my gardening archive: crassulaceae

Showing posts with label crassulaceae. Show all posts

plover eggs

order: saxifragales
family: crassulaceae
genus: adromischus
species: cooperi

First Story

2 june 2014

This plant has been in my collection since 2012. It took me sometimes to find out what it is because it wasn't labeled. Adromischus cooperi was named after Thomas Cooper, the botanist who collected it from Southern Africa. This plant grows short stems and branches freely in a compact cluster. Thick, fleshy and glossy leaves which are spirally arranged are greyish-green with darker green spots all over them. The appearance no doubt resembles plover eggs. Some undulation can be observed at the tips of the leaves.

I can see that it has multiple trunks and branches, but I'm not able to see the lines of growth clearly enough to count. All I observed is that the plant grows very absolutely slowly. Its leaves reduced in size since it came under my care. I think I hadn't fed it enough in those years. While I actually quite like those tiny leaves, I want to give it more water and food this season in the hope that it will grow into a bigger cluster more quickly.

It's suggested by many to keep it above 7°C and to only water it when temperature is even higher in order to avoid root rot. I keep it in my room all year round, meaning in the coldest part of the year it gets down to 16°C. With that I water it every once in a long while in winter and in summer I water at least twice a week. After the recent repot, watering it has been made very easy. The very sharp draining soil I use dries out fairly quickly, and the unglazed clay pot also improved evaporation rate, which is very good for the plant's health. Especially because gnats are a serious problem at my abode. I had lost quite a number of plants including taros and lithops to their babies. In order to reduce the risk of breeding, I added a thick layer of small granules at the top. All is going well so far.

aeonium arboreum

order: saxifragales
family: crassulaceae
genus: aeonium
species: arboreum? (spathulatum? decorum? harworthii?)
variety: luteovariegatum?

It's a headache when it comes to identifying an unknown orpine member. Fortunately this one has a stem, so I can eliminate sempervivum. So it's either echeveria or aeonium. Next, since its leaves are attached loosely on its stem, I know it's an aeonium rather than an echeveria. The most difficult part is identifying the species and variety. Is it an aeonium arboreum 'luteovariegatum'? or aeonium harworthii 'Kiwi'? or aenonium decorum? According to some source, different aeonium species readily cross breed both in wild and in cultivation. So precision in identification shouldn't be targeted. All in all, it's a lovely aeonium.

I read that aeoniums are winter growers and like to have summer rest. When hot summer arrives, they stop growing and do not want to be watered. (Is that so?) I really am not sure. How should I know when it's sleeping already? Is it harmful if I spray some water on the surface of the soil? It can't possibly cause root rot if the soil dries up within an hour, can it?

If noone's there to answer all these questions, then I'm going to have to try it out myself.

showy stonecrop // iceplant

order: saxifragales
family: crassulaceae
genus: hylotelephium
species: spectabile

stem cutting.

Showy stonecrop is also known as iceplant. I started this plant from a stem cutting. First I cut off the blooms at the terminal of the stem, defoliated the lower part and let it sit in a glass of water with at least two nodes below water surface. After about two weeks or so, new shoots emerged from the nodes, each extending their aerial roots towards the water. At this point, I transplanted the entire family in a pot of soil. The parent stem slowly shrank and dried up, leaving the orphans behind.

Currently these kids are doing fine. The soil they grow in is somewhat soggy, because I use the pot for propagation purpose. They don't seem to have any problem with that at all. The kids have leaves that are a lot smaller than an adult plant, which makes them very adorable. The pot is placed 2 m away from the window in my very bright room. I can see them growing in the direction of light.