More succulents

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.

Succulents

The gardening bug hits me in January every year, and I feel restless that I cannot do anything about it until the threat of a last frost/freeze is over. This year, the winter has been so mild, and so warm, that I decided to get at least some succulents for my front porch.

I have always been fond of succulents, and have had several of them over the years.

One dear spiny cactus (Mammillaria species) that I have had for the last 5 years succumbed to the three day freeze we had earlier in January. I am not sure why I did not get it indoors during the freeze like I do every year. It did not survive and I will not enjoy its bright pink blooms in spring this year. Here is a photo of it from last year.

There were two Kalanchoes that I have had for the last 5-6 years. They did not survive the freeze either. Their blooms from last year-

I have had this Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera species) for the past several years. I had moved it from the porch out into the garden last year. It hasn't liked the new home and though it survived the freeze, I think I will bring it back to the covered porch soon.

Every December, it used to be full of these beautiful bright reddish pink flowers.

Aloe vera was doing very well in a planter and took a hit in the freeze, but it has survived and will bounce back soon hopefully. The gel from the leaves was a great help when I accidentally poured boiling milk over the back of my hand. It was very soothing when applied over the affected area, and there is no scar after healing.

Last spring, at the local plant swap, a kind lady let me have this cascading cactus. The swap was almost over, and this one was left behind. It was in a tiny little disposable cup with very little soil, and she was doubtful it will make it. I brought it home and put it in a small planter. Spring is the season when anything will grow, in my opinion. Soon, it was thriving, and it even survived the freeze! Sedum reflexum 'Blue Spruce' is its name.

Sedum adolphii 'carnicolor' has been on my porch for the past couple of years. It has grown nicely, and I thought was a little off color after the freeze. It looks better every day though. On a windy day two weeks ago, it fell and broke into 2-3 pieces. I have planted those pieces and hope they will grow as well.

I picked up these last three succulents from the nursery two weeks ago. This one is a Graptopetalum species.

I was excited about using these old bowls from my kitchen. My husband got a ceramic drill bit and drilled holes at the bottom of these bowls so I could use them. I need to learn to use that drill bit. It requires a lot of patience and you have to make sure the area is wet so the bowl will not crack. I will try doing it soon.
An Aeonium matches the green color of this bowl perfectly.

Another Aeonium completes my collection for now. I have another two bowls waiting and I hope to get some interesting additions to my collection soon.