I know these sorts of games often nudge you towards spending real money, so I assume these "stars" (or whatever it's called) are something along these lines, but I'm not sure. Are these the stars you accumulate via stickers? It's the only other thing I can think it could be...
Noticed now both my P. elongatum plants grown from seed (sown last year September) are already developing flowers!
I collected seeds from a wild specimen growing along the Western slope of Table Mountain in Cape Town.
Currently Winter. Does seem very early for it to be in flower, most wild specimens are observed to flower in Spring.
My cat was acting really cute, included him in pic 2. 😋
Quite a sunny and warm day today in Cape Town, spotted a couple of Aloe while out and about putting on a show. Most tourists visit the city in summer, but in my opinion Cape Town is better in winter (especially for Aloe and Protea fans)
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Not entirely sure what species the large one is, but thinking A. thraskii
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And A. arborescens
I sowed seeds of over a dozen Pelargonium species late last year, and it's been super rewarding watching them grow.
Now this one according to two separate labels is noted as P. glutinosum. But as this seedling matures, I am beginning to question that ID.
I asked around, and someone mentioned that it looks like P. aridum. An unusual species, but not entirely unlikely.
I came across a wild specimen of P. aridum last year in De Rust surrounds (a small town situated in the Western Cape province of South Africa), and I only noticed it in between the mess of other shrubs because it was in flower. It had the loveliest buttery yellow flowers (pic 4), and upon closer inspection discovered a single seed. Yay!
As far as I know, that seed never even germinated. Hold thumbs that my labeling system just sucks! :)
Looking back at the pictures taken last year, it probably is P. aridum. Interesting how the plant responds to heat and drought stress. It was quite warm and dry where I found it growing along a dusty farm road.
Purchased about a year ago from the nursery at Kirstenbosch (Cape Town), but haven't gotten round to planting it out. Waiting now for builders to finish up first, otherwise they'll probably just step on it. 🙄
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Not familiar with this species, but keen to see how it performs in my garden. Looking at photos online, it reminds me a lot of P. betulinum (in terms of its flowers), but its leaves are definitely larger.
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Pretty thing.
Pelargonium tricolor, section Campylia. Interesting range of bloom colours, I'd love to get my hands on some seeds of that gorgeous red and white one. Sadly I'm not aware of anyone growing this, so guess I'll need to put my hiking shoes on!
Grown from a cutting, I encountered this species in Porterville surrounds (a small town situated in the Western Cape province of South Africa) a couple of years ago. It wasn't in flower at the time, and it was poking up out of a thicket of other low grasses and shrubs, so I couldn't get a good sense of its growth habit nor ID it. Still not 100% convinced that it is sublignosum, it could also be P. scabroide. But the leaves had a lovely scent, so I thought I'd try and propagate it. I don't recall ever seeing this grown in cultivation.
I've recently had to move my outdoor potted Pelargoniums to a more shady spot in order to steer clear of builders, and it's been interesting to observe how the appearance of the leaves change. When exposed to more direct sun, the leaf margins are red. I applied a liquid fertiliser not too long ago, and now I'm seeing a lot of fresh growth without the red margin.
I filled this 72-celled tray with Pelargonium denticulatum 'Filicifolium' cuttings about two months ago, and things are going better than I had expected.
37 have since failed - I pick them out as I see them starting to fail - and I will likely lose a few more by the looks of it. But a fair number of props seem to be doing okay so far.
I've had this tray indoors for most of that time, although I would have preferred keeping them outside in a shady but bright spot. Excessive moisture in my experience is the biggest contributor to props failing, so I like to ensure good air circulation to help dry the medium out quicker. But we've got builders messing around on site currently, so I had to move the tray indoors. Moved it outside now so they can get some fresh air over the weekend. I'll put a fan on at night to circulate the air a bit, which seems to help a bit.
Anyways, thought I'd show you what to look out for if you're wondering how your props are doing.
Pics 3-4: Look closely at the newest growth, see how it's browning and wilted? This is a clear sign that things are not going well downstairs. Once I see this, I don't even bother trying to see if it'll pull through - it seldom does. You'll usually notice that when you remove them, the bottom of the prop has turned black. Which is bad.
Pic 5: New growth looking green and perky? You're in the clear!
It is ultimately a numbers game: take more cuttings than you think you need.
