Do you remember these little kids of mine? They started off as tiny bunnies in June 2012, went throught a beautifully compact phase and then just exploded. Since they got so big I only could grow them at the side of the windowsill where they weren't getting enough light. That's why I brought them to my parents where they might have received too much of it. Anyway, they didn't like it there either so I now brought two of them back home (the rest was too crispy already). I hope to grow them better now.
Anyway, I've removed all the dead branches and gave them separate containers and I think they actually look cute like this. Like tiny bonsais of sorts. Maybe I could maintain the look somehow. I'd like them to have more leaves and be more bushy but not too much and only with the short kind of leaves they have now. It might be difficult to keep them compact. We'll see how it goes. Maybe with time I can shape them into something beautiful and hopefully flowering.
Perhaps your parents were treating these like mesembs. :) Yes, they are botanically mesembs, but they grow like weeds and really require plenty of water and a relatively nutritious potting media. They grow is large patches outside in my yard and take all the rain that falls. This is one of the few plants in my outdoor cactus beds that I often water when it has been very dry. The can survive drought but often look bad because numerous branches turn straw colored and die off. It's one of my favorite plants but I'm afraid I often take it for granted. I hereby apologize to my Delosperma cooperi plants.
ReplyDeleteI like the look of the plant in the last photo, all cleaned up and with a bit of character. The leaves are quite pretty, especially when in the direct sunlight. They really do sparkle and live up to their "ice plants" name. It must be getting very crowded in that magic window of yours. But it is surely beautifully crowded. :)
Grow like weeds? No no, I am determined to grow them like windowsill bonsais :D
DeleteBut you're right. If I had a garden I'd grow all kinds of Delosperma plants outside, there are so many flower colors/shades they can have. And the icy leaves are of course a beautiful sight as well.
In fact I got the seeds from which I grew the plants above from a plant on the roadside in Nara, Japan. They grow there everywhere outside and flower beautifully - http://lithops-stories.blogspot.de/2010/06/aizoaceae-on-roadside.html
Hehe, yes it's pure magic! :D I just counted 140 pots and at the moment there is room for 30 more (small 5x5cm ones). Not bad, huh? ;)
Actually I noticed that my wish to find an apartment is directly related to have much room I have on the windowsill. As long as I can free up some space - it's "meh, it's okay where I am" and I stop looking. As soon as it gets crowded - "I need to move to another apartment NOW!" So basically my plants are the ones who decide and then tell me telepathically XD
I got a Delosperma cooperi last year and planted it outside. No problem with frost and rain [ last Winter was very wet ] but not tried with snow yet as we had none last Winter. It does tend to sprawl but has nice purple flowers.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine how nice it must be. I've seen some Delosperma cooperi carpets, they look great :) I guess outside is the best place to grow for them.
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