Interesting Specimens
“Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”
Most species of perennial plant have what we call indeterminate growth, which is to say that unlike us humans, given ideal conditions, and the absense of predators and pathogens, they are in every sense of the word, immortal. The oldest continuingly living known organism is "Pando" a 108 acre wide colonial aspen grove. Pando is 14,000 years old.
Many of the mature plants circulating around facebook marketplace, craigslist, and various other exchanges have been cared for over the decades by several owners in a variety of places. Like people, plants too have their stories and secrets to tell. Although they often blend into the scenery of our lives, for their caretakers these plants can carry a great deal of sentimental or emotional significance. In our conservatory it is our goal to not only maintain these beautiful specimens for their asthetic and botanical value, but for their emotional value to those who maintained them before us. In the past, previous owners, who could no longer care for their plants after thirty or fourty years due to a variety of circumstances, have teared up when come to take the plant off their hands. We believe that it one can't truely own such plant specimens, they are really just shared by various stewards over the years.
For some of our more unique specimens we have compiled a somewhat redacted (with respect to all previous owners privacy) account of these plants' histories as best we know it. For many plants we are the fourth caretaker. Several specimens are over forty years old.
***All of our facilities are under 24 hour surveillance and not presently open to the public. These plants are part of our small conservatory and not for sale.***
Species
Pilosocereus pachycladus
Date Acquired
June, 2017
Cognomen
The candle
Age
15+ years
History:
The first plant acquired for the collection. Purchased off of craigslist in the District of Columbia near the water treatment plant off of Macurther boulevard. It was inside of a small brick apartment near a dim lamp. The couple selling it were the second owners, they had previously purchased the plant from another man, at a nursery, in Texas, where they were from. Despite the initial condition of the plant, the previous owners seemed very fond of it.
Plant:
Sometime between its move from texas to our acquisition the meristem had been clipped off and a small shoot sprouted in its place, giving it the appearance of a "candle". From time of purchase to time of this entry this shoot has now grown over two feet in height and over three inches in width, giving it a much less candle-like appearance. At the time of acquisition the column had a severe forty five degree lean, with considerable effort the plant was shifted in its pot and the stem was corrected so it could grow upwards in a more or less straight direction.
Plants:
Species
Carnegiea gigantea
Opuntia violacea v. santa rita
Mammillaria backebergiana
Echinocactus grusonii
Echinocactus grusonii
Date Acquired
Oct, 2018
Cognomen
None
Age
25+ years
History:
Group of five plants purchased from a woman, her daughter and granddaughter near Columbia, Maryland. The woman had recently moved from the San Antonio area of Texas, with her recently deceased husband, to whom the plants initially belonged. She and her husband had the plants, as grown from seedlings, for over twenty five years. The plants were extremely well maintained and professionally potted in large ceramic glazed terracotta planters atop cast iron coasters. She was extremely fond of the plants. Plants were kept on an outdoor balconey on the fifth story of an apartment complex. In order to get them out, with the help of the woman and her daughter, the plants had to be rolled down the hall and into the elevator on the coasters, which took several trips. They then had to be rolled down a hallway and through two security doors to get outside to the car. Loading them all into the xterra was difficult and felt like a game of tetris, but ultimately successful. The glochids of the Santa rita prickly pear were however embedded into the rear back of the driver's seat and to this day some will "attack" passengers.
The saguaro is only about two feet tall (about the size and shape of a fire hydrant), and despite being over twenty five years old, still in its infancy. The two golden barrel cacti are approximately the same size, respectively, and have grown somewhat since acquisition.. The mammillaria has grown significantly since coming into our possession, however, as of yet has only been observed to flower once. The santa rita prickly pear is a beautiful green, blue, almost violet at the edges of the cladodes.
Species
Cereus repandus
Date Acquired
Sept, 2017
Cognomen
Christmas Cactus
Age
40-50 years
History:
Two Cereus repandus (formerly together in the same pot, but were separated into different pots in Dec, 2019). Specimen was purchased from a retiree and former cacti hobbiest and grower near Falls Church, Virginia. Plant grew as a cutting brought back from southern California sometime in the seventies or eighties. The plant was frequently used as stock, to produce cutting and thus had many cut stems with corking, it was roughly four and a half feet tall with a rought appearance due to the frequent cuttings. Plants had been fertilized with leaf litter and detritus.
