Fulvifruits and fulvibuds (4 pics)

Looks like this year is the year for Lithops fulviceps to shine on my windowsill. I was lucky to have two C363 flowering at the same time so that I could pollinate properly and here is the result.

Another L. fulviceps v. lactinea is going to flower. Unfortunately too late to pollinate with the first one but welcome nonetheless.

L. fulviceps seem to always be early here. The younger plants are already regenerating. Last year and the year before I was worried. What would they do in winter if they finish regeneration so early? But they seem to know themselves better than I do. Even if they start now they do it so slowly that by the time they finish it will be spring XD

little suns on rainy days

These helmutii are a constant source of joy. They sure deserve another post. The yellow-edged ones have been flowering for weeks now, and the last remaining flower is still at it. My guess is, if they weren't pollinated the plants would flower even longer. And you must admit, the flowers themselves are really beautiful, large and deap yellow with a lovely contrast to the white flower center and to the plant color itself.

Also, I need to record the fact that helmutii really don't seem to like much sun. The flower buds, for instance, only wanted to grow on rainy days and just stopped and waited when it was sunny. I have another (greener) helmutii that had big troubles standing in the sun: all soft and wrinkly and no water would help. Now it is in a corner where mostly only the morning sun can reach (not that we get much of it now in November) and within two weeks the plant looks as healthy and firm as it should. This is something I'll need to keep in mind.

not quite done yet

It is gloomy-rainy with temperatures from 8 °C to -2 °C outside. While one of the salicolas has given up on its last flower, the yellow-edge-helmutii's flower buds are growing quickly. These plants are strange!

something to look forward to

No doubts about this one :)

getting ready for winter

It's cold and dark outside. Sunlight has become a rarity and the plants have had their last watering. They will move to my place in several days which is a 3hour drive from here, so that they'll need to be carefully packed and put in boxes. I'm a bit nervous, not only about the move but also because of the start of the new semester. I wonder if it's going to be different now, one year later. Probably not. Also, I do look forward to all the classes I chose.

I think you can see from the pictures how gloomy it is now. The salicolas that have been flowering so beautifully last month are bearing fruits (they are, aren't they? :) ). One of them decided to push another flower recently but it looks now like it has changed its mind after all. I felt bad about it being so late anyway because it has obviously missed all the action.

seed capsules or not

The reason why I'm not sure whether my pollination attempts worked or not is that some of the flowers I haven't touched at all seem to have developed fruits anyway. I didn't pay attention before only noticing that the remains of the fruits are empty and dried out several months later. This time I'm watching them closely, and they all do seem to get bigger without withering, even though there shouldn't be any seeds inside. Here are two examples: both dorotheae and 'ventergreen' didn't have any flowering partners of their kind this year. Allthough it looks like future seed capsules, they'll probably just dry out in time, won't they?

PS: thanks to Aiko :) who shared the link to British Cactus & Succulent Society sales page, I've purchased the 2nd edition of Lithops - Treasures of the Veld by Steven Hammer. I'm so happy to finally be able to have this book on my book shelf! It's perfect to look things up if you have questions. Also, in this edition there is a new chapter about some new taxa and cultivars with pictures, so don't wait until this one is out of print as well. ;)

fruits

I'm back and proud to present the 'Green Horn' future seed capsules. I'm not sure about the other plants I was trying to pollinate yet, but these two lesliei v. hornii have developed unmistakably big round and full fruits. It is my first success (third try) in this field so I'm very excited to see how it goes from now on. :)

(click on pictures for XXL)