Spring is here and as always the gardening bug makes me want to go outside a lot more than usual. I love the mild weather we have this time of the year. It is also peak season to make sure your seeds are in the ground or are being transplanted.
On the Facebook page of fellow gardeners from the area, I read that a nearby nursery had success in growing a plant from seed, a plant that is hard to find. I decided to drive there after scheduling a visit. Fred Reyes Greenhouses, Inc. is not very far from where I live, and they are wholesale suppliers of plants to nearby businesses. A very friendly cat greeted me when I got there, and after I introduced myself to the owner, she gave me the plant I had made the trip for. I was very intrigued by the place and she encouraged me to look around the greenhouses. It was a very impressive setup, and I got to see how seeds are started, and then transplanted. Trays of tiny seed starters, barely an inch tall, appeared like mats of very young flowering plants, which were being readied to send to other nurseries. It turned out to be a fabulous visit. I found myself looking at a wide variety of succulents that I absolutely fell in love with. I chose a few to take home with me.
Back home, a few months ago, I was cleaning out the kitchen, and found some bowls that I no longer needed. They were colorful and in good shape. I had recently seen an article about a lady growing a succulent garden using her old ceramic bowls. What I needed was a ceramic drill bit that could drill a draining hole in the bowls. We ordered a set of ceramic drill bits.
It was exciting to get the bowls succulent-ready! The drill bit worked just fine, and as I got the soil ready, mixing perlite and sand into it, my husband drilled holes into the bottom of the bowls.
I then set out to settle these new additions into their new homes. All of them came in tiny 2 inch plastic tubs. They are just babies and will grow under my care.
The first one was this gorgeously colored Sedum japonicum called 'Tokyo Sun'. The bright indigo bowl seemed to contrast well with it.
Another Sedum variety called Sedum morganianum, with light jade green plump leaves. It is also called Sedum burrito, or 'Donkey's Tail' It should eventually cascade down the edges of the planter.
I instantly fell in love with this variety of Sempurvivum. The tightly packed concentric whorls of foliage were beautiful! It already had a pup growing alongside.
This interesting looking foliage is that of Argyroderma patens. I had never seen a specimen of this kind earlier. I look forward to seeing how it grows, and how the leaves divide and develop.
I got this tiny pup of the Zebra cactus or Haworthia attenuata. It has still not developed roots and I hope it survives. Right now, it is barely two inches tall.
Sedum adolphii is my tentative identification of this one. I will keep an eye on leaf color as it grows, but I hope it stays fresh green like it is now. Inspired by a picture of a terrarium, this glass jar was used, but I wanted the plant to be outside the jar mingling with the elements. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hope it doesn't fuss because its negatively phototropic roots not in total darkness.
This one is Sedum rubrotinctum 'Pork and Beans', and it brought back memories from years ago. While I was in college, I had a nice collection of succulents and was very proud of it. This variety had been a new addition to my garden, when, one evening, we had some guests. Their 5 year old daughter had a sibling rivalry moment. She thought her younger sister was getting all the attention. She stomped outside and plucked all the leaves of my lusciously growing beauty and spread them all over! I tried hard to revive it for days after the incident but it never did. I hope I have better luck this time!
I have had this Echinopsis species for the long time. It survived the freeze and continues to grow out of a tiny planter. I will try moving it to a slightly bigger one soon. It has never flowered, and I am not sure I have identified it correctly.
I have added some cool new succulents to my collection. I hope to find more interesting ones in the future.
On the Facebook page of fellow gardeners from the area, I read that a nearby nursery had success in growing a plant from seed, a plant that is hard to find. I decided to drive there after scheduling a visit. Fred Reyes Greenhouses, Inc. is not very far from where I live, and they are wholesale suppliers of plants to nearby businesses. A very friendly cat greeted me when I got there, and after I introduced myself to the owner, she gave me the plant I had made the trip for. I was very intrigued by the place and she encouraged me to look around the greenhouses. It was a very impressive setup, and I got to see how seeds are started, and then transplanted. Trays of tiny seed starters, barely an inch tall, appeared like mats of very young flowering plants, which were being readied to send to other nurseries. It turned out to be a fabulous visit. I found myself looking at a wide variety of succulents that I absolutely fell in love with. I chose a few to take home with me.
Back home, a few months ago, I was cleaning out the kitchen, and found some bowls that I no longer needed. They were colorful and in good shape. I had recently seen an article about a lady growing a succulent garden using her old ceramic bowls. What I needed was a ceramic drill bit that could drill a draining hole in the bowls. We ordered a set of ceramic drill bits.
It was exciting to get the bowls succulent-ready! The drill bit worked just fine, and as I got the soil ready, mixing perlite and sand into it, my husband drilled holes into the bottom of the bowls.
I then set out to settle these new additions into their new homes. All of them came in tiny 2 inch plastic tubs. They are just babies and will grow under my care.
The first one was this gorgeously colored Sedum japonicum called 'Tokyo Sun'. The bright indigo bowl seemed to contrast well with it.
Another Sedum variety called Sedum morganianum, with light jade green plump leaves. It is also called Sedum burrito, or 'Donkey's Tail' It should eventually cascade down the edges of the planter.
I instantly fell in love with this variety of Sempurvivum. The tightly packed concentric whorls of foliage were beautiful! It already had a pup growing alongside.
This interesting looking foliage is that of Argyroderma patens. I had never seen a specimen of this kind earlier. I look forward to seeing how it grows, and how the leaves divide and develop.
I got this tiny pup of the Zebra cactus or Haworthia attenuata. It has still not developed roots and I hope it survives. Right now, it is barely two inches tall.
Sedum adolphii is my tentative identification of this one. I will keep an eye on leaf color as it grows, but I hope it stays fresh green like it is now. Inspired by a picture of a terrarium, this glass jar was used, but I wanted the plant to be outside the jar mingling with the elements. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hope it doesn't fuss because its negatively phototropic roots not in total darkness.
This one is Sedum rubrotinctum 'Pork and Beans', and it brought back memories from years ago. While I was in college, I had a nice collection of succulents and was very proud of it. This variety had been a new addition to my garden, when, one evening, we had some guests. Their 5 year old daughter had a sibling rivalry moment. She thought her younger sister was getting all the attention. She stomped outside and plucked all the leaves of my lusciously growing beauty and spread them all over! I tried hard to revive it for days after the incident but it never did. I hope I have better luck this time!
I have had this Echinopsis species for the long time. It survived the freeze and continues to grow out of a tiny planter. I will try moving it to a slightly bigger one soon. It has never flowered, and I am not sure I have identified it correctly.
I have added some cool new succulents to my collection. I hope to find more interesting ones in the future.
Very nice.
ReplyDeletehow lovely!!! must feel great to be surrounded by so much green and your handiwork :-)
ReplyDelete