Sunday, June 19, 2016

It was the summer of our discontent... (7 pics)

I've been prevented from writing new posts by a wild animal that confiscated by laptop :D


Not really. She is being fantastic! :)

What really bothers me is this terrible weather we are having this year. We haven't had any spring and still no summer. It just rains all the time. My plants are lucky if they get one hour of sunlight a day. I'm being very careful with waterings but several lithops are stretching nevertheless. I wonder what makes them do that exactly. If it's dark and they've been watered shouldn't they all stretch?

In this L. schwantesii container you can see that one plant is growing too long while others stay flat.


In this L. lesliei v. hornii (C15) container, one head (!) of a plant is stretching while the other does not. What makes it do that?


L. karasmontana likes to stretch no matter what, no surprises there. It is quite small and the shape will correct itself next year.


What I find strange is that another L. karasmontana (v. aiaisensis C224) in a nearby pot is as flat as it can be.



So what triggers it really? Unlucky watering timing? Or is there something more to it?

In other news, my Frithia pulchra has grown flowers again this year. Unfortunately I still have not seen them fully open because, as I said, there is no sunlight. They open just a little without it, and then close again...


Catching Anacampseros flowers proves to be difficult as well. I keep missing them! It's so annoying. I've missed the biggest and prettiest ones so far.



I'm complaining a lot today XD

13 comments:

  1. I think the only plant of the whole group in pot can stretch because it has the most developed root. But if all the lithops in a pot are the parts of the same stem, i don't know what to say...

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    1. Yes you must be right. If one plant reacted to water earlier than the others and started growing fine toots but there was no sufficient sunlight it would probably stretch while others stay the same. I also don't know what happens when only one head stretches though..

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  2. Beautiful Frithia! I have been using LED lights on some of my plants (African violets, not mesembs), but the plants really seem to love that kind of light and respond as if it were sunshine. The lights are pretty cheap, and stay cool. Maybe you could try an LED test patch in your garden?

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    1. Thanks :) It sounds like a good idea for the times when youvwait for flowers to open. I'll think about it. The montage might be difficult for me, I think. There's no room for anything stationary.

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  3. Frithia flowers respond well to warmth.

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    1. Thank you. I'll think of it next time :)

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  4. I see more flowers now I take plants to work.

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    1. My office would not tolerate that XD And I'll sooner break the flower stalks on the bus than see the flowers :)

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  5. I have a lot of trouble catching my Anacampseros (retusa and telephiastrum variegata) flowers too! Seems like they are either closed or closing whenever I go take a look. =/

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    1. Yeah, the looks of the flower buds are the same when they are about to open and when they have just closed. When you see a little rose in the morning the flower will open the same day later. However mine don't open fully if it's not sunny. It's difficult... I see the smaller flowers from time to time (mainly because there are more of those and the chance to catch them is higher) but I'm missing all the bigger flowers that come one or two per plant.

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  7. What's your cat's name?
    She is really cute :)
    (I have four cats of my own, who get into trouble a lot XD)

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    1. Thank you! The name is Mila and she is a sweetheart but wakes me up early in the morning... Still working on that...

      Oh my, 4 cats!! How do you manage? :D

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