If its going to be too wet, you may want to figure out some form of shelter, personally I think the greenhouse will still be too warm for them - these guys love the cold (once they're established!) I have a feeling though that whatever you decide they'll do fine! Even if you have them indoors and they etiolate, when you do put them outside they'll catch up, just slow for a month or so! (I'm the king of touch love! - not really...I have had such a difficult time not "doing" things to these guys! I do take off any brownish looking leaves - very gently! and I check periodically how their root growth is, again totally gently! (probably not something recommended, but I just can't help it! they're so cute and I want to make sure they're doing okay!)

When it comes to semps, most of the time tough love works really well. When you get your new semps you can plant them in a nursery tray until you know what you want to do with them. And make a cage of some kind to protect them from critters. It's a good way to give them time to make sturdy new roots.


Way to cold to put the tenders outside.

Greg, I think I will keep them inside for awhile here where they are used to the light I provide for them and keep them in the cool window sill. I think they would most likely drown if I left them outside. I took off all of the brown leaves as much as possible without hurting the plant. I cant believe all the trauma they have been through. Poor little things.

I forgot to post that I bought the Black Prince today as well.

I wont put any of the tenders outside Lynn. No worries there. I am preparing for the hardy's next week. My DH is going to make me some little raised beds which should work perfect. I was thinking of little two foot by two foot boxes to put them in and maybe a foot deep? What do you think would be good to start them off in? I figure they will be able to stay outside pretty well until I move and still be light enough to carry. Let me know what you guys think.

The nursery trays are perfect for that Jackie. Light weight and enough depth for them to grow.

Ok, Ill just go with the trays then as long as I can find some....maybe walmart would have some.

Lynn how do you secure them from the wind?

The trays, Greg?
I just lay them flat on the ground. I've never had them blow around.

I think I live in a wind tunnel, its between several tall buildings and the wind just whips through there!! I have to anchor most things! That's why I love Goldfinch4's plant labels, I can stick them all the way in the ground and they're strong enough that they won't break (just ordered a bunch more from her! - thanks Chris!)

Thank you Greg! Like Lynn, I pot mine up for a while if I can't plant them right away. But I use big aluminum foil trays that are about 12" x 20". I need to put them where they're protected from wind because we always have major wind out here too.

Your new plant's look great Jackie! I can't wait to see pics of your new order too

Greg, Yes, It has been very very windy here lately. Wind gusts around 40 mph. I have anchored my greenhouse so that seems to be fine now. That's partly why I was thinking of having my DH make little boxes around 2 feet by 2 feet and maybe around 6 inches deep so it will be heavy enough to stay right where I put them. I am moving June 1st so I will be able to just take the boxes with me. He said he can put many holes for drainage as well or even make little legs for it but I told him I would probably just like to set it on the ground without the legs.
Kate, thank you, I can't wait to see them as well! So excited!!!

Another interesting thing I forgot to mention about my baby chicks that I thought might be worth sharing. Before I knew what my Hen was or let alone a succulent was, my Hen would produce lots of offsets. When the offsets got pretty long on the Hen I would just pop them off and put them in a little short vase of water so I could propagate and establish roots (once again before I knew they could get root rot). They always did so good in the water. The stolon would start producing tons of little roots and the stolon would grow longer and longer. I gave away most of them except for the ones I currently have now and are trying to keep alive. I'm wondering if anyone else has ever done this with theirs? Why would they root this way when they don't want to be over watered?

Jackie, that sounds like a great idea! The other thing I've seen people do is use hardware cloth (1/4inch) for the bottom with no wood, improves drainage - then you wouldn't have to worry about them getting wet. And personally I think planters are better with even small legs to break that seal that can happen if they're right on the ground ( just my opinion)

Jackie we cross posted...that's interesting, If its working for you, don't question it! It must be that this particular type is less prone to root rot, or that you caught them young enough that they didn't mind the water. A plant with developed leaves, I bet, would rot in that situation though.

Greg, Right! That is what I was thinking. They grew quite big and quite fast that way. I just kept sticking them in the same little vase of water and they would take off. Just had wondered if anyone else had ever heard of doing that. Your probably right it could just be the type of semp it is. I don't have any other ones to try that with again but the baby's that were hurt during the greenhouse fall. I sooooo hope they make it!! I will let the DH know that maybe putting some short legs on them would be best. How many holes and how big should the drainage holes be on the bottom of a 2ft X 2ft box be do you think?

I think I over did mine, putting one about every 2 inches or so
You could also use a layer of weed block cloth to protect the wood a little from direct soil contact. It'll be a fun project! Those legs on the bottom, if you don't really want them, they can be just a small 1/8inch strip to keep it slightly off the ground

That sounds good. I will definitely have him add it. How far apart are the semps supposed to be planted? And when you plant them do you just put them so they are flush with the dirt? Do you still use the potting mix alone with the chicken grit for your mix? Also, do you sorta mound up the dirt with the semp in it so it is elevated a little so the water runs down a bit in case of root rot? Sorry just curious

I use potting soil, chicken grit and a bit of perlite. (actually the potting soil I get has perlite in it, and I ran out of mine, so if you know your soil has perlite I wouldn't worry about adding more) then I add about a quarter part chicken grit. Mix that up and bust up any larger chunks and put the baby semp on the surface - if it has roots I twirl it around until the roots have buried themselves, then I top dress using the chicken grit - which is better at keeping the plant elevated off the soil!! I'm not at home so I haven't seen my semp beds for a few days...get to go home for a while today, and can't wait!!! Want to see how they're doing after all this hard rain! I'm finding that I no longer need to worry about them now that I have them top dressed! Its seriously the best thing I've found for my plants!!

They rot if the crown is buried or sits in soil that is water logged. So just the roots need to be in the soil, with the crown sitting on top of the soil. If they just have tiny beginnings of roots, just sit the offset on top of the soil. The roots will find their way into the soil as they grow.