Plant:
Since its purchase it has not been used for cuttings. The two individual plants were seperated and with mild difficulty repotted in seperate terracotta pots. Both plants have grown to a height of over six feet, but no branching has occured. Both plants are used annually as "Christmas Cacti" due to their sturdy nature and long spines they are ideal to decorate with lights and ornaments.
Species
Disocactus Ackermannii
Date Acquired
Nov, 2018
Cognomen
None
Age
Unknown
History:
Specimen was purchased from a woman in Fairfax, Virginia. At the time of purchase it was fairly large, but has since been repotted to a much larger pot and grown almost twice its size. It was kept inside a kitchen with minimal light access and kept outside on a back deck in the shade in the warm season.
Plant:
The plant produced red peeled, white fleshed, fruit. Fruit has a taste reminiscent of passion fruit and grape. We have managed to sucessfully pollinate flowers and produce viable seeds in an ongoing project to increase diversity of this genetic line at the time of this entry. The cactus also produces the most beautiful, iridescent red flowers. Each flower has a nectary, which produces copious amounts of sweet honey-like nectar. The color and nectar indicate it is most likely bird pollinated. One of the most "favorited" plants in the conservatory, on account of its large, vibrant red floral display and general oddness.
Species
Cleistocactus winteri
Cleistocactus winteri
Date Acquired
Early Aug, 2019
Late Aug, 2019
Cognomen
Medusa
Bob Marley
Age
25+ years
History:
Two, very large, very mature separate specimens of Cleistocactus winteri, acquired near Tyson’s corner from a man and his son. The son had grown the, then, small plants as cuttings from a local nursery that he either worked at or volunteered at around the time of its closing sometime in the nineties. He used leaf litter as a fertilizer. The two cacti were kept indoors behind a sliding glass kitchen door in winter and kept on a partially shaded deck in the warmer months. Transporting the plants in the truck was challenging and was done in two completely separate trips on different days. The transportation of “Bob Marley” was done without incident. The transportation of “Medusa” was more difficult due to the long stems. At one point “medusa” fell over and sustained damage in the back, however it has since regrown the lost stems.
Plant:
The previous caretakers had named the cactus with stems that were roughly the same in length “Bob Marley” because of its dread-like appearance and the cactus with some stems much longer than others “Medusa” because of its snake-like appearance. They requested we keep the names and we have. The twelve inch plastic pots that the plants were initally grown in had to be cut off and replaced with modified 16 inch terracotta pots. Transferring to the new pots was difficult but ultimately successful and the plants have done well since then, showing virgorous growth. Both specimens are incredibly mature and beautiful, albeit somewhat unwieldy, neither has flowered as of yet.
Species
Pachycereus pringlei
Date Acquired
Jan, 2020
Cognomen
Cardon Cactus
Age
25-30 years
History:
Specimen was purchased from a family near Hagerstown, Maryland. They were moving and had to clean out. They indicated that they kept the plant outdoors in the summer and indoors in the winter and rarely watered it. Although they had the plant for a few years, they indicated that they bought it from someone else, out of state, and that they were likely the third owner of the plant. The pot was cracked, however, so it was transplanted to a larger sixteen inch modified terracotta pot and seems to be adjusting well.
Plant:
The specimen is, an over six foot tall, Mexican Cardon Cactus. It has only one columnar stem. Spines are extremely long, in some areas over two inches in length. There is significant corking at the base of the column.
Species
Epiphyllum oxypetalum
Date Acquired
Late Oct, 2020
Cognomen
Big Chungus II
Age
50+ years
History:
Purchased from woman near Kingsville, Maryland. The plant originally belonged to a former neighbor across the road who gave it to the woman some forty years ago when the neighbor moved away. It was kept outside during the warmer months but moved inside with a basement door as a light source during cold months. Specimen was so large that its many long branches took up the entirety of the back of the truck.
Plant:
The specimen is, Likely, by far, the oldest single specimen in our conservatory. Specimen was so large that its many long branches took up the entirety of the back of the truck. Specimen was damaged during transport, losing many stems, most of which were rooted for new plants in the greenhouse. Specimen was transplanted to a larger modified terracotta pot and has since regrown almost all of the damaged stems and cladodes.