This is a very fun thread. Julia your avatar seedling is so gorgeous. I don't get many of the big ones as most are in 3 3/8 " pots. do have one dark cloud in a 1 gal pot. It just gets darker and darker. now even the babies are getting dark. its a pretty good size. My ducks got into that area one day and nibbled some edges and knocked some chicks off.

Earlier this year in 3 3/8 " pot



Same variety not the same plant in 1 gal pot today.

Seems like most of these large semps are between 7 and 8 inches.

Ooh, that dark one is a neat one Jo Ann to show off in this thread. Sometimes when a nice sized one is also a nice looking one, it's a bonus!

Tim, those multi decked semps remind me of the Agave that you had to almost had to put an axe to work to separate the Mother head from the offsets. This closely clustered look seems to be the opposite of those offsets that are attached to really long stolons like Pacific Zoftic's

webesemps said:Tim, those multi decked semps remind me of the Agave that you had to almost had to put an axe to work to separate the Mother head from the offsets.

Yes, Bev... I see what you're saying. So when the time comes... I'll know exactly how to deal with them.

It seems I have a new challenger in my garden for the size competition... 'Flasher'.

Really nice coloring too on that Flasher, Tim!

I agree Flasher looks good, didn't realize it got that big!

gg5 said:I agree Flasher looks good, didn't realize it got that big!

Me neither. Odd thing... my 'Flasher' looks exactly like my 'Glowing Embers', who is also growing way bigger than I'd imagined. Live and learn.

tcstoehr said:

Me neither. Odd thing... my 'Flasher' looks exactly like my 'Glowing Embers', who is also growing way bigger than I'd imagined. Live and learn.

Good soil and good attention

Ok so these are crowded in, if they had more room they'd be larger, not like Chris's monster Vlad, but good sized
Grammens

Othello

These are my monsters

You're probably right, Greg...a little more room would 'unleash' those! They are beautiful in their deep coloring which none of mine have for lack of good sunlight. Thanks for sharing those with us!

'Othello' does seem to have some potential to get large. This one has nothing to hold it back so it's expanding like a balloon.



'Goldmarie' deserves an honorable mention.

Greg, beautiful colors on those!

Tim, 'Othello' is a pretty large plant. Bet you see quite a bit of growth on that one yet. Same with 'Gold Marie'. My 'Gold Marie' was pretty large earlier, but those children have caused her to shrink again. Kids can be hard on a mom!

Wow Tim love the pics of Goldmarie - looks like ram's horns or something the way they're twisting!
Chris that is funny that they shrink after the offsets... I have had some lift up due to too much sun, and dry, but then I water or shade them, and they drop back down!

Great photos everyone.

'Goldmarie' can have a very unusual pattern to the way the leaves grow. And I agree with Chris, it can get quite large.
I think last year I had an 'Othello' that reached 12 inches across. It seems to do that the year it will bloom.
Most of the semps tend to reach their maximum diameter before blooming.
I'm wondering if that is not the time we should be measuring diameter for maximum size in our database?

Lynn interesting question - I can't remember how the database is worded, but if there is an 'average' size, I wouldn't use the largest number - if there is a range then yes I would use the top number! I think if people don't know about these plants and they are using them to add color/shape/interest to a pot or bed, that the largest size won't matter because it hopefully will be a year or so before it attains that, if at all, since so many bloom while still smaller. My opinion

Tim,

That's the biggest Flasher I've ever seen. It obviously likes Canby. Ed and I both used a seedling of his called #51. It had brilliant color but was a lousy plant. Flasher is definitely a seedling of it (Hot Tip X Skrocki 51, I just checked my notebook) and I wouldn't be surprised if Glowing Embers was a #51 seedling. Ed didn't keep pedigrees on his things. Actually in looking up the information on Flasher, my notebook shows that Jungle Fires is Jungle Shadows X Skrocki #51. I had remembered that it was open pollinated but there it is in the notebook! I made that cross 45 years ago so I guess I should be forgiven for forgetting that! Anyway, I'm sure the SIZE is coming from #51. It was big. Wish I still had a plant to use in crossing although Flasher and Jungle Fires and probably Glowing Embers has the blood of it

I have a couple of one year seedlings over a foot across so it is possible to select fr monstrous plants. Howard Wills loved these monster ones.

Kevin

Kevin can't wait to see those next clinic!

That's interesting information, Kevin. I feel like Skrocki lives on in my garden. I received two 'Flasher' rosettes. One stayed small and put out two chicks while the other just grew like a weed. My 'Glowing Embers' is nearly as big and has two chicks... its other 4 chicks were taken by a nighttime marauder.

Tim,

Yes in some ways the hybridizers live on long after they aren't on the planet. I'm happy that I have plants from so many good friends growing in my garden. It's as though they're still with me. I'm hoping the nighttime marauder doesn't take any more! Good grief!

Greg, I can't wait until you're all back here next spring too. Matts and Tom from Mountain Crest thought the monster-sized ones were amazing. Now to get a heuff that big! (Do I hear you screaming in the background Bev??)

Kevin

Yes, you are Kevin!!!