New plants....Rosularias

I recently picked up two plants labeled Rosularia chrysantha and R. rechingeri.

Promethum (formerly Rosularia) chrysantha

Rosularia chrysantha is a lovely little plant I grew in a trough for several years, but which didn't survive last winter for some reason. . So I jumped at the chance to get another specimen. Rosularia chrysantha is a neat little rosette-forming species which a quick Google search tells me is native to Turkey. It's in a four-inch pot. My previous specimen never did bloom, maybe this one will...

Promethum (formerly Rosularia) rechingeri

This is R. rechingeri. A new species for me, we will see how cold hardy it is here. Also native to Turkey and growing in a 4 inch pot. Does anyone have experience growing this species outdoors in zone 6 or lower?

Update: In trying to get these IDs confirmed, I have learned that these two Rosularias have been moved into the genus Prometheum. I have been unable to find much  info about this genus on the internet so far..Anyone have any experience with these??

More new plants- Cold-hardy cacti

Well, I finally got a chance to visit a nearby nursery I'd been wanting to check out for a while, and I was not disappointed! I was hoping to find a few new-to-me cold hardy succulent varieties...and I came home with SEVENTEEN! How did that happen??? My blog title says it all, I guess. And WHERE am I going to plant them all? Oh well, I could be spending my money on booze or cigarettes...

 So I thought I'd show you them.  I'll stick to just a few today..

While I am not a big cactus fan, two species made it home with me. I bought two of these spineless Echinocereus, one for me and one for a friend. Trying to ID them to species level...any thoughts? These will probably be planted in cactus & succulents troughs we are in the process of creating...hmm, that could be a blog post right there...

Echinocereus #1

Echinocereus #2

They look like they will be easy to propagate, judging by the number of offsets present.  Hopefully those orange rust-looking spots won't become an issue...

 Also got this Opuntia fragilis. And fragile it is, I managed to break off two pieces on the way home. This one is supposed to stay small, and will also be planted in my trough. Normally I am not an Opuntia fan at all  (hate those glochids, and the big ones look so ugly all winter in this climate), but this one appealed to me. We'll see how it does....

Opuntia fragilis

Enough new plants for today, hope you enjoy.

New Semps!

A few weeks ago, I visited a local nursery and found they had a shipment of named Sempervivums in stock.  These low-growing rosette succulents are members of the Crassulaceae family and come in a wide range of forms and sizes. According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sempervivum), there are nearly 40 species, and over 3000 named varieties in cultivation. Also known as hens and chicks, houseleeks, or just Semps, this genus can be rather addictive. It can be difficult to find named varieties in garden centres, in my experience, mail order or online shopping is the best way to find them.


Anyway, I ended up buying nine specimens, representing eight varieties. Here they all are...

 

Close-up photos of each one are below. 

Sempervivum "Red Beauty"

S. arachnoideum Stanfieldii 

S. "Excalibur". I really like the shape and colouring of this one.

Also labelled S. "Excalibur", but the leaves appear longer and the colouring is slightly different.

S. "Icicle". I love the hairiness of this one.

S. "Kalinda"

S. "Spring Beauty"

S. "Pink Charm". I really like the bright pink stolons on this one, they aren't very apparent in this photo, unfortunately.

 S. arachnoideum

I'll post updated photos once they get established in their new locations in my arid bed. When I planted them in the ground, I found that they were planted in almost pure peat moss, which is far from ideal media for semps. I don't know how the nurseries grow them so well in this stuff, which goes against everything you will read about growing succulent plants....

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Introduction and Testing...1...2...3!

So, I've decided to start a blog about my obsession with succulent plants. Succulents have interested me for as long as I can remember. I love their structure, the wide range of physical forms, and the ease with which most can be propagated. I love how some types are so different from what most people imagine when they hear the word 'plant'. From tiny Conophytums to  giant tree Aloes, I love them all! While the term succulent includes the true cacti, the spiny succulents don't do much for me, and I tend to collect the non-spiny ones. I am forever explaining to people who see my windowsills crammed with pots that "No,  I do not collect cacti!"

I've been collecting succulents for years, but have yet to meet a like-minded collector in person in my area. So, I figured, perhaps I could find people with similar interests online. The main reason so few people in my area collect succulents is probably because I live in a cold temperate area (the Canadian Maritimes) near the Atlantic ocean, where the humidity tends to be high and the summers are rather short. (Which just means we enjoy them even more!) As many succulents evolved in warm, arid areas of the planet, a typical winter here would kill them. I have dealt with this problem in two ways. First, I collect succulents that stay small and so can easily be overwintered indoors (I don't have a real greenhouse). I also am loathe to resort to supplemental winter lighting, so any plants I grow need to be able to manage on the winter light levels in my home. Secondly,  I collect cold-hardy species which can handle a Maritime winter. This eliminates the problem of taking them indoors for winter, but I am running out of sunny dry garden space.....Over the years I have discovered what works and what doesn't work for my situation, and this blog will talk about my experiences with different methods and genera. It will also talk about anything succulent-related that strikes my fancy!

So, welcome to my succulent blog! I hope someone out there will find it interesting and maybe even useful!

Here are a few shots from a recent visit to a local garden centre.

Cheers,

Breton