Acclimation

I just realized that I haven't yet addressed the acclimation issue here directly but it is something all of us have good or not so good experiences with.

Obviously not every Lithops or other succulent we grow is the one we grew from seed. A lot of them were acquired as seedlings, cuttings or adults. You probably also have noticed that the plants you grew from seed are stronger and healthier and don't die that easily. They hatched in your particular conditions and are used to the care you give them. They accept what they get without complaining while the plants we receive as adults first need to learn and get accustomed to the new situation they find themselves in.

If you receive your new plant in the mail it's normally "bare-root" and you have no choice but to pot it. But also if you buy one in the local shop or at a nurcery, in its own pot and substrate, the first step should be re-potting. Even though it appears to not be helpful in terms of "easy transition" it's still important to 1) check the roots and 2) make sure there are no bugs. In case of a purchase from a local flower store I would highly recommend to "brutally" wash the plants under the tap until all the bits of soil are gone. It's okay if they lose most of the thin roots while you do so - they grow out very quickly.

Now that you've potted your new (dried after washing) plant into the dry soil mix of your choice (pure pumice for me) you're all excited and looking forward to seeing it flourish. After all you've done everything right and the conditions at your place are also right for the plant as you proved on your other similar tenants. 

But that's when acclimation comes into play.

First couple of months are critical. In case of Lithops you might first say the plant made it after a timely and successful regeneration which can be a year after purchase. Also, in case of Lithops usually the only way to detect that something went wrong is to find the plant dead one day. But if you see that the plant doesn't drink after the first watering (at least a week after transplanting) it isn't necessarily a bad sign. With the first watering the roots are just being reactivated and after the second and third watering they should start to react to water properly. Wrinkly state and no reaction to water is from my experience a typical acclimation behavior. The other and more dangerous one is rotting. Even in a dry substrate and minimum disturbance a plant might just "freak out". There's nothing you can do for Lithops if it happens. It's bad luck. With other plants that have more than 2 leaves at a time it's time to act. Dig it out, cut off all the rotting leaves and let it dry without substrate. Pot again only after you made sure that the rotting stopped and it doesn't lose any more leaves.

I currently have this scenario with my recently purchased Crassula 'Coralita'. Quite some of the older leaves have rotten off in a day so at the moment it lives upside down. No further damage since two days but I'll wait for several more days before I pot it again just to make sure. Patience is the key :)

Please share your experiences in the comments! I'd love to read your thoughts on this matter.

Frithia kids update

It's time to update you on my Frithia humilis seedlings (sown in June 2012). Over the summer, in which we have had hot t° and lots of sun for a prolonged peroid of time, the seedlings stopped growing long leaves they did before and changed their appearance to match the conditions thus looking much more like adults in their color and shape. Moreover they started to hide in the pumice stones whenever it got to hot which is a very much appreciated sight for any Frithia enthusiast. The plants react well to water but quickly return to their "short-fingered" state with old leaves fading into bright red color. That's exactly the habitat-like behavior and looks I was hoping for!

Click on the "frithia" label below and scroll down to see their development from seed to today ;)

Aloinopsis rubrolineata (4 pics)

I recently got this older plant from an obviously very skilled grower in the UK and I'm really excited to grow it from now on. Such a majestic tree it is! I only have small pots to offer at the moment so from any point of view it's better for it to be elevated. And even like this the thickest part of the "trunk" ist still underground.

The leaves are slightly different from those my younger plant has, more nananthus-like. My younger and smaller A. rubrolineata also has thick roots but even though it's raised up as well, modest as it is, it hides them behind its wide leaves.

bromfieldii flower

Here's just a little something to lighten up our mood :) ☆

Crassula 'Coralita' (2 pics)

Here comes No. 2 of my recent purchases of compact-type Crassulas - C. 'Coralita'. I didn't know it before but Bob informed me that this is a hybrid cultivar from a crossing between C. perfoliata v. falcata (red flowers) and C. susannae (small size). Also, as the name probably suggests, its flowers should be pinkish-reddish. If you ask me what I like the most about this plant - the answer is on the second pic. The leaf surface looks like it was dipped into powdered sugar :)

