Succulent Care and Education
Here’s a cool story about a Senecio fulgens cutting that is forming a great caudex! I thought it would be a great fit for this sweet new pot. I’ll show you how to clean up the caudex and pot it so you can really see the swollen growth.
Continue… “My cutting caudexed! Potting up Senecio fulgens in a new pot”
We made it through the most recent freeze in Houston and it was nice having all of our plants inside! Here’s a quick tour of the scene before we move everything back outside.
Continue… “Plant tour while everything is indoors!”
So here’s another fun problem to look out for, but only if you have a pecan tree nearby: Aphid Rain. (I think I made that term up, but maybe there’s something more scientificky.)
I first noticed my car literally covered with small sticky droplets and thought it might have been nectar from the Crepe Myrtle flowers overhead. Then I noticed similar droplets on my plants’ leaves, table, deck…pretty much everywhere in my backyard where there is no Crepe Myrtle in sight.
In this video, I show you a ‘hidden’ Lithops that was stuck, struggling to emerge from a thickened old leaf pair that didn’t dry out enough to split.
Continue… “Lithops stuck in old leaves? Here’s a quick fix! (Satisfying watch!)”
Do you have a wonky trailing Echeveria (or other succulent) with a weak or dying stem? I did! Here’s how I fixed my Echeveria Monroe and repotted it.
Continue… “Repairing an Echeveria with a weak or rotted stem”
Happy Friday, or whatever day you’re watching this! We had another plant bench built for the porch and I had to put some of my favorite plants on it, of course. Oh and you get to meet my super silly dogs, Annie and Najis 😉
Continue… “Some of my favorite weird plants and a new plant bench!”
I have been procrastinating about mounting this Staghorn Fern BUT we got it done! It’s really easy as long as you have the right supplies: A piece of wood, twine, nails, hammer, sphagnum moss, and a Staghorn Fern!
Continue… “Mounting a Staghorn Fern – the easy way!”
Remember back in April 2020 when I made the video about propagating Begonia erythrophylla ‘Beefsteak’ by water rooting and leaf cuttings?
Continue… “Begonia Beefsteak Propagation: 2 Year Progress Update!”
Okay then. Let’s talk about heat dormant succulents for a sec. In extreme heat, a lot of succulent plants will slow down or completely stop growing to conserve their energy. Overwatering at this time = risk of them rotting. So how do we know when it’s time to reduce or stop watering? How do we know when a succulent isn’t actively growing? Observation. Some signs of growth include flowering, new leaf production, increasing in size etc. Making notes and taking pics of your plants (as we do) builds familiarity with their growing cycles.
Continue… “Let’s talk about heat dormant succulents for a sec.”
Update added! Here’s to hoping this sweet little cactus has produced seeds! Frailea castanea (aka Frailea asterioides) tend to be ‘cleistogamous,’ meaning they self-pollinate within the closed flower bud. We open up the bud and see what’s inside…
Continue… “Harvesting Frailea castanea seeds…hopefully!”