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momoese
03-05-2009, 04:29 PM
Our home from the front. On the right is a real Blue Agave (Tequila Agave)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15989&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15989&ppuser=42)

This is a rare plant! Aloe Susannae
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15984&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15984&ppuser=42)

Our Aloe Tree - Aloe Barberae This is my favorite plant!
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15987&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15987&ppuser=42)

Puya Berteroniana from Chile
This is a really wicked nasty plant! The barbs are hooked, razor sharp and point inwards toward the plant making it really difficult to unhook yourself from it. It feeds on sheep as they get stuck and decompose. The flowers are insane too! Here is a link for more info and to see some more pictures.
Puya berteroniana -- The Turquoise Puya (http://www.strangewonderfulthings.com/101.htm)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15986&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15986&ppuser=42)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15990 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15989&ppuser=42)

Mexican Grass Tree - Dasylirion
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15985&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15985&ppuser=42)

Madagascar Palm It's about 4 feet tall now but growing in a tiny container hidden under the rocks.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15988&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15988&ppuser=42)

And a couple nice looking Succulents, not sure what they are.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15992&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15992&ppuser=42)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15991&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15991&ppuser=42)

Tog Tan
03-05-2009, 05:33 PM
Hey Mitchel, great stuff. My kind of stuff! :ha: Agaves, yuccas, dracaena, cacti, euphorbia, aloe!

This is what I try to keep here. The weather is not kind to them here as it is too wet. I have a decent collection of the agaveceae over the years and it takes quite awhile to get them accustomed to the outdoor conditions. I have lost many plants as a result of this. Yep, I am also a crazy collector of pachypodiums! Only thing is, when planted into the ground, they explode when the rains come! :ha:

momoese
03-05-2009, 05:41 PM
Same ol story, we want to grow all the things that are difficult for our zones! Tropicals here and arid plants there!

Tog Tan
03-05-2009, 05:51 PM
Same ol story, we want to grow all the things that are difficult for our zones! Tropicals here and arid plants there!

:ha::ha::ha::ha::ha::ha::ha:

Patty in Wisc
03-05-2009, 06:05 PM
That aloe tree sure reminds me of the Dragon tree!
Those are some really cool plants. Wish I could grow them here.
That thorny plant does look wicked. I had a Bed of Nails plant that you would prolly like. Big leaves with strait long thorns on top & undersides of leaves. It even produced a edible citrus-like fruit. It died over a winter.

momoese
03-05-2009, 06:41 PM
One of these days I'll grab my camera and take pics of some of the local Dragon trees that i know about. Funny how I can remember where all the Aloe and Dragon trees are! Some of them are really huge!

Tog Tan
03-05-2009, 06:45 PM
One of these days I'll grab my camera and take pics of some of the local Dragon trees that i know about. Funny how I can remember where all the Aloe and Dragon trees are! Some of them are really huge!

I am totally crazy about the Dragon Tree, Dracaena draco and I am the 1st guy in M'sai to germinate them. The only problem is, I don't have any idea where I can apply for an extension on the lease of my lifespan for another 80 years to see them grow! :ha:

Mitchel you are so lucky to have them around you.

momoese
03-05-2009, 07:40 PM
Tog and Patty, here is one of the locations I spoke of. It's just a few blocks from my house. Just let the map do it's thing and it should show you the front of someones house. The huge tree by the curb is an Aloe tree, and the one by the front porch is a Dragon tree. When I go on my picture tour I'll make sure to get nice shots of this one!

culver city ca - Google Maps (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=culver+city+ca&ie=UTF8&ll=34.032059,-118.38198&spn=0.001327,0.002524&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=34.032143,-118.382011&panoid=2kVnbuJ1vDjzd4LGmdPWig&cbp=12,213.66444004795275,,0,-10.11158342189161)

Oh and btw, just for fun click on the picture and then click the white arrow in the street. Go 2 houses down and you can see bananas!

momoese
03-05-2009, 08:03 PM
This one is maybe 2 blocks from me! Check out the size of the palm tree next to it!

culver city ca - Google Maps (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=culver+city+ca&ie=UTF8&t=h&layer=c&cbll=34.036932,-118.38613&panoid=_KB05mMst4WSHwFa-USX5w&cbp=12,161.67131100841965,,0,-1.4601769911504427&ll=34.036863,-118.386026&spn=0.000647,0.001364&z=20)

momoese
03-05-2009, 08:35 PM
Another down the street.

