This and that, final edition of 2023

Every now and then, I collect random photos and put them into a “This and That” post. This is the last one for 2023.

One reliable December bloomer is Veltheimia capensis, the Cape lily, a summer-deciduous bulb from South Africa. What you see below started out as one bulb, which I bought in 2011 from Nick Wilkinson Grow Nursery in Cambria). This year, there are six bulbs/flowers. There would be more, but I’ve given away a few over the years.

December may be a quiet time of year for most plants, but it’s when dudleyas kick into high gear. I’ve been trialing a number of different species; the jury is still out on some of them, but it’s safe to say that hybrids are among the top performers. The clump below is an unnamed hybrid I bought at Lowe’s:

Aechmea fasciata is a fairly common houseplant, usually called the silver vase or urn plant. I’ve had a clump growing outside in a hanging basket, and it’s braved all the vagaries the elements have thrown at it. Its flowers last six months or longer!

I love mahonias and would grow a lot more if I had the room. Below is a Mahonia × media ‘Marvel’ from the Sunset Plant Collection. It grows in dry shade, and while it hasn’t exactly been a speed demon, it’s chugging along at a steady pace. The succulent on the left is Aeonium percarneum.

Below is a rarely seen vignette from the backyard. From left to right: Mangave ‘Crazy Cowlick’, Agave flexispina × ovatifolia, Beaucarnea recurvata (back), Aloe helenae, Agave ovatifolia ‘Vanzie’, Agave geminiflora (front):

I have two Aloe capitata var. quartziticola. The one in the sidewalk bed in the front had its core munched by some critter, but the one in the backyard is getting ready to flower:

Below is Agave guiengola ‘Moto Sierra’, a Kelly Griffin selection distributed by the Huntington through its International Succulent Introductions program. It has super interesting teeth:

Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’ is almost black in the summer but lightens up considerably in the winter. It’s one of my favorite aeoniums, and it’s easy to see why:

Six weeks ago, I blogged about a painted succulent I rescued from the clearance rack at our Lowe’s. The paint has been impossible to remove so I’ve been letting the plant (probably a Haworthia hybrid) do its thing. I’m happy to report that there’s plenty of new (pristine!) growth in the center:

Agave impressa wasn’t all that impressive when young, but now it lives up to its name:

Agave ‘Blue Wave’ is a hybrid between Agave colorata and Agave mitis. It doesn’t really look much like either parent, but that unpredictability is the beauty of hybrids:

Below is one of my most prized agaves, a variegated form of Agave simplex, which goes by the name ‘Snow Devil’. Agave simplex is not a fast grower to begin with, and having a white central stripe (virtually no chlorophyll!) slows it down even more. But it’s a beauty, so worth the patience.

I don’t remember when I planted my first tower of jewels (Echium wildpretii), but we’ve had seedlings pop up in random places in the front and back yard. Below is one of the rosettes in the backyard that will flower next year (Echium wildpretii is a biennial which flowers in year 2 or 3):

I’ve been trying to minimize the number of plants I bring in for the winter, focusing on the ones that are near and dear to my heart. Below are two of them, Agave polianthiflora on the left and Agave isthmensis ‘Ohi Raijin Shiro Nakafu’ (yellow form) on the right. They would probably be OK outside if kept out of the rain, but they’re 2023 acquisitions, so I’m giving them special treatment.

And finally, a photo I took last night at Sacramento International Airport while we were waiting for our daughter to collect her luggage. It was raining hard, but like every storm we’ve had this December, it’s been a warm one, with temperatures in the low 50s even at night:

On that note: Happy New Year. 2024, how odd that sounds! Reality has caught up to sci-fi.

© Gerhard Bock, 2023. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.