A Profile In Diversity: The Sansevieria Family

Welcome back to another belated episode of Lost in the Farmer’s Market or LITFM for short. It’s funny how one might think everything stops cold (no pun intended) in the winter because most things are not actively growing. The reality is that January, February and March are all good months to plan, and begin laying the foundations of a successful garden. Due to this and a sudden uptick in field operations my writing time got slashed so this update is a bit late, but since I know we have a rainy day this Wednesday expect the first February update to be then. Ironically as I write this post the rain is coming down pretty hard which is good because I spent yesterday afternoon cleaning up several areas of the test gardens and planting a border of white daffodils around the memorial bed. Also, a thick layer of pine straw was added to the bed since it’s been in almost a year and the cypress mulch while nice isn’t holding up well. But before I bore you any further with normal test garden procedure let me tell you what made the maintenance run special. 

In the front bed which is a bunch of overgrown, there is a single red amaryllis. For months I planned to dig it and move it to a spot where it would not be smothered by shrubs and never got to it. Yesterday I finally did, and as I was digging around to find it since it had no foliage I discovered that it was two bulbs. Two identical sized bulbs each roughly the size of a baseball which means they were mature offshoots of the original amaryllis. This was very fortunate because I wasn’t quite sure where I was originally going to put the single amaryllis. I walked up the driveway and for the briefest moment thought, “hmmm…two amaryllis I could put them on opposite sides of the Martha’s Vineyard stone in the memorial garden!” Within seconds of me finishing the thought I heard a noise up in the pines at the back of the property and looked up to see a large brown hawk landing on a branch and it sat there for a moment. As I got to thinking, how close it was and just the sheer size of it, it took off and then a second hawk farther out on the branch took off a second or two later to follow. It was a mated pair probably, but were I the sort to really believe in omens, this was definitely one. The two amaryllis went in the memorial garden and the maintenance run was completed. This means that sometime in summer 2018, the garden will be all white, except for those two-red amaryllis.

            Test garden happenings aside, today’s plant topic is the Sansevieria family all of whom are commonly called ‘snake plants’, ‘mother-in-law’s tongue’ or ‘Lawyer’s Tongue’. Only the first common name really is any sort of kind to this family of sturdy succulents from Africa. In general, all forms of Snake Plant take roughly the same care, they are soil insensitive as long as the soil isn’t constantly wet. You can fertilize them, but do it sparingly and only during the growing season (April-October in NC) and even then, use a liquid fertilizer with low nitrogen. Snake plants can tolerate somewhat low light, and can weather some cold temperatures but will not tolerate freezing or frost. Frost damage can permanently disfigure a snake plant or be the cause of phantom frost damage. Phantom frost damage is generally seen in succulents and some cacti, the signs of PFD, are that an otherwise healthy succulent that may have been exposed to a frost upwards of a week or two prior suddenly suffers stem collapse and or growing tip disfigurement followed by stem or root rot. Only close observation can reveal this  culprit as root and stem rot may move in so quickly after that a misdiagnosis of rot may occur. Of course, some think that the snake plants are bland, and for the most part they are right, the common plain green snake plant is bland as hell. However, as proven by NASA, and a few other organizations Snake plants are able to remove benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene and xylene from the air.  Below is a link to a rough list of what houseplants clear what pollutants from the air, yes, I know it’s Wikipedia, but at the bottom of the page it cites where the information came from.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Clean_Air_Study

Sansevieria trifasciata – Snake Plant

So, with all that said let’s look at some of the varieties of snake plant one could have in the home. Starting with plain old common, variegated snake plant. This specimen (on the left) was brought into the Test garden houseplant collection as a fairly small offset of a plant grown at Fayetteville Tech. In the time I’ve owned this one it’s reached mature form and bloomed twice and the flowers are something to behold. They come out on thin stems and look like little off-white pills with droplets of honeydew/nectar which probably is to entice ants to hang around for when the flowers open so they get pollinated. The flowers once open are pure white, have tassel-like petals and are incredibly aromatic, but do not stink. Unfortunately, the picture of this specimen does not reflect its current state as this plant was heavily damaged by our two plus weeks of temperatures at or below 20 degrees. It may or may not survive.

