We've got a couple weeks, Robin. Lynn will let us know how her colonies are doing... some may not be in good supply, but she may have others to add to the list. :-)

DND, Daniel, I hope you forge ahead organizing some group buys, either for in person pickup or remailing. Definitely anything dormant (or non-living, like Atlas gloves) makes for an easier experience. There have been many successful co-ops for live plants in the co-op forum at DOG (Dave's Garden, or "Dave's Old Garden"), but there have also been some disasters, and Daniel is totally right when he says problems get blamed on the host.

Hope the articles help... if I can help you out, just drop me a tree-mail.

valleylynn said:Just checking in to see if there are any questions?
I will be back home in about 2 weeks and will start working on your individual lists as far as availability. Some colonies have many orders worth available, other colonies may yield only one or two orders. Most of what is listed above are in good supply.

Wait, what now? Away for 2 weeks?! That's way too long for you to be away!
Noooo, don't leave me! What if the EU semps arrive? Huh? Then what?
C'mon, Lynn. You know we all need you right here!

Daniel, as you have probably figured out there are far fewer of us in the Carolinas than they have in the metropolitan DC area and we are spread further apart. However, if you go down to the very bottom of the page you will see "memberlist" (it is sort of right under Pinterest.)
Perhaps you could locate more members in your area and put together a local swap/buy.

Good idea! Keeping these group buys limited to those who can do local pickup (either from my house or from an upcoming MAG gathering) is one way I limit the overall size of the group buy... although, the first time we did a group buy of fall-planted bulbs, a SEMI pulled up in my driveway to deliver a towering pile of crates and boxes strapped to a big pallet!

critterologist said:Good idea! Keeping these group buys limited to those who can do local pickup (either from my house or from an upcoming MAG gathering) is one way I limit the overall size of the group buy... although, the first time we did a group buy of fall-planted bulbs, a SEMI pulled up in my driveway to deliver a towering pile of crates and boxes strapped to a big pallet!

Oh my goodness, I think I would have passed out! Was that a moment where you stood there, speechless? Or where you did a facepalm, shaking your head, wondering how you got yourself into such a thing?

Calm yourself Terri. I'm here, at least once a day.

I don't think Jill has to worry about a semi delivering these semps.

I was just relieved when they unloaded "only" a pallet and not the whole dang truck! Freaked out DH. "Umm, honey, I think your bulbs are here."

By comparison, this order of semps is a cinch! (especially since we're getting such helpful advice and input from Lynn!)

I would love to have a big semi stop here and deliver a truckload of semps! Just for me, of course!
@valleylynn so glad you're still here on the forum with us!
Sorry I overreacted. I was worried we wouldn't have you here for a couple weeks. That would be a disaster!

I will be headed home this Wednesday.
Can't wait to get back home.

Lynn is back home and waiting for us to ask questions and finalize our orders so she can start digging and dividing those beautiful semps!

You can either edit your first post as you make change and additions to your list, or you can make on new post on this thread -- whichever is easier for you.

When you are happy with your list, please edit/post with the words "FINAL ORDER" so I'll know you're done. I'll post our order lists at the top of the thread so Lynn will know what to send you (and so we can all covet one another's choices).

Lynn wants to start putting markers in the beds to let her know which varieties to harvest. She'll be mailing in early September, in time for us to divvy up the box at the swap, and she doesn't want to be trying to do them all at once the day before mailing LOL. So, with that in mind, I had a further idea...

For varieties you are certain will be in your "final order," please list them with an * in front of the variety name. I'll make a running list of "for sure" choices at the top of this thread for Lynn, so she can start marking and harvesting even if we're not quite at the "final answer" point yet. Just don't star anything you don't want!

And Lynn, please help us... if you see something on the list at the top that you think might not be a good choice for our humid climate, please let us know!

I will be happy to point out any that I know may not work in humid growing conditions. But do remember that fast draining soil, whether in the ground or in a container will make the difference between keeping a semp happy and healthy, or one that will rot and die. Also a nice thick layer of chicken grit or small gravel will keep the bottom leaves away from any damp soil.

So, Lynn, these are my "picks" so far. Are there any on my list that you have concerns about in our wet winter/spring weather or humid summers? Did I miss any especially suitable, colorful, big varieties? I almost don't dare to look at your list again (it's been a while since I browsed it last!)

Boromir
Dolo
Dornroschen
Jeramia (even though it's mid-sized)
Lady Kelly
Lentezon
Mauna Kai
Rococo
Virgil

heufelii Blaze
heufelii noids

I know you can't guarantee success, Lynn, but i figure by helping us edit our choices you can load the dice in our favor!

Jill, all of those should work well.
'Cockoo' is a fairly large one, and is a heavy producer of offsets.
'Fame' is beautiful year round and reaches a nice medium to large size. A big bonus is that it will sometimes produce offsets of 'Fame Monstrose'.
In this photo you can see it in both forms coming from one original rosette. Very cool and fun.

Only because I confuse easier than most - 'Drachenblut' is not available currently - right?

Jill - I finalized my list.

Yes, 'Drachenblut' is available.

Oh, dear, which one to get? "Dragon Blood" or "Sleeping Beauty?"

Chantell, if you get Drachenblut, I'll get Dornroschen... we can either swap one rosette of each or just wait for future offsets to trade so we eventually have both...

It's tempting to mix & match between our orders, to get more variety than our wallets could otherwise sustain, taking advantage of the fact that Lynn sends 3 nice rosettes of each variety... On the other hand, planting out 3 rosettes results in a nice little colony much sooner, or lets me plant out a couple of them and pot up another to hedge my bet.

You can tell I looked again, even though I said I wouldn't... it's so hard to choose! LOL

Jill, my list is final.
I really need to develop a resistance to plants. Please no more group buys (until next year?).


Thanks for doing this group buy.

critterologist said:Chantell, if you get Drachenblut, I'll get Dornroschen... we can either swap one rosette of each