Unboxing

Every time I unpack an order from an online succulent store, I say, "Never again." The carelessness of the Post Office and the fact I can't see something before I buy it makes it seem not worth the hassle. But the fact remains that online stores are the only places where I can get varieties that aren't carried by Home Depot or Walmart. I tried a new one this time, Ramsey Succulents of Vista, CA. Compared to Mountain Crest, they are by far cheaper and the quality seems the same if not better. Mountain Crest probably has more of the real rarities (which often aren't in stock), but Ramsey has a lot of what I'm looking for right now.

Today I unboxed 16 items from my Ramsey order of 14.

The plant pots did not have ID stickers, one of my pet peeves, but I was able to figure out with (some) certainty what they all are, except for the two extras. From top left, row by row:

1. Sedum Jelly Bean, seemed like something basic I had to have to do planters.
2. Echeveria Lilac Mist, lots of rosettes.
3. Echeveria Cubic Frost, weird leaves.
4. Echeveria Blue Curls, some leaf damage
5. Sempervivum Strawberry Kiwi, my first Chick Charms (five more varieties on order from Garden Crossings).
6. I'm not sure what this is. I thought it might be the Graptosedum Alpenglow, but there's one pictured in the next row that I'm more sure of. My guess is it is some other type of Graptosedum or Graptoveria.
7. Echeveria Compressicaulis, a more upright Echeveria.
8. Echeveria Setosa Var. Deminuta, a fuzzy Echeveria.
9. Echeveria Chroma, shifting colors with the seasons.
10. I'm not sure what this is, except it is an Echeveria.
11. Crassula Sarmentosa, more of a vining habit than other Crassulas.
12. Crassula Capitella Campfire, will turn bright red with enough sun.
13. Graptosedum Alpenglow, colorful, can trail.
14. Haworthia Cooperi. This plant was jammed into that 2-inch pot, and I was able to pull off a pup and another small piece as I was replanting. They are in the leaf bowl callusing over.
15. Aeonium Floresens, my first Aeonium. It seems like most varieties get very big, so it may take over the garage someday.
16. Sedum Firestorm, colorful like the Sedum Shooting Star I got recently, but bigger.

I pulled one of the extra Lilac Mist and Alpenglow rosettes and stuck them in the planter I did last week. The Cubic Frost has three distinct rosettes, and some of the other pots also have multiples. I'll wait until Spring actually arrives before I think about splitting them. In addition to the pup pulled off the Haworthia, I also threw a few loose leaves into the leaf bowl. My previous order with Mountain Crest, it seemed like half the leaves fell off the Pachyphytum compactum Little Jewel. A large number of them now are developing roots in the leaf bowl. I'm not sure I want eight Little Jewels, but we'll see where this goes.

The Strawberry Kiwi arrives at a sad time for my Sempervivums. The Coral Reef and Cherry Glow are definitely dead. The Orion had two rosettes, with one now dead and the other barely holding on. The Arachnoideum and the unidentified ones I call #2 and #3 perhaps are not dead, but they don't look good. The remaining four Sempervivums are still in the greenhouse and were fine at last check. My current theory on the Sempervivum Apocalypse is the ones that apparently froze were not as dried out as they should have been to withstand a temperature of 6F. I saw a video with Debra Lee Baldwin (noted succulent author) recently where she said that Sempervivums are hardy, "if dry."

I've said this before, but that should be it for succulent purchases for a while. That's not to say there aren't a few things on my wish list: Graptoveria Fred Ives (huge, prolific), Ghost Echeveria (ghost white), Echeveria Purpusorum Dionysos (variegated red), Sempervivum Virgil Ford (colorful, prolific), Lapidaria margaretae - Karoo Rose (weird), Echeveria Rainbow (an even more colorful Perle variety), Crassula Buddha's Temple (stacked leaves), and Greenovia aurea variegata (like an Aeonium, but unique in their own way). It's hard to find them in stock all at the same time at Mountain Crest or Succulents Depot, and they have minimum order sizes to get free shipping.

I need pots for all of these little plants, and I've been trying to find alternatives to just buying more pots on Amazon. Three Haworthias occupy ceramic coffee cups with holes drilled in the bottom, and I just got a 3D printer. I printed two versions of this pot, the pictured one (with the Sedum Jelly Bean) in white and another one in "white-brown stone color." In other words, light pink. As I get more filament colors, I will be printing different designs in the 3.5- to 5-inch range. For anything bigger than that, I will continue to go with real terra cotta or ceramic. 3D PLA filament is not designed to last long when exposed to moisture, so I did hit this pot with some clear enamel to perhaps slow down any deterioration.

In non-succulent news, both types of pepper seeds (bell and mild Jalapeno) have been the highlight of the seed starting room. I read that peppers take a long time to sprout and become plantable, but with the heat mat they started coming up within a few days. The basil, thyme, coleus and onions have come up but are not shooting up like the peppers are. The Bergamot (Bee Balm) looks OK but I have to kill aphids every few days. There is a marigold flowering in the seed room. I just started three 2-inch pots of broccoli. Around April 1 I will start tomatoes in the seed room. I'm probably a month away from turning the heat back on in the greenhouse and direct sowing carrots, a few beets and peas. A few weeks later will be the lettuce, cilantro, green onions, sunflowers, STRAWBERRIES, and maybe a potato in a grow bag.

I have been trying to propogate aloe and Cuban Oregano. The little aloe pots look sick and I may stop trying until the greenhouse is in operation. The Cuban Oregano cuttings look OK but I should probably fertilize to get them to take off. I'm holding off on fertilizing anything because the garage is crowded enough as it is. I gave petunia pot #2 and the geranium cuttings a shot of fertilizer Feb. 15, and they really need more space now. Besides the aloe, Cuban Oregano and all the succulents, also taking up a lot of space in the garage are multiple peppermint pots.

Greenhouse season is fast approaching. In early April, I want to get a cubic yard of compost to spread on top of the planters and to supplement the soil mix in the hanging baskets and pots/grow bags. Succulents have been a diversion during this down time, but it will get real busy soon.