I know - people are so gullible.

A cute little Orostachys I bought from Cinda this spring at clinic. Just said Hybrid. Loving the color this summer.

That really is sweet Julia.
None of my orostachys are showing signs of blooming yet, even with this early onset hot weather.

Nice one Julia, I really like this genus, certainly good companion plants for semp fans.

Just had to share pictures of the largest orostachys spinosa I've ever grown! Shown in a 4" pot.

Wow Chris, that's an awesome specimen, and looking immaculately trim and symmetrical, the tight inner leaves show Fibonacci leaf patterning. As an inspiration, I will show these photos to my young plants salvaged from miserable nursery soil abuse, bought a scrappy looking plant at a nursery about a month ago growing in peat and chunky bark

Thanks Mark! Wish I could say all mine were this big, but they're not. This one just went crazy this year. I'm wondering if it's because it doesn't have any chicks, that it put all of it's growth into the hen?

Chris that is amazing. I have never seen one that large.

Thanks Lynn. Next year I'll probably do a bit of experimenting by removing the chicks as soon as I think they'll be able to make it on their own and see if I can't produce some more monsters.

How do you grow your oros Chris. Shade/sun/water/soil?

Chris, that's a fantastic plant! Now I had to add it to my ever growing want list!

Lynn, I grow all my orostachys in pots because they don't do well with our wet springs. I move them into the unheated garage for the winter with no water until temps are above freezing. They're grown in a mixture of about 70% Miracle Grow/30% chicken grit and in full sun. I very seldom give them any supplemental water, even during this hot, dry summer.

I've never seen them in my nurseries. Where do you all recommend for buying orostachys ?

Karen, I do sell them. They're just not as big as this one! Send me a tree-mail if you're interested and I can get you some pictures.

plantmanager said:I've never seen them in my nurseries. Where do you all recommend for buying orostachys ?

Karen: Mountain Crest carries several species, although often they are listed as "not quite ready". I bought three species this year at a Massachusetts area Garden Center, the supplier of rock garden type plants is a wholesale grower in Connecticut named Sunny Border. Also it helps to be aware of their taxonomic history, they might be found under genus names other than Orostachys, such as Sedum, Umbilicus, Cotyledon, and even Crassula.

I have always enjoyed Orostachys iwarenge. Now, we need to fix something in the NGA plant database, they're still using Orostachys malacophylla var. iwarenge. I have never subscribed to that taxonomy, and notice that The Plant List and Tropicos (Missouri Botanic Garden) retain Orostachys iwarenge as a good species. Then I checked the Catalog of Life (CoL), which is the governing taxonomic reference used for all plant databases on NGA, and CoL agrees that Orostachys iwarenge is valid, with synonym of malacophylla var. iwarenge.

Lynn, should I contact Zuzu regarding getting this corrected?


Now for some eye candy, Orostachys iwarenge is here on Marsha's Rock Outcrop, it follows the crevices and fissures in this massive outcrop. I have photographed these colonies a lot, but best on a drizzly day like today, to darken the rock and get better visibility of the ghost-like pinkish-gray rosettes on this sweet Oro.



Orostachys iwarenge potted up for plant sales/donation at my October Sempervivum talk.


Love how they bead up rain water (seeing this a lot this year )

Those are beautiful colonies Mark! That is the only one I can grow outside in the ground here and it readily seeds all over.

Chris, I forgot you sold O. spinosa, meant to get a couple but forgot, then chanced upon a miserable looking potful at a Garden Center for $8 (yes, I bought it). Freed the prisoners from their slow death in heavy wet peat/bark soil into my gritty semp mix, split up all the little chicks, they're small but coming along now.

goldfinch4 said:Those are beautiful colonies Mark! That is the only one I can grow outside in the ground here and it readily seeds all over.

My posts keep crossing

I grew several species in my original rock garden at my parents house (I was just a teen) and they seemed hardy and reliable. I know a rock gardener in western MA that grows several as well, including aggregate and fimbriata, the latter is wonderful for it's autumn flowering, must try to get that one.

My all time favorite is still Orostachys japonica 'Tsushima'. Here's a picture of it forming bloom stalks in the fall. I almost lost it last winter though and rebuilding my stock is a slow process. This one is almost impossible to find any more.

Thank you for the heads up Mark. Looks like they made the change this year.
I made the change.