Sansevieria trifasciata - ‘Moon Shine’

            Although tiny, this little one is quite spectacular because it is all-white…sort of. It has a noticeable variance in how it’s off-white variegation works because on one leaf you see it has the traditional banding and on the other the leaf is solid white with a green margin. This little plant was given to me by the Cactus lady at the Fayetteville City Market because she found out I was looking for one. This is a cheap promotion here but please hit her up this spring and summer she makes some great full decoration terrariums. As for care, I presume ‘Moonshine’ is to be treated like a traditional snake plant, limited water, small infrequent fertilizing during the growing months and, unlike the normal snake plant, one should expect a much slower growth rate. In plants with a white or nearly white leaf color, often the striking hue comes with a cost as the given planet is unable to photosynthesize as readily so it may need more regular fertilizer or special care to prune out any reverted growth.

           

Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Hahnii’ – Bird’s Nest

            The Bird’s Nest is a dwarf form of Snake plant that forms an almost cup-like cluster of leaves that someone at some point decided that it resembles a bird’s nest. I personally can see the comparison and really, I’m glad it’s not called something negative. The chief advantage to swarf forms of snake plant is that they don’t use up as much vertical space so you get all the air purification, but less of the clutter. Also, dwarf snake plants offset more readily and require repotting less frequently as they are cluster forming and adapted for close quarters.

Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Golden Hahnii’ – Golden Bird’s Nest

            I know what you are thinking, ‘hey that’s not much different than the last one!’ you are right, it isn’t, that’s is because the golden birds nest comes in a few separate forms, and the yellow-green banded type show is one of them. I should note that a golden-yellow variety is sold that carries all its color on the leaf margins is also called golden bird’s nest. These succulents take the same care as the bigger snake plants, and seem to respond more to fertilizer.

Sansevieria laurentii – Golden Snake Plant

            I should note, that the Laurentii type snake plants don’t actually have a common name so I just rolled with a rather obvious one for them. The bright golden-yellow margins of this plant are striking and help define the green banded parts incredibly well which is why this is the preferred type of snake plant for living arrangements and generally for gift-giving to those who seem to be unable to take care of house plants.

Sansevieria cylindrica – Spear Snake Plant

            I first read about Spear Sansevieria in a book called ‘Bizarre Botanicals’ by Larry Mellinchamp and Paula Gross (pg. 272-273).  Honestly, I agree with their assessment of the plant, it’s literally as minimalist as it gets and yet as with plain snake plant it’s blooms are incredible, and it is equally as interesting as a pencil cactus for the fact it is so simplistic. I bought this specimen about five or more years ago from a Nursery in Sanford North Carolina called ‘Big Bloomers’ when they randomly and out of the blue had a crop of spear sansevieria. Since then the mother plant you see has been repotted a few times, and I’ve given away or sold numerous pups. As far as houseplants go, this one is easy, and in theory could be the plant I decorate for Christmas next year given it’s size.

This brings to a close the second post of January and a brief look into the Snake Plant family and a few of it’s options. 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

Currently, as of last delivery (02-02-2018) the store has a number of barrel cactus, a few tree philodendrons, some prickly pears, haworthia, rare and unusual aloes and other surprises. 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 second LITFM post of the new year, stay tuned for the first February update of 2018 this Wednesday. The topic for the next update is Christmas cactus, and there is a special treat because the Test Garden’s specimens of ‘Lime Light’ Christmas Cactus bloomed and I snapped a photo and trust me, the colors are not what you expect.

