I had actually noticed these plants as a child growing up here in Oklahoma but never really knew anything about them or gave them much thought. Their unique look and green color is what I remember.
I had actually never thought about growing them as an adult and really didn't know anything about them. My aunt came down from Tulsa a few years back and gave some to my mom. I remember being at her house when she brought them by and said she got them from someone and thought my mom might like them. They were just the plants that had been pulled up like she took them right out of some pot, lol. Of course my mom just left them sitting in the bag and I noticed them over the course of a week or so later and I thought, oh no ----- they're probably dead!
Of course, I just knew my aunt would come back down and inquire about the plants she had given and I didn't want her to think they just got chunked out or we killed them. I took it upon myself to plant them for her using an old metal wheelbarrow she got from a junk pile here in town but never got around to using for anything.
They took off and looked great and the rest is history.....
JUST KIDDING
After I finished college and moved back to town, I purchased my home and started to look for things to plant and grow after cleaning up the property. I thought the hens and chicks would be interesting to get a start of and see how they did for me. They did great, grew into large healthy plants with lots of babies and it got me to thinking -------- are there other colors out there is this a one of a kind plant? I did some searching, bought from a website and wasn't really happy with what I got and would periodically search as time went by. I ended up finding this group and over the course of the last couple of years, I've found out more that I ever knew about these plants and the large numbers of varieties that are available. It has been a learning curve in the beginning and I lost some plants because of it but I feel like I've done so much better with them. I rarely have any that die and they seem to thrive except for some periods of overly brutal heat but then again, I tolerate it the best I can considering it's not easy, lol!
I've communicated with some wonderful people in the group who have allowed me to grow varieties that I would probably never be able to locate in the nurseries around here. By sharing what they have, it's allowed me to honestly grow a collection that I love and I'm proud to show off. It's been a very addicting but very enjoyable hobby to get into. There are times I'm glad I don't live on an acreage or I'd be afraid what I'd come up with next.....
I will say the most valuable thing I have in my plants are those everlasting labels that I purchase from Chris (
@goldfinch4 ). Without those labels, I would have nothing but NOIDS because my ideas of making my own have resulted in runny, unreadable markers that have had to be replaced repeatedly.....
