Soil/ fertilizer/ light is something i have been working on for quite a few years.
Experience and experiment are great teachers but sometimes I think we can have and effect on our own experiments. (That's why in real science they do "blind"tests). I can share with you what I think I have learned.
Should say up front that I am growing in pots 3 1/2 in and gal
Some semps just fade in the heat of summer due to their genetics.
Some fade more than others.
Lack of water changes the color and you are so right Margo about the "ball up ,turn red and go dorment" . I would add and then just die unless you get them some water and new soil pretty quick.
Regular watering is important, especially here in Oregon where we had no rain from May to October last year, but fertilizing is important too. I have a feeling that nitrogen boosts the color a bit but it's easy to get too much. Just 10-5-5 is fine I think starting in spring till beginning of Aug.
My soil mix is high in composted bark and pumice which is very different than what I saw this weekend at Kevin and Lynn"s. I get a lot of earthworms right in the pots and I take that as a sign that something is right. I am planning to create a large bed here soon and am going to try to copy what I think would be like the mountainous soil where semps grow naturally. Since mountains are mostly rock, I am going to add glacial gock dust. I don't know if threre will be any noticable difference. I think micorrhiza can't be bad for anything.
Wouldn't it be fun to see them in their native habitat. I do know that if i want the large ones to get really large I have to keep them in light dappled shade all day or shade in the afternoon but too much shade will make them fade. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Margo, I wish you knew the name of the one that grows on the strawberry pot.
Some" noid' I bet
