Dutchlady1 said:

You better come through!

Here you go!

Spitz, Interesting variegated palms! Thanks for sharing.

I know those variegated palms cost a pretty penny.. but they are beautiful!

My early cold damaged succulents

Euphorbia milii
Our freeze watch last Dec did its job..but I think the plant is still okay. The stems are firm and hard. Just the leaves are in such a sorry state. So I am just keeping it as dry as it can. Thankfully our temps are just on the nice warm side and overnights are not bad either.




These noid cacti, has always pouted big time during winter. My mistake in previous years was putting it in a big container thereby it takes longer to dry out during our wet winters. I ended up chopping off rotten parts these past couple of years, so it is now so short. I have given each cacti its own container, making the media as gritty and porous as it can. I even protected them inside my growcamp to keep them dry.
But this one is just so out of it...the body is still firm to touch, just the color is too yellowy bad.


Its sister cacti is doing okay on the other hand, they were side by side inside the growcamp..but for some reason, that first one is just not enjoying it. oh well...


Now this is a true survivor..I though I have already lost this plant last summer, it just continued on to rot, but I left it outdoors this winter regardless. My Senecio kleiniiformis:
It used to be this nice last April 2014:


Photo last Sept 2014 - after summer..just so bad

Now this Jan 2015, on my return from my trip..woohooo..hope is rekindled! I see a new growth, a small one, but it is hopeful, at the smallest stem:


The succulents are teaching me well...not to wave the white flag yet....I am learning and adjusting as I go.

I got one of my led grow bulbs in the mail today here is a pic of it in action.



All of the light is going to an area below the bulbs and is in blue and red spectrums. A lot more efficient than the bulbs I was using.

I'm getting an led panel that will go over my aloes tomorrow.

Is it as pink as it looks?

tarev said:My early cold damaged succulents

Euphorbia milii
Our freeze watch last Dec did its job..but I think the plant is still okay. The stems are firm and hard. Just the leaves are in such a sorry state. So I am just keeping it as dry as it can. Thankfully our temps are just on the nice warm side and overnights are not bad either.




These noid cacti, has always pouted big time during winter. My mistake in previous years was putting it in a big container thereby it takes longer to dry out during our wet winters. I ended up chopping off rotten parts these past couple of years, so it is now so short. I have given each cacti its own container, making the media as gritty and porous as it can. I even protected them inside my growcamp to keep them dry.
But this one is just so out of it...the body is still firm to touch, just the color is too yellowy bad.


Its sister cacti is doing okay on the other hand, they were side by side inside the growcamp..but for some reason, that first one is just not enjoying it. oh well...


Now this is a true survivor..I though I have already lost this plant last summer, it just continued on to rot, but I left it outdoors this winter regardless. My Senecio kleiniiformis:
It used to be this nice last April 2014:


Photo last Sept 2014 - after summer..just so bad

Now this Jan 2015, on my return from my trip..woohooo..hope is rekindled! I see a new growth, a small one, but it is hopeful, at the smallest stem:


The succulents are teaching me well...not to wave the white flag yet....I am learning and adjusting as I go.

I hope you have a learning experience and not too many losses. I am also in a can keep as my hubby calls"foo foo" plants in this area but some years such as the last one I lost some good friends. Things that can not be replaced. I no longer will ever chance the weather forecast. The way the weather has changed so drastically for our winters in the last two years I have just resigned myself to living in a jungle this winter. We had an unexpected hard freeze last year that I was literally in tears for days if not weeks. Forecast said one thing and the actual weather hit suddenly. My homemade green house had no chance at all. With these new "polar vortex" I think all of us in semi temperate zones need to be extra careful. I hope the best for you and your babies.

Dutchlady1 said:Is it as pink as it looks?

yep

Thanks Audrey! Oh yes..have learned a lot year to year...one of them not to dilly dally with the orchids..so now I have two blooming Oncidiums indoors...woohooo..as for the succulents...actually the rest outdoors are doing very good this time, since there is not a drop of rain yet this January, and the sun is slowly inching longer. So the Crassulas, Senecios, Arboreums, Kalanchoes, Haworthias are at their nicest right now. Only those earlier mentioned three are in cranky mode. With the city trees still dropping leaves, more sunlight is able to squeeze in for the chilled succulents Yeah, sometimes the learning curve comes at such a steep price...live and learn.

tarev said:Thanks Audrey! Oh yes..have learned a lot year to year...one of them not to dilly dally with the orchids..so now I have two blooming Oncidiums indoors...woohooo..as for the succulents...actually the rest outdoors are doing very good this time, since there is not a drop of rain yet this January, and the sun is slowly inching longer. So the Crassulas, Senecios, Arboreums, Kalanchoes, Haworthias are at their nicest right now. Only those earlier mentioned three are in cranky mode. With the city trees still dropping leaves, more sunlight is able to squeeze in for the chilled succulents Yeah, sometimes the learning curve comes at such a steep price...live and learn.

