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All about Ceropegia Woodii String of hearts

Ceropegia Woodii

By: Daniel Greiner

History:

Ceropegia Woodii is native to South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. When the plant was first discovered in 1881 it was found hanging from rocks at an altitude of 1800 ft. Later the first specimen was grown at the Kew Gardens in 1894. it appears that it was in limited distribution throughout the mid 1900’s. A few herbarium specimens from the 1940’s still capture the plants interesting flowers and leaves.

Ceropegia woodii Herbarium Image
Ceropegia woodii Herbarium Image

Fast forward to 2019 and its been a good 130 years since the first introduction of this plant. It amazes me how quickly people forget the existence of things. This plant for all its merit should still be today as popular as it was 100 years ago and yet its been forgotten.

Currently this plant is enjoying a new surge of interest as it has been “rediscovered” by plant enthusiasts too young or unaware to realize it’s grandmas plant. With the advent of social media and things like Pinterest these plants are now gaining the advantage of wider exposure.

I have been growing this plant since I was a child, however I will admit that I rarely ever see them available for sale and when I have the prices are extremely high.

Description:

A succulent vine reaching 2-4 meters with heart shaped leaves arranged in opposite pairs. The top of the leaves are lightly textured with the raised portions being dark green to purple in high light, or light green in lower light. The portions not raised are silvery in color with a suffusion of purple. The edge of the leaf is also trimmed in the darker or  lighter shade of green. Undersides of the leaves can vary from dark purple to light green again depending on light as the variable. leaves become noticeably thicker after watering versus when there has been a prolonged period of drought. leaves appear to hook onto things quite well and may assist with the vines in scrambling up through low brush. These vines do not have tenderals so do not possess the capacity to cling to support but rather use other mechanisms such as the leaves to hang to their supports. I suspect the vine grows in areas with little competition for light and primarily creeps across the ground.

Leaves produced in high light
Leaves produced in high light
Leaves produced in lower light notice reduction of silver marbling and larger leaf size
Leaves produced in lower light notice reduction of silver marbling and larger leaf size

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inter node length is greatly influenced by light and plants in lower light can have as much as 2-3 inches between leaf pairs.

Flowers are produced from the leading growing tip and are constantly produced in sufficient light. The base of the flower is bulbous with a slimmer column that meets the dark velvety cap like a small inverted pink vase. The cap is made up of 5 comma shaped petals that fuse together at the top creating a cage.  The overall color of the flower is light purple on the lower portions to dark purple at the cap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pollination for this species is truly fascinating. Ceropegia rely on Midges to pollinate their flowers. Each species of Ceropegia use different floral attractants to draw in species best suited for pollination. As soon as the top of the flowers opens it begins to emit a scent that draws the midge to it. The midges that are attracted are always female and the insects forces itself between the hairs in the ‘lantern’ appearing top. It then encounters hairs that are downward pointing forcing the insect to proceed downward to the bulbous base where the pollen and anthers are. There are special nectaries located at the base of the anthers and as the midge drinks the sweet nectar it picks up the pollen and deposits the pollen its currently carrying onto the stigma.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the flower is pollinated the stockade of hairs withers and the flower bends through 90 degrees on its stalk, so the chimney is horizontal and the midges, carrying pollen, can escape.

The flower will then begin to produce an elongated pod similar to a milkweed. If the Midge pollinated more than one stigma you will get two pods forming as a pair opposite to the old floral stem.

Ceropegia Seed pods
Ceropegia Seed pods

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cultivation:

It’s long pendulous stems allow for it to be grown in hanging baskets or pots. It makes no attempt to grow upwards and will produce perfectly strait vines that rarely branch. Most of the new shoots appear from the hidden potato like tubers although these will also appear along the stem periodically.

 

 

 

 

 

The plant stores water in these tubers as well as in their fleshy leaves. This allows them to go through short periods of drought. Indoor plants are usually potted in a peat based mix that retains moisture for much longer and caution should be made to not over water. this plant typically should be watered once a week to more likely once every two weeks. Because this vine grows so vigorously you should fertilize the plant at every watering.

Plants seem to be very tolerant of a wide variance of light conditions.  They do best in bright indirect to partial direct sunlight. I have seen many people who have successfully grown this plant quite a distance from a bright window and have it do well. Observe the inter node length to help you determine if its getting enough light.

Propagating this plant is slow and requires patience. Plants can easily be propagated by taking 4-5 inch tip cuttings and laying them on the surface of moist potting soil till they root in, or placing the base of the stems in water until roots form. Additionally you may harvest the tubers and plant them. If using tubers for propagation you must not over water. I like to fill a pot with potting soil with a generous amount of perlite and then sprinkle about a quarter inch of perlite on the very top and bury your tubers till the tops are just barely visible under the perlite. keep barely damp unit you see lots of new vines flush out.

water propagation of Ceropegia
water propagation of Ceropegia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I highly encourage you to grow this as it has lower light demands than many succulents. I also want you to remember that plants like this should not be grown just because it is currently fashionable, but because they are truly unique and worthy of a space in your home.

