Sunday, July 30, 2017

Sunday flowers to lighten the mood (7 pics)

I wanted to post something on Crassula cuttings but in the end decided in favor of a flower post. Just some light Sunday afternoon entertainment :)

Lithops gracilidelineata I grew from seed has opened its first flower today and it's small and neat like the plant. It took it 8 years from seed to flower. I'm not complaining. Flowers are an exception, not the rule here. I never expect them but they are very welcome. 



Avonia quinaria ssp. quinaria has opened the only flower it produced this year. It had too many petals and I ripped one to allow it to open fully. Beautiful flower as always. I'm glad it opened at all... unlike other Avonias.


Avonia ustulata are producing many seed pods but the flowers never open. Any idea why? I assume not enough sunlight or maybe the fact that there is no direct sunlight in the afternoon. Unfortunately the same thing happens to the An. retusa flowers I was looking forward to. They open just a couple of millimeters wide and then close. The seed pods are nice and full though.


Anacampseros karasmontana, the greenie, has been flowering. Very very cute flowers. The round edges and the spread petals look similar to Av. quinaria's, a simplified version. And I really need to show you pictures of the roots underneath. They are quite remarkable! 


And of course the Frithia pulchra! Such intense colors.


In other news, Conophytums are starting to wake up. Every year it's a relief.


5 comments:

  1. Flowers looking good. Always nice when new growth shows on Conophytums.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Thanks!

      I only have a couple smaller species thatvare reluctant to wake up. The rest is slowly starting to crack. They have enough time to grow though. I'm waking them up quite early.

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    2. Thanks!

      I only have a couple smaller species thatvare reluctant to wake up. The rest is slowly starting to crack. They have enough time to grow though. I'm waking them up quite early.

      Delete
  2. Rika! Lithops gracilidelineata took 8 years to first flower,
    now thats what i call a true lithops story :) besides the flower the plant itself has a nice pattern.
    !congratulations and good job!
    I have some conophytums too (from uwe:) some start to crack a tiny bit, but others look like still sleeping / dead. i dont know when or if to water them, so i water a little now and then.
    can you tell me what you mean by wakening them up, or some positive advice to give me hope :D
    its my first year with conos and ... doubts > joy :(
    greeting from Schleswig Holstein sorry 4 my bad english and spelling XD


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! Yes, sometimes it takes this long. We have to be patient. But as you noted the patterns on the leaves are nice and that's a great reward in itself :)

      Actually you didn't have to water them since Winter.But apparently no harm done. Normally people start waking them up by proper waterings around August. I started in July already and it seems fine. You water them and then repeat a week or so later. Give them 2-3 weeks to regrow roots and then they will start growing and eventually flowering.

      If you have questions we can talk in German (my email address is on my Profile page)

      Good luck with your conos! After a while you will figure them out and know what to do. Own experience is best.

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