Please do tell about Oncidiums indoors. Mine seem to like a lot of light. Guess I need to mosey onto orchid section but every year indoors mine get black spots. I only have phals now but still have a few Onci just because they have meaning to me. Our temps are lower than yours.

Ok to stay with in forum I will include my fave aloe, since I got us off track. Succulent pic for the day.

Dang... went to load pic and forgot I had deleted it because it was not a great pic.... grrrr... will post later. not what I ment to post, but staying with in context here are some........

That's a lovely collection Audrey! I will just t-mail you about the Onc. then you can also drop by the Orchid forum..so many more experts there, so I do not clutter the succulent thread.

Here are some pics of my led panel in action.

Impressive collection and glad you got your optimal lighting situation squared away, Adam!

A gorgeous collection!

Hello everyone.

Love this new thread for 2015! Hope everyone had a good holiday season, and wishing the best 2015 to all.

Gorgeous photos -- @esperanza (Audrey) -- your landscaping is stunning, and the pop of color from your Aeoniums is spectacular! I think I may have a Zwark -- got it as a cutting from someone who didn't know the names of her plants -- will post a photo later.

Also Audrey, I did exactly the same thing as you earlier this month -- bought 4 new succulents. They are all in 2 1/2 inch pots, and too cute for words. (In fact, the two men behind me at DIY Center [used to be Builders Emporium in CA] mentioned how small they were, and we had a lively discussion about how great succulents are.)

Clockwise from upper left, according to labels on the plants:
Aenomium Anacampseros Sunrise, Telephiastrum Variegata
Golden Sedum Adolfii
Escheveria Ramillette
Painted Lady, Escheveria Derenbergii

A couple of questions for succulent expert extraordinaire @tarev -- I'm in Ventura County CA, zone 10a).

1) The label on all these plants said "bright light," which I interpret as "no direct sun." However, the Internet tells me they will be more colorful with more sun. I've only had them a week or so, and it's been overcast/rainy most of the time -- when it is sunny I'm allowing them full sun for 4 hours or so. When rain is forecast they are under a covered patio, safe from potential rain. We've had gorgeously cool days this month (high temps in the 60s) and they're inside at night.

2) I thought I had identified on the Internet what this plant is (my second succulent purchase after the Kalanchoe), but it's definitely NOT an Escheveria Ramillette (see above photo) which is what I thought from photos on the Internet. I babied this plant during the hot summer/autumn -- it only received a few days of filtered (shaded) sun -- I am in LOVE with its bright PINK trunk!


Here's a photo of the top side of the plant, taken right after I purchased it in August (had fewer pink tips and its trunk wasn't pink).

Hello arapaho!

I find that during the cooler months here in Cali, late Fall to early Spring, these succulents can take direct sun since temps are cooler. The Aeoniums can definitely take full sun any season, it just loves the sun. When our hotter and dryer months come around, then you can give them part sun or part shade.

Aeoniums are summer dormant, it will not drop all the leaves but will just keep a tighter rosette, it will resume active growing again in Fall.

Rains and cold temps are not nice situations for the succulents, so it is good if you can shelter them temporarily if the rains will be pouring hard. Lucky you..we have no rain here since winter started. Just make sure to make your media as gritty and well draining as you can so the stems and roots do not get too rain soaked. What are your overnight lows? If it is just in the low 40's you can still keep them outside. I would be more worried if we get the occasional freeze warnings, when temps dip down to 30F and lower. But right now, our temps here in Cali feels like Spring already.

Your last plant reminds me of Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' ...definitely something with echeveria in its make up. It will enjoy full sun at this time. With the cooler temps leaf colors may change to pinkish hue as it gets more cold stressed.

By the way, on your photo with your 4 new succulents....I think that upper left succulent is an anacampseros..but not aeonium. Was that the actual name tag on the plant? It is a little confusing, it seems they combined two names of two totally different succulents. My experience with anacampseros, it actively blooms during our hot dry days, loves bright light; grows more downward trailing manner.

Hello Arapaho415, Thanks for nice words on the landscaping. Congrats on your new little babies. I love random plant talk with strangers too! I got a job offer the other day in one of the stores I visited just because I am so chatty about plants I used to be a vendor for those kind of stores, so while it was very flattering I think I will pass for now.

Still nice to be asked!!

Spitz said:

Here you go!

@Spitz, I spotted a variegated Rhapis in a plant store today and kept thinking about it as I went home, then did some research and realized I should have gotten it. I mentioned it to DH and he said 'Let's go', so I got it....

Wow!!! nice find