Pelargonium ochroleucum, section Hoarea. Very interesting stamens, and loving those yellow petals!
Very rewarding and largely low maintenance houseplant. This is a cultivated variety, although I can't tell you which one exactly. Pic 3 shows a white one (with a subtle yellow throat) which is flowering the first time. I grew all of these from leaf cuttings, which isn't too difficult.
P. betulinum (section Pelargonium) is an evergreen perennial shrub that makes a stunning garden subject. I haven't been successful in rooting cuttings, but here I am trying again in perlite.
I have two plants in my garden, but would like to have some more, planted where there's maybe a bit more sun. I bought these from a local nursery; although I haven't personally encountered any wild specimens, I'm not entirely sure how it compares to those. All I know is that this one's flowers lean more white than pink (some wild ones lean more pink)
There is a natural hybrid, P. cucullatum x P. betulinum 'Kommetjie' is also quite lovely.
Erythrina humeana (Fabaceae) grown from seed.
I love coral trees (Erythrina afra), but unfortunately I do not have enough space for it in my small garden. So I'm attempting a bit of an experiment with this species (which I have no prior experience with) because it only gets to about 2.5m (8ft) tall and has pretty red flowers. Erythrina are well known for their impressive blooms.
Although it occurs naturally more along the eastern coastline of South Africa, I'm growing this in Cape Town.
Germination was quite easy, and it is much quicker if you scarify and soak the seeds before sowing. I am finding that some of the seedlings are just losing the will to live, and I'm not sure why. But I planted six out today, two of which I'm not entirely convinced will make it. The other four look fine. Repotted them into a more enriched soil mix, and applied a bit of a liquid fertiliser in order to give them a bit of a boost as I think it might be a nutrient deficiency thing. Roots look good, and an interesting thicc base.
Noticed just now in my garden (in a spot where builders have been trampling through recently) a living section of P. gibbosum that was previously presumed to be dead. I think the spot's too shady, as it's never performed particularly well.
But this bit actually has some roots at the base, so I put it in a small pot just now and will keep it aside until these damn builders are gone.
Common name "gouty geranium", which I'm sure you can figure out why just by looking at it. 😋
No idea how common this species is in cultivation outside of South Africa, are you familiar with it?
Pelargonium scabrum (left), and Pelargonium glutinosum (right), with two of the rooting mediums which I typically use: either just perlite, or a mix of perlite and coconut coir.
I do also use more of a soil mix (for ones that respond well to it), but I usually start with either one of these first. I generally avoid any compost at this stage, because it holds on to water for too long.
P. scabrum cuttings I have found to be quite easy to root, with minimal losses.
I have tried rooting P. glutinosum cuttings previously, and it didn't go well. I usually remove cuttings when I see any signs of yellowing (as you can see along the stem in the second image), however the new growth on this one looks fine so maybe it's okay? If the new growth looks yellow/brown and wilted, I don't even bother.
One thing I have noticed is that you should be mindful when top watering when your cuttings are cut on top (pic 2). If there is water just sitting on your cuttings, it can promote fungal issues and infections. Which is why I really try to maximise air movement to speed up the evaporation of excess water. You can also bottom water. When I start cuttings indoors, I'll usually put a fan on to just move air around gently. Otherwise just outside, away from direct sun.
Or just use tip cuttings (as is typically recommended), however tip cuttings can sometimes be too tender/soft/bendy which usually results in failures. You're looking for new growth (not older woody growth), but not too tender either, so you may need to take your cuttings a little lower down in these cases.
P. scabrum (left), and P. glutinosum (right), with two of the rooting mediums which I typically use: either just perlite, or a mix of perlite and coconut coir.
I do also use more of a soil mix for ones that respond well to it, but I usually start with either one of these first. I generally avoid any compost at this stage, because it holds on to water for too long.
P. scabrum cuttings I have found to be quite easy to root, with minimal losses.
I have tried rooting P. glutinosum cuttings before, and it didn't go well. I usually remove cuttings when I see signs of yellowing (as you can see along the stem in the second image), however the new growth on this one looks fine so maybe it's okay? If the new growth looks yellow/brown and wilted, I don't even bother.
