Ceropegia rupicola

Ceropegia rupicola flower

This is one of those thick-stemmed Ceropegia which if left to its own devices ends up as a long bare stem with a couple of leaves and flowers at the top.  You are unlikely to discover this until you see the plant in the flesh because photographs, unsurprisingly, tend to focus on the interesting features, namely the leaves and flowers.  In the interests of honesty, I have tried to photograph the whole plant although not entirely successfully.  To be fair, I have not worked that hard on making it presentable and it does have its own kind of ‘style’ in the flesh which is hard to capture photographically.

Ceropegia rupicola in its full glory

The problem with this as a houseplant, is that the few leaves which are formed seem to die off naturally. At the same time, common wisdom seems to suggest that some of the naturally ‘leggy’ Ceropegia should not be cut back because this will inhibit flowering. However, there are other sources on the internet which suggest that this is one Ceropegia which should be cut back. And there are certainly some lovely pictures with lots of lush new growth which suggest that this is the case. Now that I have got the plant to flower for myself and seen what it has to offer, I haven’t got much to lose and will experiment with cutting it back when the flowers are over.  The other option is to twin two Ceropegia together, allowing a vigorous but more delicate climber to grow up the thicker stem, which happened by accident with my Ceropegia succulenta and carnosa.

Ceropegia rupicola flower in detail

Ceropegia rupicola comes from Yemen and is known locally as Bukira – if anyone knows why or what this means, please let me know.  Apart from its length and the associated problems of support, it is an easy plant to grow.  I watered it very sparingly in the Winter, stepped up the watering early in the year and the buds began to form a few weeks ago.  I have not yet fed any of my Ceropegia, unless by accident, because there seem to be so many dos and don’ts that it seems easier to err on the side of caution.  The flowers apparently vary from plant to plant.  Most are some shade of red, either pure or with other colouration.  Those on this plant are very dark red and speckled a kind of yellow-green.  (The speckling on the undersides of the leaves is red on yellow-green offering an interesting reverse image.)  This speckling seems to decrease with age, being most prominent in the younger buds and almost absent from the older flower.  All the flowers have slits which are so small as to be barely visible – in complete contrast to the more showy Ceropegia sandersonii.

Ceropegia africana ssp barklyi

Ceropegia africana ssp barklyi

It may lack the more obvious attractions of Ceropegia Woodii but this lovely and very well-behaved Ceropegia deserves more recognition.  I bought mine as Ceropegia Barkleyi but the longer name is apparently correct and, helpfully, indicates where the plant comes from.  However, there seem to be a variety of plants which the name applies to.  I was attracted to those plants with silver markings on the leaves whereas mine are an all-over mid-green colour, albeit an attractive shape and highly succulent.  In addition, other pictured plants have a spiral-like arrangement at the end of the flower.  One explanation is that there are one or more naturally occurring clones of this plant.  The less attractive explanation is that mine is an imposter.  Naming is an issue with many of the plants I am growing, the same plant often goes under several different names or different plants are sold under the same name.  Maybe its a lesson that one shouldn’t get too hooked on the names, or trying to collect every plant within a species, and instead enjoy the plants for what they are.

Ceropegia africana ssp barklyi

I was a bit disappointed when barklyi (for short) arrived, mainly because of the lack of markings on the leaves, but over the last few months I have succumbed to the eagerness with which this unassuming little plant sends out new shoots, especially at a time when everything else seems to be in hibernation, and its willingness to flower late into the winter.  It seems to adapt well to ordinary household conditions and makes very few demands.  The hanging vines have a pretty grace to them, especially when in flower.  As with most Ceropegia, it is the unusual flowers which are the main attraction.  These are elongated and a greenish colour which, whilst not in itself overly attractive, contrasts very prettily with the lovely purplish interior markings.

I keep my plant on the dry side.  If it gets to dry, it does start to look a little limp and flaccid but quickly perks up again once watered.  It is still in the soil it came in which is a very gritty, well-draining mix.  And I grow it in a south-facing window, opposite my Ceropegia woodii.  Stem cuttings root easily in a bit of cactus compost and/or sand.

Ceropegia Woodii

Ceropegia woodii flower

If you love all things heart-shaped, as I do, then the appeal of this plant is obvious.  It has the appearance of an intricately designed piece of jewellery; wiry purple stems are adorned with heart-shaped succulent leaves.  The upper surface of the leaves is dark green with silver marbling and the underside is purple.  It is not difficult to flower and will do so profusely, even when young.  The light purple tubular flowers are like small vases, topped with a fringe of dark purple petals.  The stems grow out of potato-like tubers which store the water and food the plant needs.

This is a plant which should be gazed at rather than fussed over.  Choose a sunny position and one from which the plant can hang to its best advantage although some people do grow the plants upright on tiny trellises or hoops.  Water regularly throughout the summer, I find once a week is about right, by standing the pot in a couple of inches of water until the surface of the compost is moist.  Be more careful in the winter when there is a danger of rotting and water sparingly, only when the pot is very light.  Do not repot until absolutely necessary and then only to slightly larger pot.  Any proprietary cactus compost is fine, perhaps with some added sand for extra drainage.  Propagation is straightforward, either by stem cuttings or from the tubers which can be found growing along the stems.  These can be pressed gently into the surface of some sandy soil and left until they show signs of growth.

Ceropegia woodii

An easy and obviously appealing plant to start with but I shall be reporting on my successes and otherwise with more challenging and strange ceropegia as well as other unusual tropical plants mainly of the hanging, twining and climbing varieties.