culver city ca - Google Maps (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=culver+city+ca&ie=UTF8&t=h&layer=c&cbll=34.031566,-118.395822&panoid=Yjr4A4a-ZNERKS41RSWZCw&cbp=12,104.28687629129841,,0,-9.070796460176991&ll=34.031627,-118.396509&spn=0.001294,0.002728&z=19)

Patty in Wisc
03-05-2009, 11:31 PM
Thanks Mitchel. How do they do that?? Was like I'm standing in middle of street & can go in a complete circle & see all around. How can they pick that up from a satellite?? Just amazing.
Tog, I saw a dragon tree at the conservatory here, about 8-9ft tall & it was 30 yrs old. I think we should go to Mitchels neighborhood & steal one now that we know where they are LOL:)

island cassie
03-05-2009, 11:46 PM
Mitchel, Patty and Tog - when we lived in South Africa, the variety of aloes and succulents were breathtaking. I was a kid so don't know what they were but even then they made an impression. But now I have decided to grow what grows here, and not struggle with the impossible. With one exception - does anyone know of a scarlet geranium that will thrive in very humid conditions? What I would give for a big pot of them on the patio, but they are the hardest thing here, and have to be shaded, fanned, cosseted to a ridiculous degree - and then they die!!

lorax
03-06-2009, 10:06 AM
Mitchell, your bottom two are a Kalanchoe, aka Mother of Thousands, and a Sempervivum. I have the exact same two, but like Tog says, it's tough to keep them alive in all the moisture I've got.

Cass, I'll send you some seeds from the roadside weeds! We have a very humidity-hardy red geraniums (well, a pelargonium) here, with the annoying tendency to escape and compete with the Sobralia orchids on the verges.

momoese
03-06-2009, 10:49 AM
Patty, it's done using a special camera van with a 360 degree camera that's hooked into a GPS unit. Here are a few pics of it.

http://weblogfor.us/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/tn_google_van.jpg

Street View in Google Maps Secret Revealed - Matt Cutts (http://matt-cutts.blogspot.com/2007/06/street-view-in-google-maps-secret.html)

momoese
03-06-2009, 11:03 AM
Mitchell, your bottom two are a Kalanchoe, aka Mother of Thousands, and a Sempervivum. I have the exact same two, but like Tog says, it's tough to keep them alive in all the moisture I've got.



I have had Kalanchoe in the past, but this is a way different plant. I was lucky enough to have a friend tell me to carefully move the mother of thousands to the trash and then vacuum the whole area where it was to remove any fallen babies. They can be very invasive here in So Cal. This plant is totally different and only flowers. No babies!

The other does not look like any of the Sempervivum pics on Google. Must be something else. EDIT: Might be this..
Echeveria Hybrid After Glow (http://www.cactuscenter.com/I_eche_after.html)

momoese
03-06-2009, 11:19 AM
This was one of the plants we really wanted for the front yard but found them to be very expensive and difficult to obtain due to their somewhat endangered status. I could have had a whole container of them shipped here from Thailand I believe it was but it would have cost about as much as our house! Maybe single plants can be found nowadays? I haven't looked in a long time.

Station Creek Tree Farm, Queensland Australia (http://australiantrees.com.au/Xanthorrhoea.html)

lorax
03-06-2009, 12:01 PM
I'm standing by Kalanchoe for your first one, Mitchell. The flowers are a dead giveaway!

K. gastonis-bonnieri is very similar.

momoese
03-06-2009, 01:01 PM
I'm standing by Kalanchoe for your first one, Mitchell. The flowers are a dead giveaway!


The flowers are similar but not the same. Believe me, I've had Kalanchoe and this is not that. Here are some more pics and some real Kalanchoe pics for comparison.

My plant
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=16002&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=16002&ppuser=42)

Genuine Kalanchoe, notice the serrated leaf edges where the babies used to be attached.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=16003 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=16002&ppuser=42)

My plants flowers that grow horizontally and don't have the green bell at the top, also they don't open the same.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15999&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15999&ppuser=42)

Real Kalanchoe flowers that hang like bells and have a green bell. Also notice that unlike mine these grow in multiple levels, mine just have one canopy of flowers across the top.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=16001 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15999&ppuser=42)

And here are mine after they form seed pods.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=16000&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=16000&ppuser=42)

So as you can see there are some minor similarities, but they are totally different plants!

chong
03-06-2009, 01:04 PM
This was one of the plants we really wanted for the front yard but found them to be very expensive and difficult to obtain due to their somewhat endangered status. I could have had a whole container of them shipped here from Thailand I believe it was but it would have cost about as much as our house! Maybe single plants can be found nowadays? I haven't looked in a long time.

