Caudex gives after reppoting
Cynthia Martinez. Asuncion, Paraguay Z10a
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
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Cynthia Martinez. Asuncion, Paraguay Z10a
7 years agoRelated Discussions
FOR caudex and tropicallver..the rest of ya can read too
Comments (1)It's hard to give Cyphos even moisture in pots(water too often and you rot it), plus the root constraints slows the plant to a crawl. It the ground with the constant supply of water and free root run the plant will take off. I know guys in the north east that put them in beds for 4mo a year and get substantial gains. I don't if it's because of all the water they have in them, but digging them up 2 or 3 times a year doesn't seem to effect them. Even with the plant I just cleaned after half of it rotted, it's still retaining it's foliage. The plants that don't like their roots being messed with are the ones without much water reserve, the slightest disturbance and they wilt....See MoreFockea edulis ....caudex shape(s)
Comments (5)mrlike2u... Thanks for the speculations, predictions, and musings. I will never know unless I give it a try. The converted wastepaper basket that is pressed into use as a pot has very thick, rigid walls. It's going to take a lot of force to split this pot. I'm hoping that the buried caudex, over the years will take on the shape of the straight-sided, cylindrical pot. Since the caudex has already grown to about 3-1/2" - 4" in diameter, that leaves only a few inches of growing medium surrounding the caudex. The pot walls are now only a few inches away from the caudex. I think you are right...as the growing mix compresses and compacts, I think the caudex will follow the path of least resistance and will elongate at the top, and at the bottom...which is fine with me. Eventually when i uncover the caudex, maybe it will look like a short but thick trunk. Remember...it's the Baobab profile that I'm after. Bottom line...I'll have to try this technique, and I will document the process with some photos, showing either the progress, or the death of a Fockea edulis. What ever happens...it should yield some interesting results. Next season will tell part of the evolving story. Thanks for you interest. Frank...See MoreI have a big caudex--now what?
Comments (5)Thanks, caudex1--I'll return the soil that I removed. That won't bury it though--two of the "bumps" were well above ground level, a third had just barely risen above, and a fourth was just at ground level. So I assume that's natural unless it's pushing up from the bottom! Coldwise, Silverhill says it's zone 8. They sell about 20 Cucurbits and they claim that hardiness for none of the others. (are there well-known African cucurbits that are that hardy?) Even if it's zone 9 that wouldn't be a problem. Cold and wet is a completely different matter of course. I've already pretty much found out that answer. I had cuttings under 3 different conditions: 1)light, fluffy soil (I don't remember what exactly, but lots of perlite) and in the open 2)heavy soil in the open 3)heavy soil under the eaves. I checked the roots after the recent rains. The results were dramatic: in terms of root health 1 > 3 > 2. The plants seemed OK even in the open if they had better soil. But of course it wasn't that cold. So I immediately switched everything to 60:40 perlite:potting soil and everything will be protected when the rains return. The climate this species is accustomed to is not completely clear to me. When Birhmann added it to his database, he also put them on his winter dormant list. However, there's a database called The Global Biodiversity Information Facility. They list one recorded occurrence of the species, in the Eastern Cape but not that far from the border with the Western Cape: http://data.gbif.org/species/15404228?extent=15%2B-38%2B35%2B-28&zoom=5&minMapLong=15&minMapLat=-38&maxMapLong=35&maxMapLat=-28&c[0].s=20&c[0].p=0amp;c[0].o=15404228 This one observation (it's not clear how representative this is or how widespread the species is...) puts it near the city of Port Elizabeth. Port Elizabeth gets rain in the summer, fall and winter. They get 2 inches a month or more every month from the equivalent of September through March. But they get almost nothing in the equivalent of April and May. Then it picks up again--summer (June,July, August equivalent) are in the range of 1-2 inches per month: http://www.wunderground.com/NORMS/DisplayIntlNORMS.asp?CityCode=68842&Units=both Now I'm not positive I have this right, but I think that if one were to go West from Port Elizabeth it would become more of a winter rain area; to the East would be more of a summer rain area. The observation of the species is actually slightly West of Port Elizabeth, so if anything it might even be from an area more strongly biased towards winter rain. Still it sounds like they really don't like cold and wet. However, if it continues growing I won't be shocked, and both the mother plant and cuttings are putting on new growth at the moment (and the cuttings really didn't much since they were made). This all assumes, of course, that that one site near Port Elizabeth is representative......See MoreTwin caudex grafting attempt
Comments (21)Yep, I did some of these last year as well and they have done pretty well for me. I spliced together pairs, triples, even five at a time to form a raft and they are all doing well. A few swelled as they grew and then pried each other apart without fusing even sliced and glued, then bound. But most of them have fused nicely and have been growing well this past summer. Many of you probably saw my thread elsewhere when I did the same thing as above. The scars will round off and fade over time....See More
Marica 7 high Sierra's Ca 4,000ft
7 years agoCynthia Martinez. Asuncion, Paraguay Z10a thanked Marica 7 high Sierra's Ca 4,000ftCynthia Martinez. Asuncion, Paraguay Z10a
7 years agoMarica 7 high Sierra's Ca 4,000ft
7 years agoCynthia Martinez. Asuncion, Paraguay Z10a thanked Marica 7 high Sierra's Ca 4,000ftMarica 7 high Sierra's Ca 4,000ft
7 years agoCynthia Martinez. Asuncion, Paraguay Z10a
7 years agoI've planned to water yesterday, then I saw the weather report and said low temperatures and cloudy for today 6C to12C, so decided to wait till weather change again, maybe on Wednesday.
Yes, I will prune and shape my plants, I like the bushy tree shape :)
Marica 7 high Sierra's Ca 4,000ft
7 years ago
Pagan
7 years agoCynthia Martinez. Asuncion, Paraguay Z10a
7 years agoMarica 7 high Sierra's Ca 4,000ft
7 years agoCynthia Martinez. Asuncion, Paraguay Z10a
7 years agoMarica 7 high Sierra's Ca 4,000ft
7 years agoPagan
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoCynthia Martinez. Asuncion, Paraguay Z10a
7 years agoThe roots I've pruned are like this wide
But below soil... This tree is actively growing and flowering this winter... Even now I can see new growths
I hope I didn't screw up by been so anxious...
all my trees are branching I only have two that are dormant... My weather is weird...
Marica 7 high Sierra's Ca 4,000ft
7 years ago
greenclaws UK, Zone 8a
7 years agoMarica 7 high Sierra's Ca 4,000ft
7 years agoCynthia Martinez. Asuncion, Paraguay Z10a
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoI didn't, but I put a fungicide and wait till dry 1 day before repot, now my baby is doing very well. I did bought the Elmer glue, but I didn't realize that is not waterproof... It's a miracle to find that product in my country, so I just bought without reading :(
Marica 7 high Sierra's Ca 4,000ft
7 years agoCynthia Martinez. Asuncion, Paraguay Z10a thanked Marica 7 high Sierra's Ca 4,000ft
Marica 7 high Sierra's Ca 4,000ft