Terry Hewitt - Epiphyllum crossed seeds- update

 

So , the one I had thought was going to be red , turned out to be pink !  This is a cutting that I took from some seedlings that I grew some years ago .

I acquired these seeds from Terry Hewitt , who had been experimenting with crossing varieties of Epiphyllums at Holly Gate Cactus Nursery Ashington .This was just before he sadly passed away in 2006 .

 I was so sad to hear that he had passed . I had only ever seen pictures of this wonderful place " Run by Enthusiasts for Enthusiasts !" was the slogan on his website .  

I lived too far away to visit , but many of my plants are from cuttings and seeds I bought from him .

And of course , he was the author of one of the first books on cacti that I ever had - "The Complete Book of Cacti and Succulents by Terry Hewitt "

I sowed those precious seeds and as time went on , I pricked them out , potted them all up in a huge hanging basket . Some withered away , others grew with vigour .

Years passed , sometimes I loved them , sometimes I ignored them and neglected them badly ,you know how it is , especially during the period of the taking down of the old greenhouse and the arrival (and problems ) of the new . 

The toughest ones survived and now I am loving and pampering them again . 

None of them bloomed , understandably because they were being moved from place to place , some  even being left outside over winter !

So , this one , coming from one of Terry's very special crossed seeds , has no name , but very lovely .

None of these seedlings will be registered or named , I think they need to have some real outstanding qualities for that , but I will think of him and smile every time one of his babies blooms . 

We are still waiting for E. Marilyn Monroe to bloom . I will update you on this beauty  , I think sometime in the next couple of days .

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Lettuce Seedlings - not today 🌱🌱🌱🌱

 

So this morning I had planned to prick out and pot on this tray of lettuce . Simples !  😃

          Not so simples .... because first I have to make space in the shed  🙄

All those Epies have got to be moved .... 

.......  into the greenhouse  .......  😃 

     Don't panic ..stay calm ....we can do this  .... just need to shift a few things around that's all !  

I moved the Tarantula Fern and the Stag horn /Elk Horn into it's new shady position on a low shelf under the bench . They will be much happier in there .

I squeezed in a Disocactus macranthus in behind them  ...it also would prefer to be in the shade . Those tatty leaves / phylloclades have sun scorch marks on them . 

   

I moved out the shelving unit that was in the middle and found a smaller one to go under the bench along the back of the greenhouse . At the moment I have put some of my cacti on that....sort them out later .

Most of the Epiphyllums are on top of this bench with shade net fixed up overhead . 

that big Aloe in the orange tub is the one my brother gave me a few years ago .  It is amazing . It has not had any water all through this past winter , not one drop .  Cacti and succulents are fascinating and amazing plants !

I will probably put this one outside for the summer maybe next week . We are having a mini heatwave right now , which will almost certainly end with a deluge of rain at the weekend .  I'll put this Aloe and a few other things out after the weather has settled again .

Aloe vera...got to get that out too . I'm not so in love with that as I used to be  .

While I'm down here on the floor ,I might as well show you the Cucumber plants .....coming along !

On the other side , the tomatoes are now pushing up through the bench .

So all is looking fairly well , it's so hot !  Then as I started to get up from the floor , my brother sent me a message on the mobile phone which I opened and read but didn't reply to , because I passed out .

I'm o.k.  I think it was because I tried to get up too quickly and answer the phone at the same time . I got dizzy . I'm a newbie to the mobile phone and still get into a bit of a panic when it plays the music whenever anyone calls me . Gawd ! Don't like it !

Anyway , all is well ! I'm o.k. ! I'm O.K. !  

                   And I'm liking how it looks now . What d'ya think ?   

 That's all fer today . It's too hot for me . I'll do the lettuce seedlings early tomorrow morning .

                                                     🌿☀️🌿