A Profile In Diversity: The Euphorbia Family

            Welcome back to another episode of Lost in the Farmers Market, this post was slightly delayed due to the abnormally cold weather we’ve been having in the Carolinas. For the last four weeks night time temperatures have hit the 20s and this has caused an unusual amount of losses in the greenhouse. To make matters worse, since I had a lot of succulents and cacti in there, it was particularly hard to tell which plants had been wrecked because most succulents don’t show the damaging effects of frost damage immediately. The irony here is that I didn’t find an effective solution until after the night time temperatures got back into the mid-30s to 40s. More so, beforehand I was having trouble finding tray space, and now that simply isn’t a problem. Either way, there will be a second post for January coming on the heels of this one so, call it a double post if you will. Today’s overdue topic covers the Euphorbia family also commonly called the spurges. Now I know that this blog has covered this family before, but never before have I had on hand or sold so many variants of the family as was done in 2017 and saw the opportunity to show yet more of the diversity that can occur in a single family of succulent plants.

            For those of you who are not familiar with the Euphorbia family, their most famous relative is the Poinsettia (Poin-Set tia) which was re-named from one of the first Europeans to promote it as linked to Christmas. His name was Joel Robert Poinsett (1770-1851) who was the U.S.s ambassador to Mexico after Mexico gained independence from Spain. What’s interesting is that in prior discussions of Euphoribas on this blog, I had not yet found any localized original names for the Poinsettia. As it turns out in Mexico it is called Nochebuena and its Nahuatl (Aztec Dialect) name roughly translates to flor que se marchita which roughly means ‘The flower that wilts’ which is a spot-on description of how poinsettias are terrible for cut arrangements because they don’t last. Now of course I Am sure you are very familiar with the common poinsettia which is pictured below.

Euphorbia pulcherrima

Hybridization, however has produced many unique colors and forms so, there are speckled leaves, green-white variegated leaf forms and a range of solid colors from white to the red color seen above. If you walk through a poinsettia grower’s green house in late November, you are going to see a show that guarantees that your holiday spirit won’t be flagging. In December of 2017, I introduced Fayatteville to the dwarf poinsettia known as ‘Winter Rose Red’ which was up until then fairly rare in the area. These plants sold like they were plated in gold at LeClair’s General Store.

Euphorbia pulcherrima ‘Winter Rose Red’

But the Euphorbia train does not stop there as In this blog I did previously document the existence of a ‘weed’ variety of poinsettia commonly called ‘Fire on the Mountain’ for it’s Pink-orange to orange-red partial coloration. Some times these guys spring up in the woods at the headquarters and honestly they’re well-behaved for ‘weeds’ so I leave them alone.

Euphorbia cyathophora ‘Fire on the Mountain’

But of course, we can’t really discuss the Euphorbia without getting into houseplants because in our climate as much as we want to compare it to the Mediterranean, a lot of Euphorbias hail from Africa and that is a very different climate than North Carolina. So first up is a subdued cactus-like member of the family; the Tanzanian Zipper Plant. Now I can guess what you are thinking, ‘wow is that even related?’ well yes if you injure the plant the same white latex sap will come bubbling out as part of a biological defense. The latex defense has evolved to make the plant unpalatable to grazing animals and is also intended to entrap and strangle insect pests if not outright poison them. While milky sap is not a sure indicator that a plant is in the Euphorbia family since a number of common plants in the garden also have this trait*. Tanzanian zipper plants are grown with the same care standards as true Cactus, water infrequently, avoid using fertilizer, and as much sun as is possible but avoid true full sun.

Euphorbia anoplia – Tanzanian Zipper Plant

            Next on the list is a plant that was definitely covered in the last discussion, Devil’s Back Bone. I’ve been a fan of this this plant for years because it’s colorful without needing to have flowers and its shape is completely at odds with the local Carolinian norms of house plants. The stems zigzag at about 45-degree angles on average and while there are a number of hybrids, the leaves typically have shades of yellow, red, pink and some times chartreuse-shades of green. It also is one of the easiest to care for of the Euphorbia clan and in some places, it’s used as a bio-remediation plant. If that’s not good enough, there is some scientific studies ongoing into using it as a source of bio-fuel. Honestly, owning one of these guys kind of feels like a win for the sustainability and ecology movement because it’s proliferation may just pave the way towards a cleaner environment in the future. Also, occasionally you may find Devil’s Back Bone under the name Pedilanthus tithymaloides in the plant trade.

