pbs Digest, Vol 88, Issue 17 Brachystema cathcartense
Ellen Hornig (Wed, 26 May 2010 04:16:30 PDT)

Hi, Cameron et al - just catching up here, so this response is a bit dated,
but as Cameron said, Jim, those brachystelmas all come from seed he
collected. However, I want to report that B. meyerianum sets seed easily
here (and it's perfectly viable seed), and (from memory) I believe B.
cathcartensis has set 1 good pod as well.

I find the 2 aforementioned brachystelmas very easy to grow here in summer
in clay pots in full sun (northern sun, of course). They're easily killed
in winter by any moisture when dormant - and since my greenhouses are really
humid and c. 35F for much of the winter, the requisite dryness is sometimes
hard to maintain. They haven't seemed to mind the cold when they were dry
(desicated, in tree bands). Of the two, B. cathcartensis is the more
resilient under my less-than-optimal conditions. It's hard to replicate the
Eastern Cape in upstate NY.

Ellen

Ellen Hornig
Seneca Hill Perennials
3712 County Route 57
Oswego NY 13126 USA
http://www.senecahillperennials.com/
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rhoda and Cameron McMaster" <africanbulbs@haznet.co.za>
To: <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 4:06 PM
Subject: Re: [pbs] pbs Digest, Vol 88, Issue 17 Brachystema cathcartense

Hi Jim and all

Since I supplied Ellen with the see, I will respond. The comments in the
Wiki on the flowering of Brachystelma cathcartense are based on the
behaviour of wild plants which occur in fairly poor and dry conditions in
the Cathcart distirct of the Eastern Cape. Jim, you must have grown them
very well so they have developed more flowers than they would in the wild.
Your plants come from pure wild seed so what ever they do for you is
correct. B. meyerianum is often absolutely covered in flowers - it is
really rewarding. Please let us know if you have pollinators that will do
the job and if your plants set seed. This year my Brachystelma caffrum
developed some seed horns and I was able to harvest some. It will be
interesting to see if the seed is viable from nursery plants

Camron McMaster

Cameron and Rhoda McMaster
African Bulbs
PO Box 26, Napier 7270
Tel/Fax: 028 423 3651
Mobile: 082 774 2075
Email: africanbulbs@haznet.co.za
Website: http://www.africanbulbs.com/

---- Original Message -----
From: <pbs-request@lists.ibiblio.org>
To: <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 7:21 PM
Subject: pbs Digest, Vol 88, Issue 17

Send pbs mailing list submissions to
pbs@lists.ibiblio.org

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
pbs-request@lists.ibiblio.org

You can reach the person managing the list at
pbs-owner@lists.ibiblio.org

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of pbs digest..."

List-Post:&lt;mailto:pbs@lists.ibiblio.org
List-Archive:&lt;http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php

Today's Topics:

1. Brachystelma question (Jim McKenney)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Wed, 19 May 2010 14:13:39 -0400
From: "Jim McKenney" <jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com>
Subject: [pbs] Brachystelma question
To: "'Pacific Bulb Society'" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <EB3D139253AF4F2389F7CD98034172D8@Library>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Brachystelma cathcartense is about to bloom here; the plant was received
from Seneca Hill Nursery just in time. I?ll be shedding tears over the
demise of Ellen?s nursery for a long time ? and I know I?m not the only
one.

This plant is shown on the PBS wiki, but the text there raises a
question.
The text states that the plant ?has one or two cup shaped flowers?? The
plant I have has produced a cluster of stems and each stem has multiple
flowers, two at each of several nodes.

It just so happens that I also obtained a plant of B. meyerianum, and
when
I
compare the two plants, I see that B. meyerianum has multiple buds per
stem
but only one flower bud per node.

Brachystelma experts, here?s your chance to shine: should the wiki text
for
B. cathcartense be changed to say ?has one or two cup shaped flowers per
node? ?

Cool plants by the way?.

On a related note, I saw a wide low mass of Asclepias viridis in full
bloom
the other day ? that one has so far escaped my net. The color scheme is
quiet, but the architecture of the plant is stunning.

Jim McKenney

jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com

Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871? North, 77.09829? West, USDA
zone
7

My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/

BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/

Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS

Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/

Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/

------------------------------

_______________________________________________
pbs mailing list
pbs@lists.ibiblio.org
http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php

End of pbs Digest, Vol 88, Issue 17
***********************************

_______________________________________________
pbs mailing list
pbs@lists.ibiblio.org
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/