Origin and Habitat: Tanzania (East Tropical Africa, Africa)

• Huernia schneideriana A.Berger

Description: From Tanzania Huernia schneiderianaSN|21254]]SN|30328]] is a very attractive species that was once thought to be a natural hybrid of Huernia verekeriSN|30328]]SN|29683]] and Huernia asperaSN|26460]]SN|26460]], but is now recognised by some authorities as a legitimate species in its own right. The flowers are burgundy, but almost black inside the tube, about 3 cm and velvety. Both Huernia schneiderianaSN|29683]]SN|30328]] and Huernia macrocarpaSN|30328]]SN|21254]] have those coloured flowers and similar stems.
Stems: Slender, 5-20 cm long, but longer in culture, 6-7 angled, teeth inconspicuous,.
Flowers: Corolla, campanulate 2,5-3 cm across, more or less brownish/red outside and velvety- reddish /black inside with deep purple-black centre. Margins, margins reddish to flesh coloured, with a brownish-red papillose border, lobes recurved. There appears to be a clone in circulation, here identified as aff. schneideriana with smaller distinctly red flowers.

Bibliography: Major references and further lectures
1) Focke Albers, Ulrich Meve “Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants: Asclepiadaceae: Asclepiadaceae” Volume 4 Springer Science & Business Media, 2002
2) Doreen Court “Succulent Flora of Southern Africa” CRC Press, 01 June 2000
3) Huernia schneideriana in: Bothalia, Volume 10 Government Printing and Stationery Office, 1969
4) Huernia schneideriana in: Supplement to Hortus, for the Five Current Years Including 1930 Macmillan, 1935
5) Hermann Jacobsen “Lexicon of succulent plants” Littlehampton Book Services Ltd. 1974
6) Huernia R.Brown <http://www.asclepiad-exhibition.org/Notes_Huernia_p-t.htm> Web. 25 Jan. 2015.

Cultivation and Propagation: Huernia schneiderianaSN|30328]]SN|30328]] grow well in light gritty soil with a very liberal drainage. They should at all times sparingly watered (best rain water with some occasional fertiliser), and in winter time they hardly require any. They require outdoor culture, or a warm close greenhouse, while growing in the early part of summer, and afterwards may be ripened and kept in a greenhouse; but as they bloom chiefly in autumn, warmth is desirable to enable them to expand their flowers. They are also most attractive in a hanging pot with their trailing segments With numerous fleshy (non-hurtful) teeth. Some collectors enjoy the long, snake-like stems induced by an excess of water.
Spring: When winter ends and they begin to grow again, they will require much water and soaking the pots will no longer put the plants at risk for rot. In the spring they will grow well in partial shade and leaving them out in the rain may provide them with the water they need.
Summer: In the summer months they will tolerate heavy rain, but will be just as happy if the season is dry. It's best to sort out the stems while the plants are resting in the summer before they begin their autumnal growth cycle. They will tolerate very hot weather outdoors as long as they are kept in filtered light and this will encourage them to flower in the Autumn. They also enjoy some fertiliser. Moving the plants as they are developing buds may cause them to spontaneously abort the flowers all together.
Autumn: In the fall keep them outdoors until the night time temperatures drop below the 5°C.
Winter: Winter care presents no problems at 5°-10° C with plenty of light. As soon as they are flowered be sure to take extra precautions to keep them dry, because damp cool conditions when the plants are resting is an invitation to fungal infections, but - according to temperatures –some occasional lit watering may be useful.
Potting medium: Since roots are quite shallow, use a cactus mix or add extra perlite or pumice to regular soil potting soil. A gritty, very free-draining compost is suitable, and clay pots help the plants to dry out between watering. Re-pot every 2 years.
Pest and diseases: Huernia are generally fairly easy to grow, especially if kept pest-free. They are very susceptible to stem and root mealy bugs, and damage from these may well initiate fungal attack. Any time when there is a dead or dying stem in the pot it is important to remove it immediately and completely before other healthy stems can become ill too, isolate the healthy parts, dry them off, and re-root them in new compost.
Propagation: Easiest with stem cuttings. Allow cuttings to dry a day before planting. Stems must be laid (Not buried) on gritty compost and will then root from the underside of the stems. It can also be increased from seeds sowing in spring in moist, sandy peat moss. Barely cover seeds. Seeds germinate quickly. In any season it's best to lay the stems out for several days before replanting them and then pot them only in dry soil and withhold any water until they begin to shrivel or start growing again.