The Hoodia plants are going nuts this early summer. Four out of seven species are in bloom. When the air is still around them you can almost taste the stench!
The H. ruschii is likely a hybrid or another species altogether. As Saxicola kindly pointed out, the flowers are not right for H. ruschii. Please read later post for more detailed explanation.
Hoodia Summer 2014
Hoodia Summer 2014
Last edited by Tetrazole on Sat Jul 12, 2014 12:51 am, edited 2 times in total.
“Whenever people say, 'We mustn't be sentimental,' you can take it they are about to do something cruel. And if they add, 'We must be realistic,' they mean they are going to make money out of it.”
― Brigid Brophy
― Brigid Brophy
Re: Hoodia Summer 2014
Nice collection you have! I try to add different species to my collection when I come across them. A note about H. ruschii though. I am pretty sure your identification is incorrect. H. ruschii has much smaller, dark red flowers. Big brown flowers are actually a minority in the genus, but are over represented in collections which makes people think all Hoodias look like that. If it has big brown flowers it is either H. gordonii, H. juttae, H. currorii (H. macarantha is considered a synonym of this by the expert on the genus), and to a lesser degree H. dregei and H. parviflora. Hopefully your H. pilifera is labelled correctly as that species has really nice blood red flowers that are small but form in big clusters.
I'm now selling plants on Ebay. Check it out! Kyle's Plants
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Re: Hoodia Summer 2014
Aaaah I love a good Hoodia and these are lovely. I've had a lot of growth on mine so far this year, but sadly no flowers.
Re: Hoodia Summer 2014
Gorgeous!!!! Can't wait for mine to arrive from EBay!!
Karin
Karin
Life's a Cactus in the Great State of Texas!!!
Re: Hoodia Summer 2014
I hope it gets there in the next day or two Sundanz!
I'm now selling plants on Ebay. Check it out! Kyle's Plants
Re: Hoodia Summer 2014
All but the H. gordonii were purchased from Arid Lands. Since they were grown from seeds, and were not cuttings, it is difficult to swear to the ID of a a given seedling unless you grow it long enough to see the flowers . . . Similar problems come up with Huernia and Stapelia seedlings. At least with the latter two genera, cutting propagation is fairly easy. I am told that getting a hoodia cutting to root is extremely difficult in comparison.
My H. gordonii never pollinated itself - it bloomed by itself for three years, never once setting a seed horn. Once more than one species bloomed at a time, they all set seed pods. I suspect that cross pollination of various species is very easy. So anyone supplying seed and claiming it to absolutely of one species has to either only grow just that one species or take extraordinary steps to control the pollination.
My point being is that, though purchased as a H. ruschii seedling, it does not surprise me that it turned out to be another species or a hybrid and I don't really fault the vendor. The flowers are quite a bit smaller than the H. gordonii but the plant overall - spination, appearance of new growth - resembles H. gordonii more than the other five species. I look forward to seeing how the flowers look on the three species that have not yet bloomed.
Overall, I really enjoy growing these plants and find them to be very easy to care for. The amount of new growth each year, coupled with their profuse blooming habits is very rewarding.
My H. gordonii never pollinated itself - it bloomed by itself for three years, never once setting a seed horn. Once more than one species bloomed at a time, they all set seed pods. I suspect that cross pollination of various species is very easy. So anyone supplying seed and claiming it to absolutely of one species has to either only grow just that one species or take extraordinary steps to control the pollination.
My point being is that, though purchased as a H. ruschii seedling, it does not surprise me that it turned out to be another species or a hybrid and I don't really fault the vendor. The flowers are quite a bit smaller than the H. gordonii but the plant overall - spination, appearance of new growth - resembles H. gordonii more than the other five species. I look forward to seeing how the flowers look on the three species that have not yet bloomed.
Overall, I really enjoy growing these plants and find them to be very easy to care for. The amount of new growth each year, coupled with their profuse blooming habits is very rewarding.
“Whenever people say, 'We mustn't be sentimental,' you can take it they are about to do something cruel. And if they add, 'We must be realistic,' they mean they are going to make money out of it.”
― Brigid Brophy
― Brigid Brophy