No Regerts

I went to the local Ace Hardware today to buy my weekly bag of cactus and succulent soil, and checked out the plant section as I always do. They had a Gollum Jade that looked a lot better than the one I potted up a few days ago. Of course they did. It was $9, versus the $7.98 I paid for the Home Depot pot that contained the Gollum and three other succulents. The $9 would have been the better deal. Something similar happened in February. I bought a Jade at Walmart, and a few weeks later saw a bigger, nice one at Ace. I bought that one; I decided to pass on today's Gollum. No regerts, as they say.

I did take some images today of recent succulent acquisitions. These got the full focus-stacking treatment, starting with Sempervivum Chick Charms 'Cosmic Candy.' As I wrote a few days ago, I saw some nicer ones at Nana's Bloomers after I got this one, but this one isn't bad. It just doesn't have the masses of offsets yet that the others did.

Chick Charms Lotus Blossom:

Chick Charms Appletini:

Chick Charms Berry Blues:

Chick Charms Gold Nugget. Even though it isn't as hairy as the others, it still has dirt stuck in the leaves from the recent planting.

This is the Gainan's acquisition that I am claiming is Graptopetalum paraguayense 'Ghost.' It is not potted up yet because I'm planning on using it in a hanging pot with some sedum coming from Succulents Depot, IF they ever send me my order. According to their FAQ, it should have been sent two days ago, so I don't know what is going on.

Because I haven't potted it up, it is top heavy in its little container. After shooting its portrait in the kitchen, I set it on a shelf back in the garage and 20 minutes later happened to be looking in that direction as it keeled over and fell three feet to the concrete floor. Amazingly, there was no apparent damage. Tougher than a Pachyphytum, for sure.

I also want to take a look at some plants I've had for a while. Remember Graptoveria 'Lovely Rose'? It had a harrowing journey from Mountain Crest in February and lost a lot of leaves in transit. Two months later, it is looking like it is supposed to. I think it has doubled in size.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that both Echeveria Purpusorums were sending up flower stalks. But then they took divergent paths. Now, the one in its own pot has a short, stocky stalk (that might be drying up) and the other in the Bonsai Bowl has a long, thin stalk.

The Echeveria 'Blue Curls' is sort of a forgotten acquisition. It needed to recover from shipping, and after a month I'm still not sure what it is going to look like eventually. Obviously it does not have the regular structure of 'Neon Breakers.'

And finally, another update on my best result so far with leaf propagation. This little unknown is now 1/2 an inch across. The big leaf isn't shriveled but is floppy, so the day is approaching when the little one will be on its own.