Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Collector's curse

I know I probably shouldn't have done it but I've moved some pots around to make room for my mini greenhouse. Seeing how you all sow lithops seeds these days I had to do so, too. :) Hopefully something germinates~

18 comments:

  1. Good luck! Which species? or mixed bag.

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  2. Thanks :)
    I can't afford using up space on nameless lithops from a mix so I took some from my stash (I've been buying seeds for years, for better times). What I took are: aucampiae ssp. euniceae 'Bellaketty' (only 5 seeds, little hope for germination there), aucampiae 'White Flower' C002A (the parent plants didn't make it, so..), bromfieldii var.glaudinae 'Rubroroseus'C393A and optica 'Rubra' C081A to get some red color into my collection. Hope they hatch....

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    1. Few nice ones! Should have added - love the little greenhouse!

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    2. Thanks LT :) It's quite practical~

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  3. is it the "greenhouse" a Ferrero Rocher box???

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    1. cool!! Do you make holes in it?? I'll copy your idea ;)

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    2. No, no holes. Some people use plastic bags to bag the pots while sowing. Since I don't sow much, one Ferrero Rocher box is enough :)

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    1. Thanks :) It should be clear in a few days...

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  5. I spotted the Ferrero Rocher too! They have another use - catching lizards which the cat brings in or any other creepy crawlies which need to be released outside. :)

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    1. Haha quite a range of applications! :D A very useful box~

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  6. Soso, L. aucampiae ssp. euniceae cv. 'Bellaketty'! o.o Hastu Gionny schöne Augen gemacht, oder wie bist du an DIE heran gekommen?! :-S

    Hehehe...not everyone MUST understand what I wrote. ;o) I cross fingers for your new seeds! Well, life is unfair I believe! You can grow Lithops and even other Mesembs with a worse reputation of being challenging to grow perfectly just on a windowsill. You do all the things with which I failed miserably (pumice etc.)! Are you a witch? =D (For those who aren´t sure how to take it: I mean it jokingly of course! ;-) )
    Ah...I´ve never seen a DINTERANTHUS on your blog! How come? :-P

    Please reserve me a "Bellaketty" btw! LOL

    Still good growing!

    A. Warhol

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    1. Hi Andy :)
      I know! Bellaketty are so lovely, a real "want" for me, too. I got the seeds from Mesa Garden and there were only 5 in the pack. They look healthy but haven't germinated yet (the chances aren't that high). But some of the Rubra and Rubroroseus have, yay~
      THANK you! It's mostly luck :D
      I guess what I'm doing with pumice is some kind of hydroculture and it works just fine. So strange that growing on a windowsill and growing on a balcony appear so different.
      I don't know, I just feel indifferent to dinteranthus or pleiopolis or conophytum for that matter. Maybe it'll change once I have more room ;)

      Good growing to you, too! Have you sown something? It is the season for it~

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    2. Hi Rika, glad, you have a sense for my weird humour. =o) I´m not usually much after greenish Lithops, but the "Bellaketty" is indeed a gem! I still have dozens of seed packs in my cupboard so I won´t order new seed packs so soon. It´s also because of my limited space.
      I have so far always sown one seed pack of 20 (or perhaps 30 in some cases) seeds per Cole-Nr./species in one pot. I think after all it´s too less seeds. I should at least sow 50 seeds per pot.
      Yes, I´ve sown a new batch of seeds in the middle of September and most of the seeds have already germinated despite the relatively cool conditions on the balcony (5 - 15°C). Except for L. coleorum and L. werneri I haven´t noticed a delay in germination although the nights are really "fresh" for some weeks now.
      The d**n Dinteranthi (vanzylii and puberulus) just don´t want to sprout *argh!*! X-(
      On the balcony I haven´t tried pure pumice yet. I only live here for two and a half months. The old flat neither had a balcony nor a terrace. So, I´m happy I left there! :-D I´ll stick to my current soil mix now..."never change a winning team" or so it is said. ;-) Maybe pure pumice would work now for me but for the first time I have enough of experimenting... X-D
      So, I have to reply to a pm to you at lithopsforum now... :-)

      Have a nice weekend!

      Andy

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    3. Oh I'm a big greenie fan. The ventergreens are my absolute favorites :)
      Happy to report that two bellaketty seeds have germinated and are looking good so far.
      I have thousands and thousands of seeds and all of them will wait for years to ever hit the ground. ;) Having no room doesn't stop me from buying seeds of plants I'd love to have one day.
      True, with 50 seeds you can make sure some of the seedlings will reach adulthood. It also can end in lots and lots of plants. I've sown 50 seeds of C308 once and now have 48 plants~ (any takers?)
      You know there are alternatives to pumice. I remember soone who germinates/grows seedlings in Seramis. The japanese collectors like Mr. Shimada use that Akadama stuff successfully. But it's different for every grower, I guess :)

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  7. I just (2 weeks now) sown Dinteranthus vanzylii from seeds from Ebay... and... YES ! Tiny small green heads in the pots. THe seeds are so small !!! they look like dust... it's crazy and to be honnest when i sown them in my head a little voice said to me 'don't think about it... nothing will apear from that....' :) I'm happy cause i really love this vanzylii...

    I sown in sand (very fine one) cause pumice is to "big" for these seeds... Temperature at night 19°C and day 25°C. No the babies have to become teenager... wait and see...

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    1. Congratulations!! :D What a success! Wish the kiddies all the best~
      I wished I could sow more this year but I don't know where I'll be in a couple of months..

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