Euphorbia tithymaloides – Devil’s Back Bone

            Long time readers of this blog knew eventually that this particular Euphorbia was coming. For those who are new, I’d like to introduce you to the oldest Euphorbia in the collection and the second oldest plant in the collection outright (A monstrose cactus in the last blog post is the oldest plant in the collection.). Some might think that this plant is strange, or more so that my habit of decorating it in lieu of a Christmas tree every year is stranger. I say to you, why cut down and kill a perfectly good conifer when you can decorate a living something so that the holidays and the new year are not celebrated with the unnecessary death of a living thing. This member of the Euphorbia family is commonly called Pencil cactus because it’s green-yellow stems roughly resemble a traditional number 2 pencil. It does produce a few tiny leaves which may be an evolutionary hold over from whatever it’s precursors must have looked like. As far as succulents go, it barely needs to be watered once it’s established in the pot you’ve chosen for it. In the winter this specimen gets watered maybe once every two weeks and that is only because it is right over a heat vent. In the summer if I put it on the porch it might bet watered by rain or dew a little bit and then by me maybe once a month. I only give it thin fertilizer during the growing period if at all and yet since 2008, it has grown from a 3” pot to a 14” that has to be moved about on a drip tray with casters. In use in the home it’s essentially an architecture plant it’s all about form and produces very little leaf litter. It grows slowly enough that it might be mistaken for being plastic. Fortunately for you, in this blog’s archives you will see pictures of this plant over the years and find that yes, it’s definitely alive and growing, just super slowly.

In full Christmas bling...yes it lights up.

Euphorbia tirucalli ‘Fire Sticks’ – Pencil Cactus

            The Crown of thorns is a holiday plant that is tied to the crown of thorns placed upon Jesus’s head when he was crucified so it has more ties to Easter than its cousin’s ties to Christmas. Unlike Poinsettias, Crown of thorn has tan or brown colored waxy stems that are bracketed by large thorns that look imposing but are easily avoided by a savvy gardener. It is a euphorbia that produces oval shaped leaves that in some hybrids can be quite large. The real draw for this plant is when it blooms because near the growing tips of the plant, it’s flowers and the colorful bracts (typically red) emerge horizontally in a ring which symbolizes the blood shed when the crown of thorns was set on Jesus’s head. Fortunately for all you gardeners who aren’t into the Theology of plants there are versions of Crown of Thorns with bright variegated foliage, and a number of bloom colors other than red. As a plant for your collection Crown of Thorns doesn’t ask for much, but will require photoperiodism or exposure to the increasing and decreasing amounts of available sunlight as the seasons change to get a plant to bloom. Photoperiodism is used in a number of plants such as Christmas cacti (schlumbergia), Poinsettias and Carnations.

Euphorbia milii – Crown of Thorns

            If it walks the walk and talks the talk then it’s got to be a cactus, right? The Cathedral Cactus literally looks like it should be growing in the southwest of the United States right next to a Saguaro Cactus and some random prickly pears. Unknowing gardeners and collectors look at it and assume it must be some kind of crazy cactus and it’s true that it is a succulent however, when you look at one of it’s common names ‘African Milk Bush’ you realize that looks can fool you. In reality the Cathedral Cactus is actually another member of the Euphorbia family and if you injure it all that tell-tale milky sap will come oozing out. Another way to tell this isn’t a cactus is that at certain times of the year a Cathedral cactus may have rows of tiny leaves sticking out of the ribs in it’s stems. The presence of leaves is a dead-giveaway because very few true cacti have actual leaves in the normal botanical sense. As far as use for a houseplant is concerned, the Cathedral Cactus is very slow growing, and tends to have a shallow root system which can be a problem if it’s disturbed regularly. Single stem specimens like the one below may require additional staking and counter weights to keep from tipping over. Some times hiding the plant in a larger pot (this is called sleeving) can help. Over time cathedral cactuses can get incredibly tall and would benefit from taking cuttings to reduce height every few years. Supposedly, in Cuba, these plants get big enough to flower and produce fruit. I should note that for a brief period in the mid-late summer of 2017 Cathedral Cacti were all the rage at LeClair’s General store in Fayetteville NC. If you missed out, there is now one specimen in the store as of this writing.

