Not an aloe?

It may look like it, but this is not an aloe. Who knew?

I only recently found out that it's actually a type of bromeliad - a Dyckia brevifolia to be exact. It's a terrestrial type of bromeliad native to South America. I have taken numerous photos over the years of the enormous clump of these at the Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens, and had labelled them as 'Aloe' in my flickr photostream. I am pleased to confirm that all are now correctly labelled (phew!)

Earlier this year I bought one at a market - the stall holder told me it was a succulent, which only compounded the problem. Glad it's not just me...

As the above photo shows, it's looking a little worse for wear. See, I thought it was a succulent, so I put it in a tiny bonsai pot because I thought it would look cute, and tiny bonsai pots don't seem to phase succulents. I don't seem to have a photo of it in the original pot unfortunately, so you'll have to trust me on my assertion that it was cute... for a time. Obviously it didn't enjoy the cramped conditions too much, because after a few months it started looking brown and blotchy (as per photo above) and the leaves started curling. I did some research online, and discovered that it is really a type of bromeliad, which led to my swapping out its living arrangements for something a bit roomier in the hopes that matters would improve.

Happily, it's recovering. It's now in a smallish (25cm diameter) basket, hanging from one of the murrayas in the side garden. Because dyckias are terrestrial bromeliads I used a blend of potting mix with a bit of coir mulch and perlite for better drainage than my normal mix.

And I am pleased to report that it now has a baby coming along beside it. Perhaps one day I will have a mighty clump of my own. Now where will I put that?

Raspberry Lollipops

There's always something blooming in the the patch I refer to as the 'New Bed'. It's full to the brim with plants, as I am constantly poking one or two of this or that in there (usually when I can't find a spot for something anywhere else).

The New Bed is going well these days, but when we first dug it out it was a dry wasteland and nothing thrived. In August/September 2013 I pulled just about everything out and started again, but this time improved the soil with homemade compost. It made such a difference - the plants love it in there now.

One of the first plantings in the New Bed was the small, but bright, Grevillea "Raspberry Lollipops" (or "Lollypops" depending on the source).

The pot where it would eventually be planted. Back then (Sept 2013) it was in that bed practically all by itself. Not anymore!

Here it is from a different angle - the garden looks very lush and full these days. I took the above photo at the beginning of August 2014.

In some lights it looks hot pink (like above) rather than raspberry (below).

The finely divided leaves are reminiscent of Grevillea "Elegance" (another cultivar I own and love).

According to the label, Grevillea "Raspberry Lollipops" grows to 1.5m x 1.5m and flowers for most of the year. Mine has been busy establishing itself so it can't be expected to flower as much as it's supposed to (which it hasn't). It has put on some more growth recently though, along with the flowers, so hopefully from here on in it will live up to its promise.

More information (and pretty pictures) for Grevillea "Raspberry Lollipops" at Gardening with Angus.