Lettuce-like echeveria hybrid grown by Celia Hardy and Barry Cameron
By
Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted May 28, 2019)
Succulents are
the savior of many a gardener in Kenya who didn’t want to be devastated during
the recent drought by the withering of all their other plants.
For succulents
are specifically designed to retain water in arid climates, including the
drought we just had, and which in some parts of Kenya, people are still suffering
from.
“Succulents
can go for as long as three weeks without watering,” says Celia Hardy, an award
winner at the recent plant and flower show for her lovely display of potted
succulent plants.
“So if you
forget to water your plants for a week, your succulents will survive,” she
adds. “They are also tolerant of heat.”
Succulents come
from all over the world, especially from arid environs. They are indigenous to countries
like South Africa and Mexico, and there are also home-grown succulents from
Kenya.
There were
many succulents on display at the plant and flower show. The winning ones were
grown by Celia and Barry Cameron, Balinda Ahluwalia, Vishy Talwar and by the
Succulenta Society. But even more gardeners entered succulents this year since
their other plants hadn’t survived the dry, hot weather.
“Lots of
people are buying succulents to have in their homes since they are so easy to
look after,” says Celia who admits that even succulents can occasionally
whither when the heat is sustained, as it was for the many months when the
rains did not come.
“But even when
they wither and curl up, once they are watered, they will return to their
normal vitality and shape,” she adds.
And she
should know since she won a first prize and silver trophy for her amazing table
display of succulents. She had everything from a ‘crassula rupestris marnierana’,
also known as the ‘Jade necklace’ for its bead-like strings and a ‘crassula
ovata’ or ‘Hummel’s sunset’ for its brilliant yellow and lime green leaves to
the head-lettuce-like ‘echeveria hybrid’ and the spiky ‘ferro’ cactus.
The ferro
cactus was similar to the super-spiky ‘echinocactus grusonii’ which is also
known as the ‘mother-in-law’s cushion’. It’s the one that also won Balinder Ahluwalia
a prize for its exquisite form and beauty.
“My ‘mother-in-law’s
cushion’ is 20 years old, but the Peter Greensmith’s nursery has 40- and 50-year-old
ones that grow as tall as half a meter high,” Balinder says.
Noting that
succulents like hers require lots of sun, she adds that when there’s a heavy
downpour, she’s so protective of her potted plant that she quickly keeps it in
the family garage until the rain stops. That’s one of the reasons her succulents
thrive, whether there’s drought or downpour.
Celia says
succulents run from Sh150 up to Sh15,000. “The ‘pachypodium’ is our most
expensive succulent,” she says, adding that she only displayed one-tenth of the
succulent varieties that she grows at ‘Plants Galore’ in Roslyn.
There was
just one ‘pachypodium’ in the plant show. Vishy Talwar, this year’s show
chairman proudly took BD over to see his award-winning tree-like succulent. “It
was the only plant I entered in the show this year, so I am delighted that it also
won a first prize,” he says.
Celia's Sedum wintonii
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