Desert flowers (8 pics)

We're having a real Summer here. Yesterday on the windowsill the temperature went up to 43°C and the plants are loving it!

One of the Avonia quinaria ssp. alstonii plants has opened 2 flowers and I could catch both for a photoshoot. I tried to self-pollinate them but these plants are not that easy and normally two specimens are required. 

Avonia quinaria sure have beautiful flowers. They are the same size as, say, An. lancifolia, but the stamens make all the difference.

Other Anacampseros are still flowering but the little guy below has caught my attention. It is an An. sp. going under Am258 in the atomic-plant catalog. A slow growing little fuzzball with a short inflorescence and cute pink flowers.

Also, I am very excited to see this nameless Anacampseros bloom for the first time here (FYI, it is listed as SB684, Springbok). I have 5 plants. They all seem to grow side branches this year. And one is growing an inflorescence out of such a branch. The branch is barely visible which makes the whole appearance really strange. As if flowers are coming out of the plant's side where they don't belong.

Anacampseros flowers (10 pics)

And again - Anacampseros flowers! Sorry guys, it's their season :)

Unexpectedly, several of my 2 years old An. vanthielii seedlings have recently flowered. Well synchronized, too! The flowers are flashy and large and I most likely will have seeds to offer this year.

Others were flowering, too. Here is a flower of an An. arachnoides...

... and this one is of a nameless specimen I suspect to be An. filamentosa.

And there are more flowers coming. Another An. sp.

One of my 3 year old An. filamentosa ssp namaquensis seedlings is growing its first inflorescence.

And even this tiny one year old An. retusa fa. rubra is trying to keep up.

Avonia quinaria ssp. alstonii is growing a couple of flowers, too. A lot to look forward to!

Update on Crassula rupestris and other news (8 pics)

Before I post more on lithops I just wanted to make a quick update on some other things going on.

You might have seen some of it over on Twitter where I usually post small updates and random photos from the windowsill. Sometimes I'm excited about something but feel like it's not newsworthy enough for the blog. But I like writing here much more.

Remember the Crassula rupestris I was pruning and dividing into cuttings last month? All the pieces have rooted and started to grow new leaves and branches.

This one is overdoing it with the roots.

As you can see the roots are quickly growing. I pulled this one out just to make sure.

I am still waiting for the Frithia pulchra and Frithia pulchra f. rubra seedlings to bloom. Very curious to see if there is a difference between the flower colors.

And two of the Delospermas on my balcony are flowering beautifully. Cold overwintering outside was really beneficial.

Delosperma sp. 'garnet'

Delosperma sutherlandii

Frithia pulchra (3 pics)

In other news, my old Frithia pulchra is growing flowers again this year. Flowers can not be taken for granted on my windowsill. They are rare and don't occur every year. This Frithia however is going to flower 3rd year in a row. It is an old plant and the exposed stem looks almost like some kind of caudex which makes it even more attractive to me.

And, to finish me off, one of my own seedings is growing a flower as well (not visible on this photo but it's there). This one is something called Frithia pulchra f. rubra and I'm very curious to compare the flowers of these two.

Exciting! 

Mites and darkness (9 pics)

It has not been the best year for succulent growers in my area. It has not been cold in winter, it has not been hot in summer. It has been just dark and gloomy all year. When sunny days are rare it means there is not much watering. If waterings are rare there's not much growing. Except for spider mites. Those grow nicely when it's dry. At some point I moved Delospermas outside (those are the most tasty) which improved the situation. But I still find mites on my plants occasionally (and kill them on site with my bare hands) and the damage is visible: nibbled leaves, weakened plants. I hope next year is sunnier and better all in all and the plants can recover.

My favorite and oh so perfect Frithias I was so proud of look like this now. It takes them so long to grow those leaves. Much time will pass until they've outgrown the bite marks. Assumed the attack is over. And yes, I've been spraying a lot which has contributed to the damage on some plants I think.

But Aloinopsis got the most of it. The below two are goners.

This one might recover (very big might) but judging by the size of the newest leaves it is extremely weakened by the overall conditions last year. Maybe I should stop growing Aloinopsis all together or just keep a couple of plants as mite-distraction.

The Antimima pumila started very well and then got bitten. I think it will recover though, after the next resting period. It's a bit elongated, too...

Same as these Titanopsis seedlings. Bugs plus spray plus sudden sunlight equals burn marks in addition to everything else. They should be fine with the new leaves coming. But it pains me to see them so ugly.

I know I might be exaggerating. After all it's just a couple of plants that are beyond saving, out of hundreds. But the lack of sunlight is visible to me in all the green-ness everywhere.

Sure, this cute Titanopsis calcarea is growing flowers (thank you planty!) and I did my best to keep it compact through this dark dark year but the green color says it all. 

PS: Sorry for the dusty pics.

