I believe that one also goes by the name 'Krimson Queen.' Mine never bloomed and after giving it to my MIL, she left it outside and it froze.

One of those someone please kick me moments.

Planto

Ohh, that sounds frustrating, so sorry! Did the blooms on that smell good or bad?

Mine was tagged 'Tricolor' which, although it's an EA plant seems to be accurate. They don't have any others it could be mistaken for in their lineup.

Took pics of today's exciting things...

Begonia looks so happy.


Gasteraloe bloom stalk, in front of Kalanchoe blossfeldianas.


Senecio crassissimus, making a ton of new branches at the bottom of the main trunk.


Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi older leaves got a bit too much sun too fast, but that seems to have inspired a new branch to start at every node.


Lots of pretty color on Peperomia 'Jelly' and Echeveria 'Perle von Nurnberg.'

Tiff,
Unfortunately mine didn't bloom before it froze. But it was the same one as yours so I'm sure it would have smelled bad,

Planto

Bummer! So sorry.

This pot is doing so great! Tradescantia cerinthoides, Gibasis geniculata (Tahitian bridal veil,) Easter cactus, Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, Callisia cordifolia. The buds on EC look like they'll pop in about a week or so.

It's okay, it was my fault for not keeping it.

You seem to have better luck with Easter Cacti than most, what's your secret? :lol:

Planto

TY. I wish I knew. The 9 clearance plants I got a year ago didn't do well, from the initial repotting. I can only find a few snips of them here'n'there. That 'good' one is a gift from a neighbor a while back. It's bloomed at wildly diff times of the year since I've had it, anywhere between Feb & July. About 18 months ago, I cut it down to the woody stumps, and that's how it looks now. (The cuttings were disappointing.) Outside in morning or very late PM sun for summer, sunny window for winter. (This year it's morning.) Never too dry.

If I could get the plants in all of my pots to look as great as this one, I'd be so happy! I keep taking cuttings of the Tradescantia in particular, it's the most crowded pot I've ever had. It's also my lowest-light experiment for Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, dangling out the front at the bottom of the pic. It's floppy, but I like the way it looks there. Added about a year ago? Not totally sure...

I thought the one with buds might have been the one gifted from your neighbor (I remember you mentioning it previously). It looks like it's starting to sprout, I see quite a few leaves on it. Maybe cutting it back has made it better off in the long run?

With regards to your clearance ones, I've never had good luck with them myself. Frankly, I can't find one in town that's not wrinkled and falling apart to start with.

I think Kalanchoe "vines" out like that regardless of lighting. I just think people frequently trim them back to keep them compact.

Planto

TY! Yes, I think I would say better. It was gnarly and beat-up looking. My primary reason for chopping it was to make more, but the new growth is much more attractive than what was there before. When I first cut it, it was just looked like a weird stick stuck in a pot, nothing green left at all. Looks like another year or 2, it will be back to about the same size, if it keeps growing at the same rate.

If always inside, it may not be possible for Kalanchoe blossfeldiana to stay stiffly upright. The ones I take outside & put in tons of sun for summer have turned into little trees over the past couple years, with hard, woody trunks. Some pics of that in the entry in the plant database here. Tons of cuttings have been taken from them, put in various pots with various amounts of light, but mostly in tons of sun until I started putting them in other pots too last summer. I put one in the ground for summer vacation to see how it does. (Pic above, 3/19. I'll add an update pic soon.)

It sounds like cutting it back was indeed the best thing then.

Maybe that's why I've never had the best of luck with those types of Kalanchoe, not enough light. I'm interested in seeing how thr one in the ground does.

Planto

Tiffany, I'm interested in how your kalanchoes do this summer. I just bought a couple of different colors on clearance from WM today for $2.99 for 6 in. pots. They were still gift wrapped, plastic sleeve and all. When I got home and took the pot out of the wrapping, I found the plants swimming in water. I turned the pot upside and the individual plants just fell out of the wet pot. Anyway, they are outside drying in a shady spot until I go back out to check on them.

I did find some easter cactus from WM in Charleston a few weeks ago. I haven't had a chance to repot them. They are in a peaty soil, so I'm keeping them fairly dry for the time being. I got a red and a lavender one. I've been so busy that I haven't been able to post photos. My plant migration to the outdoors isn't even complete. I've got plants that made it to the garage. I have been too afraid to put them outdoors, because the weather here had been so unstable during the last few weeks. It has been very windy here--too drying for houseplants. Not to mention, I've been traveling back and forth to Charleston to look after sick parents for the last several months. That's close to a 2 hour drive from here. No complaints from me, though. I've found lots of clearance sales along the way.

Deebie,
Sorry to hear about your sick parents.

Planto

Thanks, Planto. They are getting up in age and need to be looked after more. Dad had outpatient surgery 3 weeks ago and developed an infection and had to be hospitalized for a couple of days. He's recovering slowly but surely.

Indeed, group hug! Good vibes for a great recovery!

Some interesting developments I noticed last night. Blooms forming on Senecio kleiniiformis.


And Lepismium cruciforme is blooming. Tiny but cute, I think!



Edited to add a pic of this Kalanchoe cutting PIG about a month ago. It has a S-curve in the middle of the stem, but seems sturdy & determined to go upright. There's a new branch starting toward the bottom. (Begonia 'Sinbad' in the background.)


6/3, edited to add this pic of the leaves. The new ones are twice as big, & so much softer, scallops quite pronounced.

This mornings' pic-worthy moments:

A few days ago, I trimmed most of the Euphorbia tithymaloides (devil's backbone, zigzag plant) in this pot to get more started. Buds on Senecio kleiniiformis:


Sans 'Moonshine,' ZZ plant & Tradescantia pallida really digging summer weather. The ZZ was thought to have died over winter, disappeared:

Saturday I snipped all of these cuttings of various succulents:



And dug up a LOT more grass here - all of the "naked" area to the right.


And installed the cuttings yesterday, to be all they can be, until cold weather threatens. It should look wild in a month or so!

I'm sure that they will be. We're looking forward to the pictures.

This is about 1/3 of the area, as of today.


Starting to see some pups on snake plants (Sansevieria, PIG 3 months ago.) So, if you only have 3 months of decent weather, seems worth doing to me.






Most of the plants in this thingie got a little burned when they first went out, but recovering well. I stuck about 25 little Portulaca amilis plants (found in lawn) through the mesh on the front. They're recovering & will hopefully feel like making more cute little flowers soon. Even if not, I like looking @ it. The tall, star of the show is Senecio crassissimus.


Graptoveria 'Opalina' dangling over the edge, should be purple but will have the burned tone until it outgrows those leaves. (Insert expletive of choice!) Yes, the rays in March are enough to burn plants after being inside for a few months, even if they were used to it before. In case I forget, I took a load of pics of the burned leaves, to remind myself next spring, don't do too much too fast. Wait & acclimate, learn not to burn. Isn't it frustrating to know a thing & just fail to do it right or well anyway? Unbridled enthusiasm has always been my biggest enemy... and my best friend, what a fickle fellow.

This is a newer pot put together about 6 weeks ago. I'm loving the way it's filling out a bit. The bigger one is Echeveria 'Gray Red,' then there's some Kalanchoe blossfeldianas, Pachyveria 'Powder Puff,' and the lanky thing to the R is a cutting of Peperomia dolabriformis.