The pereskia aculeata is very difficult to fathom. Although I have grown these plants for more than eigth years, I have never had the pleasure of seeing them bloom.

Generally, they are the climbing, trailing species which can reach to over 10 metre tall. Their areoles have one to three spines, when they do bloom, the flowers will be in late summer.

I am convinced the trick is, they need to be planted in the ground, and also expect that extra supply of sunlight. Maybe one day, they will surprise me.

Pereskia Stenantha is certainly not one of the well-known pereskia species. Originally from Brazil,they are seldom seen anywhere.
In their native habitat, they can grow to above 15 feet (4.5 metres) high, with stems around 4 inches (10 cm)wide.
Their unusual flowers are nocturnal, and measure about 3.5 cm wide, occuring during the
summer months.

Do tropical plants survive winter? Some do, but most do not. With this thought in mind, I decided to try an unscientific experiment with my pereskias. I would leave about eight plants of mine outside during the winter, and document the results.

Normally, almost all of my pereskias spend their winter indoors, in different parts of my home. That is the only way that they can survive from year to year. So this experiment will determine how much of this action is truly necessary.

The plants were put into two groups. Three small plants were left outside in the open air, close to the brick wall of my house. The other group (about five), that involved two larger plants, were placed in a polytunnel (greenhouse), which was kept closed all winter.

By Christmas, most plants were generally very much alive, and still had most of their leaves. There was very little new growth, but all plants were unusually quite leafy.

The big change came in January when the temperature plunged, and small amounts of snow begin to fall. The tips of plant began to rot. The rot was much more obvious on the plants outside in the open, even though the hardened stem seemed fine.

As the cold month progressed the rot grew deeper, but then stopped. By this time most of the plants outside had lost the majority of its leaves. The group inside the greenhouse feared much better. All the plants still had about half their leaves, although the ends of almost all of them had become darkened and were begining to rot.

Ironically, by early spring most of the leaves of the latter were lost by the warmer weather. As the polytunnel heated up rapidly, while the plants were still dormant, the leaves simply shrivelled and dried. Yet, it was here the first shoots began to here.

Almost all the pereskia plants grew again by summer after they were pruned, carefully cutting out the stems that were bad. The larger plants, with their substantial root system, recovered sooner. But the smaller plants, and the group from outside, eventually started sending out shoots, a little later.

This suggests that pereskias can survive the cold weather. Yet, I would never see an experiment like this as conclusive. Obviously, winter varies from year to year, and often plants which survive one year sometimes fail during the next. And there is always a question of location, which can have grave implications for plants. I would still follow the practice of keeping my best examples indoors. But I would willingly leave my extras outsdie, expecting them to be there in the spring.

ABOVE: Photographs of pereskias at various stages of winter.

Winston James

Pereskias are really not very well-known plants. Even among succulent lovers, they are certainly not highly prized. The fact they are a significant part of the Cataceae group still does not reward them special attention. Mention pereskias to the general public, and they would probably stare at you in puzzlement. They may look like roses, but in the eye of masses they remain unknown.

Often, botanists will tell you, that they are usually found only in botanical gardens. Yet, they serve as a significant starting point for the debate about the origin of cacti. For some, these are the first cacti, before evolution and mutation took its course.

The real reason for their obscurity may have more to do with the fact they need highly a tropical climate to survive. Without warmth and sunlight, they cannot flourish. And therefore, in a temperate climate you would never see them at their best.

Yet, they are interesting plants, and they are some of my favourite cacti. The fact that they are not really succulents, make them even much more attractive to me. Have a look at some pereskias plants on my web www.cactusplus.co.uk , and decide what you think.