Station Creek Tree Farm, Queensland Australia (http://australiantrees.com.au/Xanthorrhoea.html)

Mitchel,
Have you considered the Xanthorrhoea Preisii? Here's a link to a Seller in Richmond, CA that sells seedlings for $10, see item #21. He might have larger ones. Paul Leondis - Rosette Plants for Sale (http://leondis.com/radial.html)

momoese
03-06-2009, 01:13 PM
Thanks Chong, that really a beautiful plant! He has some other really outstanding plants on his site too! The issue with growing from seedling is that I'll die way before seeing a trunk on it! That's why we tried to get a mature specimen that had been removed from an area that they were doing construction or some such business. I found out later that the government had to stop people from poaching them and or shipping them out of country.

momoese
03-06-2009, 01:15 PM
This was our Agave attenuata when it flowered in 2006. They don't flower until they are 10 years old!

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15998&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15998)

Tog Tan
03-06-2009, 01:57 PM
Mitchel,
Have you considered the Xanthorrhoea Preisii? Here's a link to a Seller in Richmond, CA that sells seedlings for $10, see item #21. He might have larger ones. Paul Leondis - Rosette Plants for Sale (http://leondis.com/radial.html)

Chong, Mitchel, X preisii, aka Black Boy, is a heck of a super plant. I had one with a 3ft trunk given to me. Well...with the rains here, it, as usual, exploded!:ha:

Mitchel, if you can get one and you don't mind paying the price, go for it. Due to the high price there's no one importing them here in the last 10 years. Love to get another.

momoese
03-06-2009, 02:19 PM
Chong, Mitchel, X preisii, aka Black Boy, is a heck of a super plant.

Mitchel, if you can get one and you don't mind paying the price, go for it.

At this point we can't afford it and don't have space for it, although I might remove something for one of those!

Check this site out! Some huge specimens there!
Landscapedesign.co.nz - HAHEI PLANTS LTD - New Zealand's landscape garden resource directory (http://www.landscapedesign.co.nz/landscapedetails_miniex.asp?id=6832)

Tog Tan
03-06-2009, 02:26 PM
At this point we can't afford it and don't have space for it, although I might remove something for one of those!

Check this site out! Some huge specimens there!
Landscapedesign.co.nz - HAHEI PLANTS LTD - New Zealand's landscape garden resource directory (http://www.landscapedesign.co.nz/landscapedetails_miniex.asp?id=6832)

Currently Bkk Have quite alot going for up to $1,000+ for big 5ft trunk ones. I am very tempted to get one back except it's so bloody wet here.

Mitchel, don't you grow Zamia's, you should be able to get them easily. I still collect them or buy their sds to germinate. This is one cycad you can see to grow to a good trunk size in your life time. The only cycad I can't keep alive here due to the weather is the Encephalartos. They bloody explode as well.

momoese
03-06-2009, 02:34 PM
I wasn't even aware they existed! Are you sure about the growth rate? I found this.

http://jaw.iinet.net.au/pembee/zamia_old.jpg
"On the block I found an unsual specimen, a Zamia palm nearly as tall as me! I thought it was quite spectacular so I tied an orange ribbon around it so the bulldozer knew not to push it over. I couldn't even guess as to how old it was, suffice to say my Dad had one growing in his backyard and in 20 years it wasn't even 1/10th the size of that."

Tog Tan
03-06-2009, 02:54 PM
What you have there looks like a Macrozamia communis which is from the Australasian region. This is a very common plant sold in the US and they grow very well. Zamia's do not have such pinnate leaf. The pix attached is my Zamia elegantissima which has white emergent leaves. It is from Mexico (I think) and is supposed to be rare. Someone hand carried it back for me :ha:

<a href=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15211><img src=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15211&size=1 border=0></a>

momoese
03-06-2009, 03:34 PM
This is a very common plant sold in the US and they grow very well.

Ok, I have seen those. I probably didn't find them ascetically pleasing, or just passed them by because they were too common. When researching the plants for the front yard, we looked for the kind of unusual stuff we hardly ever see around town.

Bob
03-07-2009, 09:24 AM
Carol, where were you in S.A.? I've hunted in Free state and up in Ellisras(now lephalale) in limpopo province.

Mitchell is the Rottie yours too?

momoese
03-07-2009, 09:37 AM
No Bob, that's just a picture I found online. We have two Aussies and 3 cats.

hammer
03-07-2009, 09:57 AM
that is a cool palm tree i like it love your dog to

LilRaverBoi
03-07-2009, 06:49 PM
Wow....you have some very neat plants! I like the way they transform the look of your home. Wish we could grow plants like that around here.

island cassie
03-07-2009, 10:01 PM
Bob - we were all over except the Cape Province. Johannesburg to Durban and all points between - I wasn't into botany then but I remember aloes and succulants of every type growing in wonderful profusion - wish I had some of them now!!

