I was privileged to visit Huntington Gardens over the holidays. All I can say is WOW.......

Very pretty

One of the coolest places on the planet! Pictures here from 2014...





Happy new year to all! A few of the future succulents of 2017 here...

I would like to visit that place. So far my mini greenhouse and tiny space heater is keeping all my tenders alive in these 18* nights.

Brrr...... that's cold. I hope that the plants stay warm and cozy.

Main reason I don't own a greenhouse (yet) due to the high cost of heating it thru the winter months of zone 6. Wish I was in zone 8 or warmer until the high temps of summer come on. Will have to try to figure one into my plans for 2017.

Wet look for my succulents, it has been raining here on our side, but we got a good 2 day break so time to dry out, but temps usually go very low to the mid 30F's overnight, so hopefully they get good dry out time, before our next batch of rains comes around. I see all rain two days from now. Not complaining, we need these rains badly..so good luck to my succulents. Actually the rains are not that bad, it warms up the area, it is the day after when it stops, we dip very cold at night.

So far the ones left outside are coping well. December was mostly cold dipping to the low to mid 30's overnight, very good rain intervals, so new babies coming about:
Crassula ovata



Aeoniums





Crassula arborescens



Pachyveria


Sempervivums - these ones really enjoying this cold weather



Flapjacks - this one hates this cold/wet season, but it endures, so far still holding.


Well time to clean up outdoors...still getting lots of fallen leaves..Happy New Year!

Hello all! I am new to the forum and hope to learn more about the succulents my husband brought home. We live in climate zone 9 and are having a rainy/frosty winter for Northern California. These two plants aren't faring well. I've just brought them inside.

Could you help with identification and rehab?

Hello NorCalBloom, welcome to NGA!

First photo looks like some type of kalanchoes, and second photo, with the wrinkled edges, it seems to be some type of echeveria with ruffled edges or it could be a big flapjack that has gone so wrinkly as it got cold damaged. (kalanchoe thyrsiflora)

Yes, these type of succulents hate our rainy/frosty winter. Good you brought them indoors, with more rains coming in our areas, but position near bright light not too near the cold window. Allow to recover from the cold damage and hopefully it will just dry off and drop the damaged leaves, and form a callus. Do not water for now, just allow it to acclimate warmly indoors. If you do see blackened leaves already as it goes, just twist off and remove, but continue to keep dry, and make sure container has drain holes.

To play it safe, monitor our overnight temps, till it returns to a safe 50F overnight, best to keep them indoors, since they are in cold distress already.

Thank you Tarev! This is exactly the type of info I was hoping to get. Do you think I should re-pot or just leave them be? I will move them to a sunny room and hope for the best!

You can repot, so you can also see condition of roots, and the base of the plant if it is going mushy and if the soil is too wet, so you can help improve drainage. It would help if you can find cactus mix and add more pumice or perlite, to ensure good drainage and using containers with drain holes. I have found using a top dressing of chicken grit (make sure it is crushed granite) quite good.

Succulents grow with a shallow root system, so use wider and low containers, rather than too deep and big.

I am also monitoring my succulents outdoors, some are active winter growers, but they also hate way too much rain.

Wet and cold weekend at hand, glad it is windy right now, gives some time for my succulents to dry off a bit before the next batch of rains comes about.

My cactus garden today. Its currently 19 degrees outside but we are expecting up to 4 inches of rain starting later today and through this weekend. Truckee River is going over its banks (by about 5 feet). Cross your fingers that I won't have a pile of rot by next week.

Daisy, glad to hear from you..was wondering how things are going at your end, seeing in the forecasts that your area is getting it all. So far the rains have stopped here on our side just slightly breezy, it goes on intermittently. But we did see heavy cloud cover as we went home, so it might go on again past midnight.

Soggy weekend continuous here, thankful for some windy conditions, helps dry out my rain drenched succulents outdoors a bit. The cloud cover makes temps warm. Just so overcast, so it is making my Aeoniums go droopy. But the other succulents are holding nicely so far, the rains coming in intervals.

Nature has been watering the plants here for the past month. Every week or so we get enough to soak them. Which I like of course from the standpoint of the extended watering holiday. But the plants are even more reinvigorated, especially the natives like these young Dudleyas and my first native Mammillaria seedling to flower. It's bisexual. This particular species is either female or bisexual. There are no males.



We get up to about 20C/68F most days so there is no cold to speak of here.

Hi guys,
NorCalBloom. Nice to have you join us.

Everyone....so sorry, but I've been a busy little bee. Had to reconfigure the yard for this coming spring---which seems to be now as it is 75 today and this evening 52. Sounds good but makes me anxious about how hot summer will be once again. But as for now....

The weather has been very conducive to lots of outdoor activities. Picked up some plants for my back yard lake of fire. I'm assuming one or two will need shading but they can join the "Giddy Cynthia" and "Delta Lights" agaves on the patio in lovely pots.

So here's what I did the last few days:
The whole entire right of the walk way is new-ish. I shuffled a lot of those little plants from the bed on the left to just across the walk on the right. A few were planted there before and a lot were in pots but now they have a new home flanking the walk on the right. Of course there are new editions. We know how the plant addiction is and the need to give every little thing a home. Phew! Lots of digging but exercise is good right?
Overall view of the right side of my walk way.

A close up of some of the plants. Some I have had established there but most have been relocated to this spot.


And a group photo of my newest additions. (I know...it is a sickness we can't control---thankfully. )


The back yard 'lake of fire' will be demanding all of my attention now. I am 'forcing' myself to concentrate on it and buying plants that will be relegated only to that area and predominate blistering sun.

So what has everyone else been doing this spring/summer/winter? Does anyone know what time of year it is anymore? Love to see some photos of what you guys have going on.

Have a great day,
AG

AG, you've been quite busy. I love your cactus paradise. It's going to be awesome when they start blooming. I did pick up a couple of plants. No photos yet, because I've been busy in a different way. We've had an early unusual weather event. Snow/showers ended on Saturday with temps in the teens last night and lower 20's tonight. All cacti and succulents had to be dragged either indoors or into the garage. I'll be able to put them back under my covered stoop on Tuesday, after which our night temps should be in the 50s. I hope that we don't have many of these cold/wet events.

Looking good, Agavegirl!!

Thanks guys,

Believe it or not 90% of those plants are bargain bin cuties that individually range from $2.50 to $8.00 tops! Those are all the ones on tables at the BB stores that you typically run past on your way to snatch up Agaves and Aloes.

I typically gush over the Agaves and Aloes but today I'll give these guys their due.

O.K.....I PROMISE never to inundate you with this many pictures again but every few months I do a photo journal from start to finish to chronicle these plants and their growth since I purchased them as tiny little things. They grow so outrageously fast it is amazing to see the metamorphosis.

If you can stand it, this is the January 'walk through'. BTW, some of the white fuzz you see on them is due to a stupid 'fluffy' X-Mas blank I covered them with. Still picking the stuff off!

I PROMISE never to bombard you with this many pictures again but I thought it would be fun to give you the 'tour' of what is specifically in this bed.


July 5th, 2015. Virgin territory.

August 4th, 2015. Just starting out.

January 2017


A closer look at the different types of varieties and species of these cutie-pie plants. Here's a tour of the 14 foot long by only 14 inch wide bed from start to finish.

And yes....I promise to never send this many pictures again.










And when you put it all together.


And did I say "Yes...I PROMISE to never send you this many pictures again"?

have a great day all,
AG