PPS: This got too depressing. I'll be posting about my feel-good plants Anacampseros next :)

Breaking news! Argyroderma crateriforme growing a flower

I can not believe this is happening!

This senior citizen has caused me some worry in the past. When I first got it I worried about its poor roots. With time I learned it is actually normal and okay for these plants to economize on root development. Then, I worried about rotting. With such a beautiful beard of old leaf layers (how old might it be, I wonder) it might be rotting somewhere inside if drops of water linger too long. Having it grow in pure pumice and in the very top layer of it with all the beard on top to dry in the sun if necessary as well as extremely reduced waterings has reduced my fears as well. I worried it would abandon one of the heads, at some point, but it didn't. And so I thought keeping it alive was an achievement on its own. I never thought it would actually flower one day! I know it might be a bit too early and it might abort the bud but I'm too excited not to share this news :)

Some more flowers (3 pics)

So it looks like this fall has brought more flowers than expected. Quite some Lithops and Conophytums have been flowering and I can see three more buds growing. I guess, this flowering season was not worse than usual after all even though the weather was not suggesting that. 

Aren't these Lithops dorotheae flowers just the perfect little suns? Glad I could catch them in the evening this weekend.

A big surprise is this Faucaria tuberculosa bud. Really, this plants has been nibbled on by mites and overall neglected and it has never flowered for me before - but here it is, a flower bud. Thank you, little planty.

Avonias lifting branches: a theory (3 pics)

In the latest post I casually mentioned my observations regarding the behavior of Avonia albissima branches with ripe seed pots. I find it quite interesting. Apparently, the branches that otherwise lie flat on the ground at all times suddenly lift when the seed pod has ripe seeds in it. I've been watching the flowering Avonias closely since then and it happens regardless of whether they've been watered or not. Recently a couple of my Avonia quinaria plants have been flowering, too. They are normally not self fertile but it still happens from time to time that a seed pod develops. This time it happened again and look at that! The branch with a ripe seed capsule goes way up while the other one lies on the ground. 

I've developed a theory as for why Avonias are doing that. Completely unscientific of course!! :D You know, ripe Avonia seed pods workings are the opposite of Mesembs. The seed pods close up when they are wet and open when they are dry. Not only lifting the pod up to the sun makes it dry quicker and throw off the rests of the old flower it also surely helps distribute the seeds better with the wind. Moreover, if it happens to rain and the seed pod is on the ground it will be much wetter and therefore sealed for longer time. If it's in the upright position when it rains the pod can dry quickly in the sun and the seeds fall out before the ground dries ensuring better germination chances. What do you think?

Recent observations on Anacampseros (15 pics)

I'm getting excited about Anacampseros again :D

Seeing the seedlings grow and some of the adults with first signs of flower stalks is more than enough to rekindle the fascination. Growing Anacampseros is very new to me and there's a lot to observe and note to myself. 

First, please let me brag about my 2014 and 2015 seedlings, grown from own seeds, for just one moment. Both sets of seedlings have recently started looking like adults and it's just such a joy for me!

The fuzzy An. filamentosa ssp namaquensis are probably the closest I'm gonna get to owning a cat.

An. vanthielii have finally grown enough leaves to form neat rosettes. They will be quite large when they grow up.

Back to the observations, I've noticed an interesting growth pattern on a couple of my older and bigger plants. This An. vanthielii (mother to the above seedlings), for example, seems to abandon (or replace?) the tops of the stems while growing lots of new branches "from below" near the root.

The below An. telephiastrum are doing the same. It's a forest of new growth near the roots while the tops barely grow any new leaves. Although they do seem to re-use the tops for growing flower stalks.

This growing pattern seems strange to me but it is also very welcome. I'd greatly prefer it to the tendency of growing in hight while dropping leaves down below (looks like An. arachnoides enjoy doing that, from what I see). This results in ugly sticks and necessity of cutting and re-rooting. Or in going horizontally overboard. I really don't have room for that. So do your thing, little guys, I support you.

In other news - flower stalks! I see several around. It's pretty exciting :)

This An. lanceolata (An33 in atomic-plant catalog) is ahead of all others. Unfortunately I missed the fully open flower yesterday. Still sad about that. Stupid.

Other flower stalks are just starting to show.

Anacamoseros sp.

An. arachnoides (An106)

An. arachnoides (An208)

Also, the seedlings sown in February are still alive. Actually, I won't stop worrying about them until they grow first "real" leaves.

Some are already quite fluffy.

An. telephiastrum

Some even show a glimpse of first true leaves.

An. rufescens

An. filamentosa ssp. filamentosa (An150)

Other appear fine but are kinda stuck. I'll keep worrying about them until I see some action. Maybe it's the recent heat or maybe they're just too young. Time will tell.

An. filamentosa ssp. tomentosa (An156)

An. rufescens 'Sunrise'

I have many more seedlings but of a smaller varieties. I can't quite catch them on camera yet.