Leave it to the photobombing pencil cactus...

Euphorbia trigona – Cathedral Cactus

            While the specimen pictured below was covered in my last post since it is a monstrose form succulent, it also has to be covered here because it is a member of the Euphorbia family. As noted in the prior post monstrose form succulents and cacti differ from their normal kin due to the fact that all of their growing tips for reasons unknown are active at the same time. This causes warped and distorted growth that is completely abnormal for the species in question. Monstrose form succulents and cacti can revert, when a plant reverts it goes back to it’s original state so it isn’t uncommon to have a monstrose form cactus suddenly have one or two branches that suddenly are normal on top of a crazy undulating mess. In the landscape we know reversion slightly differently; it is when a shrub that was variegated suddenly goes back to plain green in part or in whole. Now normally in such a situation we would prune out the reverted green parts because they would overtake the rest and eventually make the shrub pure green. In the case of a monstrose cactus or succulent, where possible we could prune out the portion of growth that has reverted because it would assume the role of being a dominant growing tip and the rest of the plant would stop growing. The monstrose Candelabra cactus was a bit hit in 2017 over at the general store because it was so strange and unusual. It is after all a succulent that looks like some form of spineless cactus that requires minimal care. When things were said and done, I ended up with an unsold specimen potted in my office. The one thing I have to say you should never do with a candelabra cactus is to expose it to freezing temperatures and if you must fertilize do so in late spring and summer with a thin fertilizer that is low on nitrogen.

Euphorbia lactea ‘ Cristata’ – Monstrose Candelabra Cactus

            This Euphorbia is a recent addition to the collection. I saw a few of them in the back of a growing tray at a nursery while looking for something else. At first, I thought they were miniature Pachypodium geayi aka Madagascar Palm, which is a succulent I’ve been looking for locally, for several years. The plant pictured below is known as Monadenium, which is an older scientific first name for the grouping of plants that are now identified by the first name Euphorbia. Books that were published as late as 2004 still may list these succulents as monidenium when their name has been as far as I know changed to Euphorbia with the same secondary scientific last name. To make the matter worse I found out that Euphorbia ritchiei is also known as Monidenium ritchiei and Monadenium heteropodium. It also has a cousin named Euphorbia/Mondenium guentheri which is visually very similar, with some photo references I discovered I had misidentified this plant, thinking it ritchiei for a few months. I ended up buying one of these plants because I had one in the original succulent & cactus collection in NJ, but it suffered a terrible case of root rot in the winter and could not be saved. Overall if you have the fortune to find this plant, it’s a good low-care addition to your collection, and since it’s a Euphorbia the same rules apply to it as you would apply to any other houseplant Euphorbia. The down side to this plant is that it does not tolerate overwatering or prolonged periods of cold below 40 degrees. It also needs a bright window, preferably afternoon sun facing if possible. It will reward you with unique blooms and knobbed stems that have no rival for form in the rest of the family.

Euphorbia guentheri - [no common name]

Although this week’s look into the diversity of the Euphorbia family may have been a bit on the long side, this article isn’t quite done yet. That’s right folks this is where the advertising starts because it keeps the lights on. 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

Now 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/

            Lastly this bring to a close the first LITFM post of the new year, I know it was a bit late but don’t let that deter you from coming back as the next post will be about one of the toughest house plants known, the Snake Plant. Check back with us and hopefully I’ll see you at the General store or the market.

*Some common garden plants with the latex sap trait include, the Milkweed family, the Mulberry family, the Dogbane family, Lettuces, and Chicory.