Plant Information

We attended the most recent NAN (Northeastern Arts Network) concert held up at the Glasgow High School last week. There are four concerts held here each winter. You've now missed the first two. The next one will be held Feb. 6, and is "a modern-day folk trio inspired by the music and legacy of Peter, Paul, and Mary" called The Band Called Honalee. Really, more people here should make the effort to attend these events. How often do you get quality live musicians giving concerts up here in the Middle of Nowhere? Ticket prices are very reasonable.

Anyway, during intermission, while enjoying the great treats provided by Beth Flynn (she's an amazing baker and her treats are always delicious) AND visiting with the actual musicians (a bonus of the concerts), a friend commented on the photo of my orchid cactus bloom that accompanied last week's column. (He admitted he doesn't actually read my column, but he does skim headlines and notes photos. I'm okay with that.) He then asked about from where the orchid cactus comes. I'd been happy just to put a name to it. So here comes the info I gleaned via Safari:

The Orchid Cactus Epiphyllum is an epiphytic cactus (also known as Disocactus Achermannii). They come from tropical forests in Mexico, specifically in the Mexican states of Veracruz and Oaxaca. I had to look at a map of Mexico to find those states, which are at the very southern end of Mexico, where it links up to South America. I hate to admit my ignorance, but I'd never even thought of Mexico having states! (Ugly American here.)

Obviously, while these plants (I saw them called jungle cactus) grow in the wild there, up here they are strictly houseplants. But you can let them enjoy the summer outside, as long as you don't put them in direct sunlight. They like bright, indirect light year-round. They also prefer being root-bound, so let them be crowded in the pot. Water sparingly, but unlike other cacti, they do like regular watering during their growing season, but not so much that they get soggy.

Their stems are broad and flat, lack thorns, and grow to be two feet long and two feet tall. They do great in hanging pots, or on a stand where they can drape (as mine does). They supposedly bloom in the spring. Mine is seasonally challenged. The flowers are four to eight inches across, and come in a variety of colors. Mine is red, and called Miss America. The Queen of the Night produces white flowers that open at night and only last that one night. Mine lasted several days, so I'm happy about that. I plan to try propagating more of them once it's finished blooming.

This whole delving into plants took me down a rabbit hole. Fair warning: you could get more plant information this winter than you ever wanted. I got to wondering about my bird's nest plant. My mother grew these, and that's about all I knew about them, except I had to have one, because of mom. It's actually a rosette snake plant (Sansevieria Hahnii), native to the subtropics of Europe, India, and Africa. Apparently down in Florida it is sometimes grown as a ground cover. I can't imagine walking on them. It likes to be hot and dry, and grows well in poor soil. I guess I've been overwatering mine so I should let it dry completely before I water it again. It does like the bright, filtered light I give it. It should live up to its "easy care" designation now that I know to ignore it more!

A final note: the magpie hasn't left our yard, and has had a second one join it. They just flew through outside the living room windows. I keep not having my phone camera nearby when they appear, and they refuse to pose when I'm ready. Magpies will eat carrion, dead, decaying flesh. We have a fawn that has a great wound on her head/neck, and that may be why they're here now. I'm afraid that gaping wound (gored by a buck? wounded from a hunter?) may spell her death. We just saw that wound on this fawn this morning. It's fresh, as the blood is still bright red. Occasionally she scratches it with a hind leg and shakes her head vigorously, but she's walking well and foraging for grass and leaves with the other deer. I feel bad for her.