'Unboxing' Day

Succulents Depot finally got back to me, and said it was OK to cancel my April 5 order as they were still working through a backlog caused by East Coast weather-delayed orders. There were some things I would do differently based on what I have learned in the past nine days, and this gave me the opportunity to start over. I might reorder some items from them, but my first stop was Nana's Bloomers in Laurel to pick up an Echeveria 'Topsy Turvy' I had seen there a few days ago. 'Topsy Turvy' was the main reason for the Succulents Depot order, and I ordered two of them. At Nana's, I picked out the nicest plant I could find as there were no longer any pots with two plants. There were other items that I could not match exactly from the cancelled order, but I picked up two SunSparkler Sedums and a Sempervivum that strongly resembles the 'Hurricane' that I wanted.

So there actually wasn't an unboxing, except of the new heater that arrived unannounced from China. There has been no tracking update since the 9th and still isn't showing that it was delivered. Here is the result of today's shopping. Front row from left, SunSparkler Wildfire Sedum, SunSparkler Lime Twister Sedum, 'Topsy Turvy,' and the Sempervivum. Back row, the new heater, Supertunia Blue Veined and Supertunia Hoopla Vivid Orchid...wait what? (As my grandniece would say.) Yes, I bought two more Supertunias. Either I'm going to have two fewer strawberry baskets, or I will have Supertunia baskets with multiple plants. I'm interested to see if the 'Blue Veined' strongly resembles the petunia I got last spring. I don't remember where I got that one because I wasn't writing overly-long blog posts about plants then.

The 'Topsy Turvy' was not labelled, so there is the possibility that it is something else. But it fits the description perfectly, as far as I can tell.

Here are the items from the cancelled order and how I feel about them now:

• Corpuscularia lehmannii 'Ice Plant,' not a priority.
• Crassula imperialis 'Giant Watch Chain,' not a priority
• Echeveria 'Atlantis,' I would order an Echeveria imbricata 'Blue Rose' instead.
• Echeveria runyonii 'Topsy Turvy' (2), got one big one at Nana's.
• Graptosedum 'Francesco Baldi,' still interested in this or something similar.
• Graptoveria 'Debbie,' still interested in this or something similar.
• Greenovia aurea variegata, my enthusiasm waned when I found out is is related to aeonium and is summer dormant.
• Sedeveria 'Silver Frost,' not a priority.
• Sedum SunSparkler 'Blue Pearl,' got two different SunSparklers.
• Sedum alboroseum 'Mediovariegatum' variegated, still interested if I need more sedum.
• Sedum takesimense 'Atlantis' variegated, still interested if I need more sedum.
• Sempervivum 'Hurricane,' got something similar at Nana's.

The items that are not a priority were in the original order to get free shipping. To get today's plants, I didn't have to pay for shipping, just for gas to drive 100 miles. And the great thing is, none of them were covered with dirt or looked like a grenade exploded next to them.

And finally, as I was wandering around Nana's today, I came across a Proven Winners plant labelled 'Cerveza 'N Lime' Plectranthus hybrid. It looks identical to the plant I have been calling Cuban Oregano and which I have been growing for more than 30 years. In January I found a Latin name for it, Plectranthus Amboinicus. So we are on to something. Since Nana's is selling these for $7 each, I have a fortune in my greenhouse. On the left is Proven Winner plant, on the right is mine. The color is due to different lighting conditions, just look at the shape of the leaves. What I should have done is smelled the one at Nana's, that would have confirmed in my mind whether they are closely related.

As I understand it, all the name 'Cerveza 'N Lime' does is establish a trademark. I could not sell the plants that I have been propagating for more than 30 years using THAT name, but I could give my version a funky new name and register it with the Trademark Office. Here is a supersecret photo smuggled out of the greenhouse where the plants are being propagated. May I introduce Plectranthus Amboinicus 'Velveteen Hammer.' ®