursery already blooming in spring, we manipulate temperatures and light and other tricks to get what we want.

But wait, there’s more, there is a third common member of the same family called Hatiora, these thin-stemmed cacti are a forest epiphyte and the most famous representative of this family is commonly called ‘Dancing Bones Cactus’, ‘Spice Cactus’ or, ‘Drunkard’s Dream’ (Hatiora salicornioides). The first name comes from the longer extended stem segments that look like bones and the fact that they tend to sway in the wind giving the illusion of dancing. The third common name comes from the shape of new and intermediate age stem segments which resemble wine bottles. I don’t precisely know where the second nickname came from, but the flowers of this cacti tend to be turmeric-yellow in color so that’s my best bet. The best part is that Drunkard’s Dream takes literally the same care as a Holiday cactus and tends to bloom roughly between February and April which gives it the common name of Easter Cactus. The difference between Drunkard’s Dream and the other holiday cacti is that you can perceive its active growth, as it’s a moderate to somewhat-fast grower especially during summer with regular water and modest fertilizing.

            Propagation of holiday cacti is very easy, simply twist off a stem that has at least three segments dip the open wound in powdered rooting hormone and stick the segment in a new pot with lightly moist soil mix and monitor for dryness over the next few weeks. The new plant should root in three to four weeks and if you are intending to sell, give it an extra four weeks and light fertilizer to get the pads to swell. For note, Schlumbergia, take a bit longer to get to a moderate saleable size often up to two or three months so plan ahead. If your taking cuttings to save a plant or as a gift then they are ready when a gentle tug on the cutting provides resistance. I should note that just because these cacti are forest cacti does not mean they will tolerate being exposed to very bright all-day sun (7+ hours) very cold, or constantly wet. But as promised I have pictures of this year’s Holiday Cactus display which started in December and is nearing its end in February.

 

Pink tubes, white petals - a true bicolor

 This one is the oldest Christmas cactus in the collection, it was bought at Home Despot in New Jersey and made the trip to NC with me back in 2009. the wispy green stuff in the background is the branches of a Hatiora salicornoides  whose origins I cannot recall but have been in that same pot for at least five or six years now.

This is one hell of a shade of red...three technically.

This Christmas cactus was added to the collection along with two others, and according to the color analysis software I used to try and get an idea of what shade of red it is, it's fire engine red, Cranberry red and Crimson depending on the angle. In case you are wondering the blossoms are crinkly like that because I think they got slightly frosted.






This was a mixed colors pot from the same source as the above red one. Pure white with pink accents and incredibly pink bordering on fuchsia. The next two photos are two angles on the same plant.

While labelled as Dark orange, I prefer to call it Fireball orange.

This is  the third one in that group of plants that came from a Sustainable neighbors Seed Swap. Before this Christmas Cactus I did not think they came in any true shade of orange.

Now with 20% more redness!

Here is another red one, labelled as 'very dark red' it sure lived up to it's name. The curling of the petals is an interesting touch. Much like all the schlumbergia in the collection, this is a crab cactus.

Quick shot of Limelight Christmas cactus about to bloom note the bud color.

Now for the big surprise, last year I was offering a unique variety of Christmas cactus called 'lime light' for sale at LeClair's General Store.  What made the variety interesting was that the parent plant demonstrated bold chartreuse blooms. What I did not expect was that the cuttings would throw a curve ball.  As you can see in this shot, the buds aren't white or yellow as expected but largely pink which should have been an indicator of what was about to happen. Normally with Christmas Cactus, the color of the buds is a strong hint to the final color of the bloom.

This true color shot seems to have skewed the color of this Lime Light.

Dancing Bones Cactus

Pictured here is the first bloom of 'Lime Light'. While I realize that the drop cloth and the true-color setting of the camera has skewed the actual color of the bloom,  the bright pink colors in the tube and reproductive parts is accurate. The bloom turned out to be more of a Chartreuse-yellow than a Chartreuse-Green. From my perspective though yellow or green on a Christmas cactus even with pink tones is still a rarity as they are colors you simply do not ever see. In the next week or so I will try a re-shoot of a 'Lime Light' in bloom as the heavily budded cactus in the above picture is about to bloom any day now. I hope I can have a better image up here in the next episode so all of you out there can get a real feel for what 'Lime Light' has to offer.

This is a close up of Hatiora salicornoides, while it is not in bloom you can see why it got the name 'Drunkard's Dream'. The stem segments with age get longer as you can see and they go from a young sort of beer bottle shape to a wine bottle shape and then eventually look like bones.

This brings to a close the first post of February 2018 and a decent look at the biology, growing habits and nature of the holiday cacti. For note this is where the advertising starts because it keeps the Test Garden’s supplied. As always barring terribly wet and cold weather or illness I still manage a vendor’s space at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Maxwell street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. I sell four things primarily during the winter months and they are:

Soup Kits - $6.00

Seasoning Packets – $2.00

Whole Garlic – $1.00

Fresh Organic Ginger - $1.00

Also, I will be bringing a number of random house plants every week if weather permits and While the assortment is purely random, there is not a thing for sale that is above $8.00.

If the market isn’t your thing or your schedule does not allow you to go there my premium exotic house plants can be purchased in attractive clay pots with unique embellishments at LeClair’s General Store. LeClair’s General Store is located on 1212 Fort Bragg Road in Fayetteville North Carolina.

This is their Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/leclairsgeneralstore/

The Visit NC page’s Listing:

https://www.visitnc.com/listing/leclair-s-general-store

These days I am generally at the store at least twice a week, maintaining stock and/or delivering new materials so if you go to visit the store there is a fair chance I’ll be present to answer your questions. If not, you can always send me questions through this blog or visit the farmer’s market or pay attention to what Sustainable Neighbors is doing at the link below.

https://www.meetup.com/SustainableNeighbors/

            This brings to a close the third LITFM post of the new year, stay tuned the next episode which should be posted on the 21^st of February. The topic will be: A Profile In Diversity: The Philodendron Family.

P.S.

            Now is the time to start your hot-season annuals such as peppers, tomatoes and eggplant, but remember you may need a heat mat and humidity domes.