2022
About two months ago we decided to take a day trip to Robertson, a quaint little town on Route 62, also known as the Valley of wine and roses, 170 km outside Cape Town, South Africa.
Although Robertson is at the heart of the wine route and is very well known for the high-quality wines that are produced there, we only had one common goal - to visit the Sheilam Nursery on the outskirts of Robertson.
The Sheilam Cactus and Succulent Nursery have been owned by the Schwegmann family since 1967. The nursery is recognised by authorities as one of the finest collections of specimen plants worldwide and has approximately 2000 different species.
We were overwhelmed by the sight that beheld us! There were so many cacti and succulents in this nursery - and all have interesting stories to tell if they only could speak. I just marvelled at the different sizes, shapes and colours of the plants. If one looks closely, the most interesting textures and designs are found.
For instance, have you ever heard of the Old man of Peru, with its long white hair, that grows in Peru and in Argentina?
We also saw the Mother-in-law's chair or Golden barrel cactus. Specimens of nearly 1 meter tall and 80 cm in diameter are in the collection. These plants are almost extinct in the wild due to the construction of a dam in Mexico. We had a good laugh about the name of these plants - I can just imagine how comfortable the Mother-in-law's chair must be to sit on!
Another interesting plant was the Victoria Reginae Agave - a very slow growing plant that apparently thrives on a little bit of neglect!
The Sheilam Nursery offers guided tours and is a well-known photo shoot venue. You can purchase seedlings from them as well and they export worldwide.
I bought quite a few seedlings, only to realize on my way home, that these plants might only be fully grown after I have reached the ripe old age of a hundred years!
Advice from a cactus:
Soak up the sun,
stay sharp
be patient in dry spells
stand tall and blossom.
( Doodlebeads)
Hi @MagdaRautenbach, great post! It's very interesting and your photos are beautiful and really allow us to appreciate the detail of the cacti.
Thank you for sharing, I think you nailed the challenge 🙂
