Hello AG! Your plants look quite content, a tribute to good care.

Still a few days of rain to go here.... Dudleya on the balcony in bloom (hummingbirds galore).

Agavegirl. you do have some nice healthy specimens. What is the cactus in the 1st photo with the red blooms? I recently acquired a foxtail agave and a variegated one. I also have a. geminiflora. You came up with a great idea for using the narrow wall space. Cute specimens therein.

back Tavev. Please give DH a and special thanks for looking after your plants and sending you photos of your blooming plants that you were able to share with us on the other forums while you were away.

Yes Deebie...he got his special hugs

Welcome@AgaveGirl1. I'm in the same situation with our Arizona place. Gardening is certainly challenging, but it looks like you have some great plants doing very well!

Hi gang

Thanks for all the compliments on my young garden. I've been in my new home less than a year and so have my plants!

Yep 9B-ers through 11 zones we'll have lots to talk about! We've just started getting rain. Yesterday, today and the next three it is predicted in various amounts. That's good though as we hadn't had any for 1 and 1/2 months and between the lack of water and the cold the plants have been stressed. (Winter but they still need just the tiniest bit of water at least 1 time a month)

Plantmanager...YEP, you and I will be talking a lot about our crazy desert! I like your avatar. Is that a torch cactus? Very nice whatever it may be. Quite dazzling blooms

Baja...your Dudleya is gorgeous. Glad it gets the hummingbirds. They're such a treat to watch.

Deebie...The plant in the first photo is a Chamelobivia 'Rose Quartz'. It will get multi blooms or it may get single blooms but in succession or intermittently. I think they call this a peanut plant. Grows fast and is super easy to care for. Likes the sun and a little shade, deals well with water if the soil drains.
Super good plant because it is easy and fuss free. It is something I picked up in a Big Box store for less than $5.00 Loved it so much I got a 2nd. I'm always on the look out for more like it since they're cheap, fun and rewarding.

I am familiar with the foxtail agave. Lovely plant and quite a statement maker. Just wonderful in the yard if you can show it off. I'm not familiar with the geminiflora. I'll have to look that one up. Curious to see what it looks like.

Thanks for the compliment on my 'creative' use of space. It seemed like such a shame to waste 14 feet of plant-able area. Originally I wanted a succulent bed but as I mentioned previously succulents are disastrous here so I had to put the mind to the grind and figure something out. Glad I could. Maybe it will inspire some others on how to use small and/or awkward spaces.
The nice thing is that when the plants get big or outgrow the space I can move them to the front or back yard in a special area or raised bed or maybe create a 'design' (circle/square) or 'mini garden' with them and then start all over in that 14 foot space again with new plants. I could even do a nice container garden with them

Tarev...gorgeous Orchids in your photo. I admire you for growing them. Not easy for me. Tried a few times but soon abandoned them. I loved them, they just didn't love me back. You must find them really rewarding though. What are you growing outside?

O.K. everyone catch up with you all later. Got a ton of things to do right now.
AG

Oh here's a few more of the Rose Quartz when I got it and before I put it in the ground. It had a bud and bloomed once. The picture with the flower was a second bloom that happened about a week after the first

AgaveGirl1

Hi guys

Thanks for all the praise and acorn tips.
Really wonderful of you all.
Enjoying the forum and looking forward to learning more from all.
Everyone is really nice and I'm having a good time.
Thanks again for making me feel so welcome.

AG

and for showing more of your Rose Quartz cactus. I'll have to try to find one to add to my tiny cactus collection.

Deebie,
Glad you like the 'Rose Quartz'. once again.

Hate to say it but I found it at that dreaded, evil place that starts with a 'W' and ends in mart. I also hate to say it but it seems every plant I've gotten there and in Big Box stores has grown, and thrived where as the ones I get from nurseries don't.

Added bonus they're so cheap. Look on the racks where they have tiny cacti and you'll find a lot of the really cute 'bubbles', Trichocereus, Lobivias, Chamelobivias, etc.
All of these can be perfect for such small spaces, containers, baskets and beds. Of course when they get big-er you can put them out in the yard and start over with some new varieties.

Also, SAVE YOUR RECEIPT AND THE POT IT CAME IN if you buy it at the place that starts with 'W'. (Helps if you got dead plant too but this is not necessary. Our 'W' takes back everything!!! ).

If the plant croaks for some reason they will take it back 30 days as long as you have these! Unbelievable but they will and give you a refund or exchange for same/similar plant!

