Plant Highlights
Plant Highlights
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Bowiea volubilis
climbing onion
Highlight Month:
June
Nativity:
Uganda to South Africa
Growth Habit:
These true bulbs produce scrambling, photosynthetic inflorescences (up to 15′ long) that emerge from succulent bulb scales. The inflorescences can be trained to grow upward with support or they will spread along the ground. They are summer growers.
Growing Requirements:
Grows best in sun to partial shade in well-drained soil. The plant should be watered very little during its deciduous dormant season. Begin regular watering when new stems start to grow from the top of the bulb. This plant is not frost-tolerant.
Features:
Bowiea is a monotypic genus represented by one species, Bowiea volubilis, with two subspecies, ssp. volubilis and ssp. gariepensis. Subspecies B. volubilis ssp. gariepensis is a winter grower with larger flowers and is found in Namibia to the Northwestern Cape Province. All parts of the plant are poisonous but are used in traditional medicine in Africa.
Where at Lotusland:
Succulent Garden
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Rosa ‘WEKpaltlez’ HOT COCOA
Hot Cocoa floribunda rose
Highlight Month:
June
Nativity:
Garden Origin
Growth Habit:
Compact shrubs to 3 feet with glossy green leaves.
Growing Requirements:
Full sun and regular water. Mulch to maintain even moisture. Prune in dormant season as for any rose. Deadhead regularly to encourage more blooms.
Features:
This floribunda rose was an All-American Rose Selection in 2003. Smoky orange blossoms tinged with purple as they age are showy and unique.
Where at Lotusland:
Rose Garden
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Aechmea nudicaulis var. cuspidata (variegated)
Highlight Month:
June
Nativity:
Brazil
Growth Habit:
The vase-like rosette of leaves of this bromeliad is pale yellow striped with apple green and have black spines along the margins. The bright red-bracted flower spikes produce lemon yellow flowers in summer. While the original plant will die after flowering, it will produce several offsets that may be removed and replanted. It is usually epiphytic in its native range, but adapts well to containers or raised beds outdoors.
Growing Requirements:
Grow Aechmea nudicaulis var. cuspidata in bright shade either in a pot or in the ground with lots or organic material incorporated into the soil mix. Soil may be allowed to dry out between waterings, but maintain the central cup – made by the tightly overlapping leaves – full of water at all times. Fertilize every month or two with half-strength liquid fertilizer in the central cup.
Features:
The colorful flower spikes and brightly variegated leaves make this one of the most handsome bromeliads to grow.
Where at Lotusland:
Upper Bromeliad Garden at the edge of the Main Lawn.
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Pseudobombax ellipticum
shaving brush tree
Highlight Month:
June
Nativity:
Mexico to Guatemala
Growth Habit:
This is a small tree – to 20 feet in cultivation with thick stems and sometimes even forming a swollen base or caudex. It is deciduous in winter and flowers before the large, green leaves are produced in early summer.
Growing Requirements:
Somewhat tolerant of light frosts, the shaving brush tree does best in subtropical or tropical zones. It can be grown as a potted specimen where it will be more likely to form a caudex.
Features:
The large – 4 inches or more – flowers have sturdy greenish brown sepals that curl below the showy cluster of many stamens. There are both pink and white forms.
Where at Lotusland:
Cycad Garden
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Echinopsis macrogona
Highlight Month:
June
Nativity:
W. & S. Peru to Bolivia
Growth Habit:
This cactus is somewhat shrubby with multiple erect stems. The flowers are large, white flaring tubes.
Growing Requirements:
Most cacti require fast draining soil, full sun and warmth.
Features:
Echinopsis macrogona has few ribs (usually 6 to 9) and small spines. The stems are slightly glaucous giving the plant a bluish or grayish green color.
Where at Lotusland:
Cactus Garden
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Puya venusta
Highlight Month:
June
Nativity:
Chile
Growth Habit:
This bromeliad is a clumping species; eventually making large thickets. Individual plants are about 3 feet across.
Growing Requirements:
Native to the seasonally dry areas of Chile, Puya venusta requires good drainage and full sun. Will not tolerate freezing.
Features:
The silvery leaves are highly ornamental and the fantastic flower spikes in summer are very eye-catching.
Where at Lotusland:
The Cactus Garden is home to Puya venusta and a hybrid of P. venusta from The Huntington.
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Anigozanthos flavidus
kangaroo paw
Highlight Month:
May
Nativity:
Australia
Growth Habit:
A perennial that forms clumps of thick grasslike leaves 2-3 feet wide with flower stalks up to 5 ft tall.
Growing Requirements:
Full sun, well-drained soil and moderate water in summer.
Features:
Anigozanthos is grown for its unusual flowers, as the common name “kangaroo paw” refers to the way the fuzzy, tubular flowers are curved at the tips like “paws”. Plants will flower from May to fall, and will rebloom best if old flower stalks are removed.
Where at Lotusland:
The chartreuse-flowered species as well as bright yellow and reddish-pink varieties can all be found in the Australian Garden, the area around the Visitors’ Center.
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Tillandsia bergeri
Highlight Month:
May
Nativity:
Native to Buenos Aires Province, Argentina where it grows in rock crevices in full sun.
Growth Habit:
This prolific Tillandsia blooms in May with violet and white flowers. Its year-round branching habit and ruffled petals are unusual for a Tillandsia species. It is one of the easiest tillandsias to cultivate and will form a large clump in a relatively short period of time.
Growing Requirements:
This air plant is adaptable to different light levels, but will grow best in bright, filtered light. It needs regular watering. If it becomes dehydrated, the plant can be refreshed by soaking it in water for a few hours. T. bergeri can be grown indoors, though they will need misting if the humidity is too low. When grown outdoors they will tolerate light frost, but not freezing.
Features:
It is named in honor of Alwin Berger, a German research scientist who specialized in Cactaceae.
Where at Lotusland:
Many clumps of T. bergeri are growing throughout the Bromeliad Gardens and there are also some growing on rocks in the Fern Garden.
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Rhopalostylis sapida
shaving brush palm, nīkau
Highlight Month:
May
Nativity:
New Zealand. It is the southernmost naturally occurring palm.
Growth Habit:
A single-trunked palm with pinnate fronds. It is slow-growing and may take over a decade to form a trunk. It eventually reaches around 30 ft tall. Young specimens make good container palms.
Growing Requirements:
Grows best in filtered light and moist soils. This palm can take winter temperatures down to about 25 degrees and does not need hot summers to grow well. Plant in a sheltered area, as wind will damage the fronds.
Features:
R. sapida has very stiff upright leaves and a swollen crownshaft which together give the palm its distinctive “shaving brush” or “feather duster” appearance. The young trunk is light green with rings. Older specimens have spikes of small pale flowers followed by red berries.
Where at Lotusland:
There is a grove of R. sapida bordering the Main Lawn near the Lower Bromeliad Garden. There is one other species of Rhopalostylis at Lotusland: R. baueri, native to Norfolk Island. These are found in the Fern Garden and bordering the Main Drive by the entrance to the Cycad Garden.
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Echinopsis hybrid
Highlight Month:
May
Nativity:
Garden Origin
Growth Habit:
Clumps of short (less than 3 feet) stems grow quickly from rooted cuttings. This is a possible hybrid of what used to be known as Trichocereus and Soehrensia. Both names are now subsumed under the genus Echinopsis. Sigs Dunlap obtained the original plant from Grigsby’s.
Growing Requirements:
Full sun and well-drained soil are needed. Plants are frost tender, but can be grown in pots and wintered indoors if kept dry.
Where at Lotusland:
In several spots in the Cactus Garden.
