Thanks to Sharon's suggestion we are going to have some fun comparing Sempervivum 'Choctaw' in various growing conditions around the US and world.
We will set a date for the photo to be taken. Chime in on when that date should be. Everyone participating will take a photo of their 'Choctaw' on the chosen date. Each of us will give a short description of lighting, growing medium and basic water conditions.
This photo was taken 3 years ago, so does not count in this comparison experiment.


How does Saturday, June 20th sound?

Well, that's sort of a bummer. I do not have Choctaw.

Yikes. Maybe we should do three at once and you pick the second, Melissa. Maybe Lynn the third. Will that work? I don't see a problem if those involved don't have all three. We could just submit photos and data on what we do have. June 20th is fine with me.

Or Melissa can choose another one and we could start a new thread for it so that all we deal with is that particular simp

Oh, don't let me rain on the parade.

I do like Lynns idea. I would be happy to pick a semp but what a dilema. I want to pick one that lots of folks have.

Or there can be trades set up for acquisition of Certain sempervivum so that there can be data gathered for growers in different zones and climate? Are you factoring in the initial sources or age of colony/plant.

Experiment 1: variability of sempervivum seasonal color across [defined territory] in North America (USA and Canada)

Lets say there are 12 variable sempervivum you want growing data. Define those plants and select growers. Define x amount of growers in Certain territories based on region, climate or zone. Establish a trade for growers if plant is missing from collection or of questionable identity. Set dates for photograph time, at least data gathered once per season. This is reminding me of volunteer work and science fair projects and papers.

Wow, all these suggestions sound great. I just picked Choctaw because it has been consistently colorful and healthy here.

Melissa, don't fret. We have to start somewhere and no one will have all varieties, except maybe for Lynn

This sounds like fun and could be very informative as well. I do not have Chocktaw either.
Maybe I will have what you pick Melissa.

Maybe we should all choose a NOID and see how it grows all over the world?

PaleoTemp said:Maybe we should all choose a NOID and see how it grows all over the world?

Yes, I thought the same. After a cross country move almost two years ago, I lost many semps and many more labels. It was truly disheartening. Now that I am rebuilding my collection, all my NOIDs are very interesting. Even more so because they are more developed and great survivors of the move from hot and dry to hot and humid.

But Paleo, how frustrating it would be to compare. I love those names, I guess

In order to use a noid someone will have to send every participant a plant...a piece of the chosen noid. That will add a couple of years to the experiment.
I don't think I would want to play that game.

I agree Jo Ann. Besides there are way to may great cultivars that most of us have.

PaleoTemp said:Maybe we should all choose a NOID and see how it grows all over the world?

Though it sounds fun, I do not think a NoID is appropriate for thus sort of science experiments. You need a control, and that would be a named cultivar, as they are stable clones.

Ohh, c'mon, it was a joke
Assuming that everyone owns their own multiple NOIDs, it would be the opposite the study attempts to achieve.

PaleoTemp said:Ohh, c'mon, it was a joke
Assuming that everyone owns their own multiple NOIDs, it would be the opposite the study attempts to achieve.

Oh, lol. I am such a serious nerd. Jokes go right over my head. Mi dispiace.

Hey no problem.

I got it. But I can laugh at just about anything.

Back to comparing photos...I was not really thinking scientifically. Just being able to see what one person's semp looks like in each region on a given day peaks my interest. If anyone wants to do this, they are welcome to send me a photo of Choctaw tomorrow. I can post my photo along side theirs. If they want to add pertinent info like age, soil ingredients, where obtained is fine.That's a start. If no one out there has Choctaw, perhaps someone can suggest another. I am game for anything

I got it. But I can laugh at just about anything.

Back to comparing photos...I was not really thinking scientifically. Just being able to see what one person's semp looks like in each region on a given day peaks my interest. If anyone wants to do this, they are welcome to send me a photo of Choctaw tomorrow. I can post my photo along side theirs. If they want to add pertinent info like age, soil ingredients, where obtained is fine.That's a start. If no one out there has Choctaw, perhaps someone can suggest another. I am game for anything

Yikes. Maybe we should do three at once and you pick the second, Melissa. Maybe Lynn the third. Will that work? I don't see a problem if those involved don't have all three. We could just submit photos and data on what we do have. June 20th is fine with me.

Well, I don't know exactly how to get this thread idea going but I would like to share my photo from this week of my Choctaw. There is some brief history I would like to share first.

I am new at gardening in NC. When living in NM, semps were successful but color change was minimal. Here the changes are more dramatic for me and so far and I am loving it. This coloration has been constant since late winter with varying degrees of apricot, pink and green. SO, if anyone else has one, I would surely love to see what yours looks like.