Watering Time

Many succulent internet sources, including Mountain Crest Gardens where I got my latest batch, say not to water right away. Wait a week or so until they can heal up from the stress of transit and repotting. But two days after receiving my shipment I just had to water them, not to give them a drink but to water them into the soil. The growing medium they used was very fine coco coir, almost like dust, and the little plants were just swimming around in it. Yesterday I drowned them in an attempt to anchor them better, and today I took their portraits. Some of them had a very rough time in transit but I think they will recover over the next few months to match the descriptions on the web site.

I got 12 plants, and four of them were Sempervivums. After yesterday's dunking, I'll let them dry out for a few days in the 50-degree garage before introducing them to their six friends in the unheated greenhouse. I'll start with this Sempervivum globiferum Budai Mountains, and let Mountain Crest explain why it is unique: "As with other members of this species, the offsets are small and spherical. They easily fall off the mother rosette and roll away to root. In only a few seasons, a single plant can spread into an immense colony."

There are five offsets growing, and I found two more loose in the box. I put the two rollers in the pot, and one is visible at about 4 o'clock in the image. Most of this delivery got potted into 4-inch pots, but because of the capability of this one becoming an "immense colony," I put it in a 6-inch pot.

Next is Sempervivum heuffelii Orion. The edges have silvery cilia that (eventually) will give it a frosted appearance.

Sempervivum heuffelii Coral Reef will have colors that change with the seasons, from "a vibrant cerise to a dreamy blue-green."

The fourth and final Sempervivum, Sempervivum heuffelii Cherry Glow, didn't fare too well in transit. Some of the leaves were damaged, and a couple of those that fell off were not salvageable. When healthy, it will have a red rosette with a green heart, deepening to purple in winter.

Taking a break from the rundown of the recent order, here are the six Sempervivums which have been in the unheated greenhouse for a week and which will be joined in a few days by the four new ones. I think they look great. The low temperature has been about 28, so no big test there for plants which are rated to Zone 4.

Most of the new plants will live in the 50-degree garage or the unheated greenhouse until April, but the next two will be houseplants in my office. They will get heat and some morning light. First is the Mammillaria bocasana Powder Puff Cactus.

Next is the Haworthia fasciata Zebra Plant, which can thrive in relatively-low light. I passed on buying one of these in Billings last week because the tips were a bit dried out. But this one has the same problem. We'll see what happens with it in my office window.

The next six are destined for the garage in a south-facing window with grow lights on for 14 hours a day. I finally received my latest Amazon pot order today, so the last one that got potted up and watered was this Sedeveria Blue Burrito. A few leaves fell off and are now in the sprouting bowl.

This Pachyphytum compactum Little Jewel also lost leaves in transit, and those also went into the sprouting bowl. When this plant develops, the leaves should have noticeable angular facets. You can see a few lines on the leaves here and those should become more pronounced.

This Pachyphytum oviferum Pink Moonstone is related to the Little Jewel but looks completely different with its round, fat leaves.

The Graptopetalum paraguayense Ghost Plant will show a wide range of pastel tones as it matures.

The Graptoveria Lovely Rose had a rough trip. It lost a number of leaves, and most of them were too damaged to try to propagate. I think it needs some neglect (aka less excitement) for it to recover.

Finally is the only Echeveria in the shipment, Raindrops. It is a colorful variety that develops bumps on the leaves that look like...raindrops. A couple of bumps are visible, but this is another plant that had a tough transit and needs some time to recover.

Mountain Crest Gardens supposedly is one of the best (if not THE best) place to order succulents, so I was a bit disappointed that more than a couple of plants were in rough shape with damaged and lost leaves. Part of it is they are at the mercy of the US Postal Service, which doesn't really care if the box is marked "Fragile." Frankly, the Plants for Pets order of six Sempervivums arrived in better condition. The plants were very dry, but they were rooted, and very few leaves fell off. And the box was delivered by UPS, not USPS. I'm going to resist placing orders with anyone for a while and see if I can find a few selections in quaint local shops such as Walmart.

My "must-have" right now is Echeveria Perle von Nurnberg, which may be the most popular echeveria. As Mountain Crest says, "An old, classic hybrid that is well-loved for its pearlescent pink and purple tones that can shade to blue-green. Its leaves have an elegant curve to them and a coating of farina gives them a soft sheen." But they didn't have them in stock when I placed my order! The Billings Walmart had a couple in stock about 10 days ago, but I passed on them because of slightly-rugged condition. In retrospect, based on some of the plants I got in this order, that was a mistake.

I also want to get another indoor plant, maybe another cactus. I've been thinking about alternatives to buying dozens of 4-inch pots on Amazon, and one solution it to drill holes in coffee cups, which are typically 3 to 3.5 inches across. But Amazon isn't totally out of the loop because that's where I got the diamond-tipped drill bits. I drilled holes in three cups and a larger pot today and was happy with how they turned out. The plant shown is a Cuban Oregano in a two-inch pot and will not go into this cup. The new cactus (or something) is destined for this one. I don't drink coffee, but I accumulated cups like this in the course of my career.

Next up is delivery of an 8-inch pot next week. It looks sort of like the squat little pots that I put the cacti in, but twice the diameter. I hope some of the leaves in the sprouting bowl start to develop so I have something to put into it.