PS: C. ausensis ssp. titanopsis is currently growing even more flower stalks *joy*

Strange thing about Avonia

My Avonia quinaria ssp. alstonii continues to surprise. Now explain this to me. From what I read everywhere Avonia quinaria is the only Anacampseros species that is not self-fertile hence needs a genetically different partner to develop seeds. Today I noticed three out of its flowers, now dried up, were still attached to the plant. Normally they drop very soon after they close, just as the other flowers did. Since I normally remove old rests of flowers or old leaves from my plants I pulled on them and felt they weren't exactly soft. It turns out there are seed pods with seeds inside. And most of them have a nice viable size and shape. How did this happen? It was flowering all alone.

 I remember Bob Stewart warned me once that these girls are trouble XD

Any takers? part 3

With so little room and so many wishes I found myself growing Mesembs insufficiently. I have way too many seedlings of the same kind that occupy too many pots. First the fulviceps 'Aurea' must go. I haven't grown them from seeds but bought them as small seedlings. The size of the biggest one is now 1,5 cm (pot size 7x7cm). I'd like them to have a good new home :)

60 cents, 3,45€ for shipment (2,40€ for Germany), Paypal, EU only. Please email me if you're interested! :)

Stomatium seedlings still grow like crazy

Do you believe these guys? Sown in May, these two Stomatium trifarium seedlings, which I no longer can tell apart, are about to outgrow their pot. Amazing plants!

I've sown some more recently, this time Stomatium alboroseum 'Rubrum'. Let's see how it goes with those.

Repotting the Neohenricia (4 pics)

It was about time. My Neohenricia sibbettii, once so cute and tiny, has outgrown its pot a while ago, going overboard with its branches (in 15 months or so). Another sign that a plant desparately needs repotting is the fact that water doesn't go into the soil... which means there's no soil, only roots. 

After quite a lot of squeezing and shaking I've finally managed to get the plant out of the 5x5x5cm pot and yes, roots, roots everywhere. For a crawling mesemb you wouldn't expect it to grow large and deep root system but here it is.

After a procedure that only can be called "roots massage" I've removed the pumice and devided the plant into eight cuttings. I will only keep three of them so please feel free to email me if you want some of the others! :)

The result doesn't show much difference. Only that it stays within the pot borders (for now!) but the transplantation was surely good for it and refreshing for its root system.

Crassula ausensis ssp. titanopsis

Sunny days are definitely over. It's rainy and dark outside the window but after the recent heat wave all the plants seem to catch a breath and look refreshed. The trick is to watch them closely now and not to overwater which would lead to weird shapes and other problems. Just water the thirsty ones (as always, actually).

Recently I've been looking a lot at pictures of tiny mesemb-like kinds of Crassulas. Those with nicely textured leaves. They look much like little Aloinopsis or Titanopsis bushes with only flower stocks to tell they are not. My guess is they should be easier to grow in terms of watering, too. This little Crassula ausensis ssp. titanopsis arrived in the mail pretty wrinkled and thirsty. I only can pick up packages at the mail office on Saturdays nowadays and it had to wait there for a week. After I removed quite some roots and planted it (5cm pot) I've watered it thoroughly against the normal art I proceed. Only a day after the pumice was dry and the plant firm. (I've noticed on Cheiridopsis pots comparatively that if the plant doesn't drink the pumice substrate stays wet for a long time. More on it later.) Anyway, I'm so fond of this plant that I have to get a couple more ♥

Sulphurea's flower

This one has developed so fast that the opening of the flower was a surprise. :) Currently the plant is sharing its pot with three L. localis. Snapped the picture late in the evening a couple of days ago.

summer regeneration

Can someone tell me why some lithops can regenerate twice a year so perfectly, quickly and into a nice shape, while others can't even manage to change their leaves once without problems? 

These schwantesii are regenerating for the second time this year but at least it looks like they know what they are doing.