Dede Sophie

Stapelia schinzii is a rarely seen (at least it is in the United Kingdom)  clump forming succulent plant grown for its impressively large, ornamental flowers. Native to Namibia, Southwest Africa the roughly star-shaped blooms open to show the largest of all native Stapelia blooms at an impressive 20 cm in diameter! Un the UK the flowering period will be around September Its native habitat is found between 800-2000 meters above sea level yet unlike the majority of cacti tends to be found growing in the shade of other plants. Once established Stapelia shinzii can form a lax clump of approximately 100 cm in diameter. It is difficult to find a specimen to purchase but sometimes propagation material can be found online. Stems should be allowed to callous off for a few days before planting into a good quality, compost. Avoid free draining or specialist cacti composts as these will keep the root system too dry. water regularly over the summer but never leave the compost waterlogged or complet

Bodyshop of the Year: Derek Kavanagh Bank of Ireland Finance, Winner Owen Cullen Accident Repair Centre, Brian Cooke Director General SIMI and Paddy Magee SIMI Deputy President. A call for the Government to continue electric vehicle grant supports out to 2025 was made at last week’s announcement of the SIMI Motor Industry Awards 2023, writes Brian Byrne. Deputy President of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry Paddy Magee also asked that consideration be given to halting the reduction of Benefit in Kind reliefs for a few more years. He said premature reduction of supports could risk stalling sales at ‘a key time of growth’ in the EV market. He said that changing consumer behaviour to accept a new vehicle technology in such a short period of time is unprecedented, and this requires incentives, supports and education. “A strong new EV car market will also create an active used EV market, providing the opportunity for a greater cohort of motorists to go electric,” he added, adding that

Camellias are arguably the most impressive of all the early flowering shrubs but to get the most out of them you will do well to avoid these five mistakes when planting and growing them. Perhaps the most common issue with camellias is yellowing of the leaves which can reduce vigour, and flowering. This is followed by lack of water over the summer, scorching of leaves through planting in the wrong location, and incorrect pruning. Get these things wrong and you can have stunted growth, discoloured leaves and even lack of flowering. To find out more about these common problems to avoid check out the above video where English horticulturist Simon explores the common issues which this genus when planted as a garden plant, as well as how to avoid them. If you would like to see more content like this then consider subscribing to our YouTube channel ‘Walking Talking Gardeners’. It is absolutely free and you can unsubscribe at any time.