I'll have to take a picture of my .40 cent....YEP, read that right..., .40 cent Aloes I bought last June or July. They got water logged/overwatered by some zealous employee or sprinkler system and looked wilted so they were selling them for .40cents

Uhm...all they needed to do was sit in the sun and dry out to go back to normal as they weren't rotten. They were much bigger than pups and good sized 'small plants' so I snapped up a whole bunch and you ought to see them now! A lot of times you can pick up goodies like this in these places too!

Hate to advertise for them but like to pass on good tips and bargains that you may find in the most unlikely or unusual places, so enjoy them for what they're worth.

Here's the 'Rose Quartz' with a double bloom
Here's a bunch of the 'bubbles' I picked up all from $2.50-$5.00 each when I started that small space.

I will go take a photo of those Aloes (A. Vera) and post them later.

AG, I'm with you in getting my C&S from the BBS, especially WM and Lowe's and seeking out the clearance racks. In fact I hardly pay for price for any of my plants, if I can help it. Both stores are on my way home, so I stop by regularly. And yes, I do save my receipts. WM here gives us 90 days, but Lowe's has a one year satisfaction guarantee. No questions asked.

Here's some pictures of those .40 cent Aloes I mentioned. And I'll definitely have to remember about that return policy when it comes to Lowe's. I really don't return things if I kill them : BUT if they croak through no fault of my own then I will.

@AgaveGirl1 I got a big kick out of chips and dip

tarev said:Hello AgaveGirl1! Glad to meet you and your collection!

It is raining here now, and more rain to Thursday, and I heard it was raining here a lot in December too. Been away for almost a month, just glad to be back and move on.

Thankful I amended the media on most of my succulents with chicken grit and pumice in late November, and have brought indoors the more tender ones, succulents are holding well.

I was wondering where you were Tarev. Glad you are getting the much needed rain.

I hear a lot about these sweet wally world deals but I will not allow any shopping there. The employees are paid less than a living wage. Walmart is one of the biggest employers in the U.S. I can not remember the numbers off the top of my head but it is a shocking number of the employees who have to get on government help to make ends meet. It promotes everything that I can not morally be a part of. But saying that, I sure do enjoy seeing the spoils others rake up from there adventures from that place.

Speaking of the evil box stores that I do haunt is the big orange H.D. I got a gift card and planned on splurging on plants I normally would not buy the other day and ended up just buying some plant lights. I keep seeing a very blue slender upright cacti that I am extremely attracted to. The thorns always stop me at the last second while reaching for them. I think I will go back and just go for it. I had a san pedro hit my face one winter brining it in and declared no more thorny slender cactus......but...... gift cards burn holes in wallets faster than cash ya know

Oh yes, we are getting the much needed rains here now Audrey! I am glad it is in good intervals, so my succulents outdoors gets a breather. Overnight temps are bearable right now at the low 40's. I dread it if it goes to the low 20's but so far I do not see that in the forecast!

I was doing some much needed cleanup earlier this week and I saw my Faucaria trying to make some blooms..poor thing..there is not enough sun! And then it rained, so I guess those buds are now kaput.


Something cheery with the ones indoors, my Euphorbia milii managed a solitary bloom

Great plant finds! (saves) it is always sad to see the poor little plants needing to be rescued!
I do shop at local nurseries so I can help keep them in business, but also shop anywhere that I see plants that I like and the price is right! One of my local nurseries had a great deal this past autumn - they had 4inch pots for 5.99 totally healthy and lovely plants but without ID's - I bought a few and am loving how they're turning out!
AG your aloe are going to be great in no time!

Greg, I see you are in WA. Have you ever been to Flower World in Maltby? It's not far from Woodinville. My sister worked there for years, and it's one of my favorite places to visit for plants.

I love your plant photos, Tarev. That is a nice Euphorbia Milii. I have one with small yellow/orange flowers and a larger Thai Hybrid with dark Orange flowers. Is yours a pink?

Audrey, just go for it. The plants with thorns require more care, but they're wonderful to own. I kick myself every time I want something and don't buy it. I go later, and it's always gone. Get it when you see it!!!

Karen, it is supposed to be pink. I think since it is indoors and not getting more sun that it wants, the color is rather dull.

I've noticed that my flowers on the milii fade out quickly. The little orange ones are only orange for a few days and then they are yellow. They hang on a long time, though, which is nice. My larger thai hybrid doesn't seem to fade out much. The larger flowers stay pretty much the same over time.

Does yours start out darker pink and then fade to the pale color?