Midwest Dachshund Club of Michigan

Midwest dachshund club
Midwest dachshund club

Limberlostexotics is a proud member of the Midwest Dachshund Club. We support AKC confirmation show events by participating in showing our dogs and learning more about the breed. If you would like to show your dogs or support a club in improving the breed click the link http://www.midwestdachshundclub.com/about-us.html to be directed to the club website, or our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/1479913065650497/ also feel free to reach out to me personally with questions. limberlostexotics.com@gmail.com

Monarch Mania

People who know me well understand that I’m very passionate about monarch butterflies. I can remember back as a child awaiting the arrival of monarchs. Their rich orange color so perfectly accentuated by the black and crisp white spots. The caterpillars are as unmistakable as moral mushrooms and even novice people learn to recognize them.  To me the monarch butterfly is as iconic to the United States as hamburger and fries. When I became aware that the population was in trouble nearly 5 years ago I have been on a mission ever since. Each year just like I did as a child I await their arrival. I then collect the larva and rear them until they pupate into their jade green jewel like Chrysalis. I keep them safe and sheltered until they hatch. Releasing the adult butters still exhilarates me and I hope others can share in my passion for these butterflies to.

Videos of our Dogs and puppies

Past Puppies 8/9/2018

Cooper’s personality is very playful. He is the last puppy to get picked up when taking them in and out of the house because he wants to play hide and go seek. He has lots of dark hair overlay still which tells me he will end up looking much like his mother Elizabeth when he grows up. Please consider this little guy for your next pet.

Jack is Chubby and jolly all the time. He would make a great lap dog or snuggle buddy. Very light already he will likely not have much shading as an adult and be very blond. A truly nice dog with lots of kisses to give.

Max is our last black and cream from this litter. Many people mistaken black and creams for black and tans. This is not the same thing at all. You can only produce black and creams from two parents that carry that gene. The points are also very light cream and not the common tan to brown that you see. Max is laid back sweet in nature and would make a great companion. He will truly be a striking addition to anyone’s family.

Charlie is gotta be the best looking puppy we have left. His face proportions are just perfect and his temperament and outgoing personality is the icing on the cake. Don’t miss your opportunity to not only own a stunning dog, but also a best friend.

to inquire on any of our dogs please use the contact form in the about us, or you may absolutely txt or call me Daniel for more information 517-230-1827

At Limberlostexotics having well socialized puppies is very imporant to us. we give our puppies lots of time to play and interact with us so that when you take your new family home they quickly bond with you. Here they are doing what puppies do best playing.

Lets get Real (how to use faux plants effectively)

Intro to Faux Plants and flowers

When it comes to plants you are either have a green thumb or don’t so if you don’t what are your options? Well I’m here to tell you that you can have plants in your home that would trick even the well trained eye. I want you to understand that high quality faux plants or artificial flowers are not cheep. They often cost the same as the real thing, or in some instances are twice the amount. Considering that they will last a lifetime if stored and cared for properly I consider a worthwhile investment. Rooms that are decorated with some organic accents look much better than one that is stark and sterile.

Even the worst plant killer can usually grown some real plants and this helps to make a display that contains some fake look all the more believable. Below you can see were I have utilized some succulents in a window full of mostly real plants. Succulents while drought tolerant are not tolerant of poor light. They will quickly get leggy, pale and develop soft spots if grown in poor light. Since succulents are also a premium item having them die and deteriorate is discouraging and costly. also since succulents have a matt to glossy waxy surface and succulent leaves in real life they lend well to faux imitations.

 

faux and real plants display

Location Location Location

High quality artificials need to be placed in a believable setting. If you have a bunch of artificial plants sitting in the center of a room that always has the shades pulled its a dead give away that they are not real. Place your faux plants were they would actually potentially grow and thrive if they were real. Below I show a mix of fake and real plants on my office desk which is located in the basement of my home. What makes it believable is that i have a artificial light source for the few real plants. The fake plants are grouped around the light source as if they were there to get the light as well.

faux succulents

Faux plants don’t ever need to  be watered which helps if your using delicate furniture that you don’t want moisture coming in contact with. They don’t drop leaves or get bugs. Really the only downside to faux plants is that they do need to be dusted occasionally. They can fade if they are located in a setting with high light. One way to avoid this is use real plants that utilize most of the direct light. This keeps only the dappled light reaching your faux plants as seen below.

faux and real plant display

Who doesn’t like flowers on their real plants? Well of course everyone, but the fact of the matter is most plants do not continuously bloom non-stop. The relative low light in most peoples homes as well as the fact that most plants marketed for home use are low light. This leads to  infrequent blooming and adds to the disappointment. This is were faux plants come to the rescue providing cheerful blooms when your real plants are resting. below I have inserted a couple stems of faux real touch phalaenopsis orchids into a real plant that is currently resting. again placement and articulation of the flowers is critical to making it look natural. look up reference pictures if you don’t know how the flowers should be positioned.

faux orchids

Avoiding filling a space with only blooming plants as this looks pretty unnatural. The most believable set up is when you mix some foliage faux with flowering faux plants. as seen on my booster table in the kitchen.

faux succulent display
faux table display
faux table display

This photo below is all faux plants and it mixes flowering and texturally interesting succulents to make a nice display.

Again using some artificial light source i have placed real plants around this faux peony bouquet and it helps accent the creamy petals as well as make it look more realistic.

faux peony bouquet Lastly this faux brassica orchids height works well in the corner of a semi lit corner.

Artificial orchid I hope this article helped you see that faux plants can look real natural and downright gorgeous when used properly. Go and cheer up your space with some greenery even if you can’t grow the real thing.

Where to get awesome looking faux?

some great places to get realistic plants are http://Pottarybarn.com, http://Pier1.com, http://hobbylobby.com, and http://Michaels.com. I prefer to purchase in store to ensure that I’m getting what I want. Lots of times the way the faux plants are depicted online are not what they look in real life. I tend to avoid the ones that are poorly painted, or have to many obvious mold seems that are pretty obvious.