Ruth Bancroft Garden

Orbea variegata normally has five-pointed flowers, but we've got a rare sport that has put out a 7-pointed bloom! It still has the same foul smell, though. Orbea variegata is one of the “carrion flowers”, so called because of the stench it emits in order to attract the flies that pollinate it. It is part of a large group known as the stapeliads, long placed in the Asclepiadaceae, or Milkweed Family. Recently, however, all the milkweeds have been re-classified as the subfamily Asclepiadoideae within the Dogbane Family, Apocynaceae. Orbea variegata comes from the southwestern corner of South Africa. -Brian (Curator)

Watch our 'November-What's in Bloom' video featuring a selection of plants currently putting on a show in the Garden! Available on our YouTube channel: https://lnkd.in/g3uvtCAE The plants selected for this month's video include the following: Hakea petiolaris Aloe schelpei Aloe cheranganiensis Aloe lukeana Aloe ferox 'Halloween' Puya ferruginea

Now is the time to show your support for the Ruth Bancroft Garden! The Golden Barrel Cactus has long been a symbol of the Garden—its strong, spiny presence is a key part of Ruth’s original distinctive plant collection. This one-of-a-kind place survives and thrives because of our amazing volunteers, members, and donors. Make a gift to the Golden Barrel Fund today, and join us in supporting Ruth’s Garden! Thank you for protecting this incredible climate-resilient space for generations to come! https://lnkd.in/gkiCJEha

November Plant Highlight:?×Mangave ‘Silver Fox’ A cross between a?Manfreda?and an?Agave?is known as a ×Mangave, with the multiplication sign at the beginning serving as an indication that it is not a?true genus, but rather a hybrid between two genera, its name being a combination of the two actual?genera involved. One of the reasons for making hybrids between a?Manfreda?and an?Agave?is the desire to come up with a plant that has the sculptural solidity of the latter, along with the purple spots that can be found in the former. Even when the purple spots are only faintly present, the plants may retain an attractive purplish tinge. ×Mangave?‘Silver Fox’ is one of the ×Mangave?crosses with only a faint trace of spotting, but it has a beautiful silvery-bluish leaf color with a hint of purple. It is a cross between ×Mangave?‘Blood Spot’, a compact plant with prominent purple spotting, and?Agave pablocarrilloi, a larger bluish plant from the Mexican state of Colima. The resulting hybrid has rosettes of elegantly arching toothy-edged leaves, initially single-headed, but eventually offsetting to form a small clump of heads. ×Mangave?‘Silver Fox’ is not a difficult plant to grow if provided with good drainage and watered occasionally during the summer months (this is important in Mediterranean=climate regions like California, where little or no rainfall comes in the summer). It does well in full sun or in dappled sun, and it can take overnight dips below freezing in the winter. However, temperatures below 27° F (-3° C) should be avoided, as well as sustained freezes. Read more about this month's plant highlight here: https://lnkd.in/gHY7EGS7

See the Garden transform into a dazzling nighttime spectacle illuminated with colorful lights, art installations, and lasers, creating an enchanting atmosphere! Garden of D'Lights begins November 22nd and runs on select nights through January 11th. ? ? Get tickets here:?https://lnkd.in/gHmv7Pyj

Ceiba speciosa, the Silk Floss Tree, is putting on a beautiful fall display! Ruth was dedicated to growing this subtropical tree in her garden. Every winter, for nearly a decade, her garden team would build plastic frost covers to protect it until it was fully established (see pic 2). This tree took a big hit during the historical frost of 1990, leaving a large wound (frost crack) that still hasn’t completely healed. Here it is 30 years later looking lovely!

California Native plant picks of the week!? ?? ? Now that the heatwave is over, consider adding these lovely CA native plants to your garden: ? Pinus sabiniana? Woodwardia fimbriata? Hesperoyucca whipplei ? Verbene lilacina 'Paseo Rancho' ? Fremontodendron 'California Glory' ? Baccharis pilularis 'San Bruno Lady'? Agave shawii? Eriogonum giganteum ? Check out our latest plant arrivals here: https://lnkd.in/gB5P-HMA

Watch our 'October-What's in Bloom' video featuring a selection of plants currently putting on a show in the Garden! Available on our YouTube channel: https://lnkd.in/gBKtswS8 The plants selected for this month's video include the following: Puya laxa x coerulea Puya laxa Puya coerulea Agave isthmensis Agave microceps Iris foetidissima

Iris foetidissima is a European iris species that has attractive but subtle flowers in spring, coming in tones of light purple and brownish yellow. But it really puts on a show in the fall when its seed pods split open to expose the brilliant glossy red-orange fruit (attractive, but also poisonous!). It is easy to grow and can tolerate cold to well below freezing.

October Plant Highlight: Agave microceps Agave microceps was first described from plants growing in the south-central part of Sinaloa, on the west coast of Mexico. At this locality, the population is only about 1600 feet (500 m) above sea level, growing on rocky low hills not far inland from the Gulf of California. Though this habitat is a little north of the Tropic of Cancer, the climate is quite tropical and temperatures never get anywhere near freezing in winter. It was quite surprising when a second locality was found for the species in a very different habitat to the south, in the state of Nayarit and at a much higher elevation. Here the plants were growing in a mixed pine-oak-madrone woodland setting at 6900 feet (2100 m). In habitat, Agave microceps is reported to flower mainly in spring to summer, but plants in cultivation do not hold to a consistent pattern. At the Ruth Bancroft Garden, we have had it flower in the winter and in the fall. The inflorescence is short for an agave, with a height of 40 to 53 inches listed in the original description (plants in cultivation can exceed this; an inflorescence at the Ruth Bancroft Garden was measured at 112 inches, or 2.85 m). After being pollinated, the ovary at the gase of the flower expands to become an elliptical green seed capsule, with 3 chambers holding stacks of small black seeds. At maturity, the capsule dries and turns brown, splitting open to release the seed. The seeds are semicircular and flattened, with a length of about .16 inch (4 mm) or a little more. -Brian (Curator) The last two photos were taken in habitat. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/d2jDBctM