One thing I have noticed is that you should be mindful when top watering when your cuttings are cut on top (pic 2). If there is water just sitting on your cuttings, it can promote fungal issues and infections. Which is why I really try to maximise air movement to speed up the evaporation of excess water. You can also bottom water, I guess. When I have cuttings indoors, I'll usually put a fan on to just move air around gently.
Or just use tip cuttings (as is typically recommended), however tip cuttings can sometimes be too tender/soft/bendy which usually results in failures. You're looking for new growth (not older woody growth), but not too tender either, so you may need to take your cuttings a little lower down.
Pelargonium graveolens × P. radens - love this hybrid! The very first Pelargonium I ever propagated successfully from cuttings. Gorgeous and fragrant leaves, hardy, and very attractive flowers. Somehow it rooted in water, and it didn't take terribly long either (I think a month-ish?)
Water rooting isn’t really recommended for Pelargonium, so I wouldn't typically recommend it. Previously I’ve had cuttings take 6 months before they rooted.
I have some builders stomping around in my garden at the moment, so I took a couple of cuttings as a backup in the event they kill it. Which doesn’t even make sense; even though I love this plant immensely, it attracts a particular species of leaf wilter bug whose population explodes if I don’t actively manage it. So I’ve slowly (and begrudgingly) been taking them out. I have one plant remaining, which is kinda out of the way. The leaf wilters basically just cause new growth to wilt and go brown, so it just makes the plant look a bit shabby.
I noticed one of my Pelargonium graveolens × P. radens cuttings had rooted, although I didn’t exactly try.
I have some builders stomping around in my garden currently, and I just took a couple of cuttings as a backup should they kill it. Which doesn’t even make sense because even though I love this plant immensely, it attracts a particular species of leaf wilter bug whose population explodes if I don’t actively manage it. So I’ve slowly and begrudgingly been taking them out, but I have one plant left now where it’s kinda out of the way. I just lazily put some cuttings in water and forgot about it.
Water rooting isn’t really recommended for Pelargonium. Previously I’ve had cuttings take 6 months before they rooted. But yay?
I attended a plant propagation workshop a couple of months ago focusing on the germination of seeds from various fynbos (plants forming part of the Cape Floristic Kingdom): Protea, Leucadendron, Leucospermum, Watsonia, and Erica. A veritable greatest hits medley of Western Cape flora.
I live in Cape Town, hence the connection.
It can be quite tricky to germinate fynbos (literally translated, 'fine bush') as many species are fire-adapted, otherwise the germination rate is very low. I went in not expecting to have any success, but wanted to learn a bit more.
Went away for a week recently, and when I came back I noticed one of the Protea repens had germinated! Two of the Watsonia pillansii had germinated a little earlier, but I've since spotted two more.
Not terribly successful germination rate, but much better than I had expected!
You can mimic natural fire conditions by using something like Super Smoke Plus, a germination stimulant that you dissolve in water. I was kinda hoping we'd be burning some shiz, but I suppose that makes the workshop a little more challenging to organise. Anyways.
I had several pots with different Pelargonium grown from seed that I still needed to divide into individual celled trays, I finally decided to just get it out of the way. I had been a bit reluctant because the transplant shock can result in losses.
1 : Top tray is P. denticulatum, which I planted out into a tray with two P. crispum . Middle tray is P. appendiculatum. Bottom tray is P. tongaense.
2-4 : P. appendiculatum. Floofy! First time I am encountering this species, I'm not very well versed in the geophytic Pelargoniums.
5-6 : P. tongaense. I had six in the one small pot, didn't want them getting too crowded. The flowers on this one are gorgeous (vibrant red), and I found the seeds to germinate quite readily.
I split them as gently as I could, but the roots are quite fragile. I then applied Kelpak (a seaweed extract) as a foliar spray to help aid the transplant shock. They're all looking slightly mopey currently, which is to be expected.
Going to keep these trays indoors and out of direct sun for a week or two, and hopefully at least some pull through. Hold thumbs!
I spotted some seeds for this one a while ago, thought I'd give it a go. Sown October last year. Only two plants out of the 20 seeds purchased pulled through, however it's better than nothing.
I was a bit stupid because I had up to five seedlings per pot, and when it came to dividing them I lost a couple due to transplant shock. Think I transplanted them too early.
The leaves smell like artificial pineapple, I love it. 😂🍍