Bob
03-08-2009, 06:43 AM
Bob - we were all over except the Cape Province. Johannesburg to Durban and all points between - I wasn't into botany then but I remember aloes and succulants of every type growing in wonderful profusion - wish I had some of them now!!

Yeah I wish I had at least tried to get some of the tall aloe seed as well as A. polyphylla which grows naturally in a circular pattern.I think they're only found in the Drakensburg mountains. A few camel thorn seed mysteriously appeared in my bag when I got home though.
If I ever get back I'll be sure and take the Blue train from J'burg to Capetown. I'd like to stand where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet.

paula
04-09-2009, 07:56 PM
Dragon Tree? Is that the same as dragon fruit?

paula
04-09-2009, 07:59 PM
Momoese, I would love to have the job of driving around ,doing that.

Patty in Wisc
04-09-2009, 09:11 PM
Paula, Dragon tree is very different from Dragon Fruit which is also called Pitaya.

silviatriaso
07-02-2009, 01:26 PM
Our home from the front. On the right is a real Blue Agave (Tequila Agave)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15989&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15989&ppuser=42)

This is a rare plant! Aloe Susannae
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15984&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15984&ppuser=42)

Our Aloe Tree - Aloe Barberae This is my favorite plant!
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15987&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15987&ppuser=42)

Puya Berteroniana from Chile
This is a really wicked nasty plant! The barbs are hooked, razor sharp and point inwards toward the plant making it really difficult to unhook yourself from it. It feeds on sheep as they get stuck and decompose. The flowers are insane too! Here is a link for more info and to see some more pictures.
Puya berteroniana -- The Turquoise Puya (http://www.strangewonderfulthings.com/101.htm)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15986&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15986&ppuser=42)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15990 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15989&ppuser=42)

Mexican Grass Tree - Dasylirion
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15985&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15985&ppuser=42)

Madagascar Palm It's about 4 feet tall now but growing in a tiny container hidden under the rocks.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15988&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15988&ppuser=42)

And a couple nice looking Succulents, not sure what they are.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15992&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15992&ppuser=42)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15991&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15991&ppuser=42)

Hello there...

I need so mcuh your help, my boss wants to buy some aloe trees, and i canīt find any place for it.

Do you sell the aloe tree? do you have more of them?, if yes how much is it??

If you have any info, please contact me by mail: sylvya66@hotmail.com

Thanks a lot,

Silvia

island cassie
07-03-2009, 12:54 AM
Bob - sorry to be so slow in getting back to you - you brought back camel thorn seed when you could have brought back aloe, species geranium or protea - shame on you - go to the back of the class! Just joking - you have to smuggle what you can - done it myself many times!

Bob
07-03-2009, 07:03 AM
Bob - sorry to be so slow in getting back to you - you brought back camel thorn seed when you could have brought back aloe, species geranium or protea - shame on you - go to the back of the class! Just joking - you have to smuggle what you can - done it myself many times!

Not for lack of trying! It was a hunting trip so my time was limited. The aloes I saw were the most impressive ever. July/ August was the end of winter there(though I was quite dark when I got home):ha:.

bigdog
07-03-2009, 09:18 AM
And a couple nice looking Succulents, not sure what they are.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15992&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15992&ppuser=42)


That is definitely an aloe of some sort. I'm not sure of the species.

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=15991&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=15991&ppuser=42)

And you are right about this one. An Echeveria.

Nobody's mentioned the GIANT Yucca in your front bed!!! That is amazing! Really nice plants, Mitchel. Thanks for posting them!

Frank

momoese
07-03-2009, 03:36 PM
Hello there...

I need so mcuh your help, my boss wants to buy some aloe trees, and i canīt find any place for it.

Do you sell the aloe tree? do you have more of them?, if yes how much is it??

If you have any info, please contact me by mail: sylvya66@hotmail.com

Thanks a lot,

Silvia

I'll send an email to you with some info.

momoese
07-03-2009, 03:41 PM
That is definitely an aloe of some sort. I'm not sure of the species.


And you are right about this one. An Echeveria.

Nobody's mentioned the GIANT Yucca in your front bed!!! That is amazing! Really nice plants, Mitchel. Thanks for posting them!

Frank

Thanks Frank, that giant Yucca is also a giant pain in the wallet! It sits right on top of our sewer line. Just a matter of time until we have to remove it. Around town there are lots of really big, I mean huge Yuccas! We do technically live in a dessert here so I guess it's not too surprising.