Neglected mesemb seedlings 2016 (15 pics)

I had lots and lots of old and barely viable lithops and other mesemb seeds that I've been trying to "use up" since last fall so that I could buy more. Stone-hard logic here. So I've been sowing and when it was clear nothing would germinate or the seedlings were too weak I've been sowing on top of them, barely keeping records. At the end some of them made it and have developed up to a certain stage when they could be caught on camera. So here are some mesemb seedlings I am currently growing. I'll make a separate post on lithops seedlings of which I have much less.

These guys have been neglected, starved, then overwatered, insect-ridden and simply forgotten but they are going strong nevertheless! Sometimes I think the less you care for them the better they feel. Occasional splash of water is all it takes.

Meyerophytum meyeri MG1778.65 (April 2016)
Wanna know how I know it's not a Monilaria? Because they're still alive (ba-dumm-tssching).

Cheiridopsis verrucosa MG1404.32 (February 2016)
Holding on to each other for comfort.

Cheiridopsis pillansii MG1401.5 (February 2016)
I already have several two-year-olds of this kind. But I had some seeds left and Cheiridopsis love it here.

Mitrophyllum grande MG1779.56 SB1960 (February 2016)
Not very grande yet but getting there.

Antegibbaeum fissoides MG1319.3 SB609 (February 2016)
According to the label. Doesn't look like it very much. Cute though.

Juttadinteria deserticola MG1530.2 H4537 (October 2015)
Bloated but happy.

Rhinephyllum muirii MG1843.1 DT4938 (October 2015)
Tried these before but unsuccessfully.

Monilaria obconica MG1780.573 (February 2016)
Still alive! Probably not for too long...

Monilaria scutata MG1780.73 (April 2016)
Green mess, could die any moment.

Stomatium alboroseum 'rubrum' MG1869.3 SB1216 (February 2016)
Aaah the lovely see-through dots

Astridia longifolia MG1349 SB758 (March 2016)
Nice, almost adult-looking seedlings.

Astridia hallii MG1347.6 (March 2016)
Only one left and it has longer leaves than the "longifolia" above. Hallii should have white flowers, while longifolia red.

Titanopsis calcarea MG1870.152 (February 2016)
Virtually indestructible when young.

Titanopsis calcarea MG1870.2 SB1111 (February 2016)
Love the texture

And last but not least
Conophytum pillansii (April 2016)
They look like fish eggs! This is the first time I'm growing Conos from seed. Gonna try sowing more soon. Exciting!

Anacampseros seedlings update (12 pics)

It's been 6 weeks since Mila is in my life and I'm still adjusting. I love her so much, she is the most clever and beautiful little kitty! Still, having another living being live with me and taking care of it is very new to me. Sure I've been taking care of plants a lot in my life but they don't lick my face at night. They also do not talk to me all the time expecting me to understand, like Mila does. Is she hungry? Is she sleepy? Does she want to play now? My plants are fine, by the way, she does not show any interest in eating them. She does jump on the windowsill from time to time though (followed by my yelling) but so far no real damage done. Mesembs and cats seem to be compatible after all.

Back to topic. You remember I've been sowing lots and lots of Anacampseros this February? I've been neglecting them just like all other seedlings this year but I think it was good for them in the end. Now that they are getting bigger and the "proper" looks are starting to show I realize how many they are. What am I supposed to do with all these plants?! I will keep them until they are more or less adult-sized and then give some of them away. So if you're interested drop me a line. I ship within Europe.

Here are some of the seedlings that already look like something.

Anacampseros rufescens 'Sunrise'
Sunrise it is! My cat knocking them over, enforcing transplantation, really improved their looks and sped up the growth. Thanks Mila, my tireless helper.

The seedlings in the next four pots all look pretty similar at this stage but they are in fact all different.
I'll leave all details I have on the below plants in brackets. "An--" numbers are from the Atomic Plant catalog.

Anacampseros baeseckei (Kinderle, ex MG7009, An63)

Anacampseros namaquensis (Sendelingsdrift, ex MG7042, An69)

Anacampseros arachnoides (s Calitzdorp, An79)

Anacampseros filamentosa ssp. tomentosa (20km w Windhoek, An156)

Anacampseros rufescens (JVT g6311 n.v. Audtshoorn)
Cute pointy leaves.

Anacampseros telephiastrum (JVT g6324 uid.v. Calitzdorp)
Too many! I really need to start transplanting one of these days...

 Anacampseros retusa f. rubra (Kalbakkies Pass, An44)
These are quite interesting. They are supposed to be "hairless" and grow fat roots.

Anacampseros vanthielii (grown from own seeds)

Hatched in October 2015 and getting too big for the two pots I have them in. 

Anacampseros filamentosa ssp namaquensis (also from own seeds)

These are from 2014 and very neat looking by now. Not yet flowering though.

I already have this year's seeds to give away if someone is interested. Involuntarily sowings are happening, too.

All in all, if you want a sense of achievement Anacampseros are the plants you are looking for. Quite easy from seed and cuttings and no special care required. Also, transplanting speeds things up considerably (that's why I keep postponing it XD).

It was the summer of our discontent... (7 pics)

I've been prevented from writing new posts by a wild animal that confiscated by laptop :D

Not really. She is being fantastic! :)

What really bothers me is this terrible weather we are having this year. We haven't had any spring and still no summer. It just rains all the time. My plants are lucky if they get one hour of sunlight a day. I'm being very careful with waterings but several lithops are stretching nevertheless. I wonder what makes them do that exactly. If it's dark and they've been watered shouldn't they all stretch?

In this L. schwantesii container you can see that one plant is growing too long while others stay flat.

In this L. lesliei v. hornii (C15) container, one head (!) of a plant is stretching while the other does not. What makes it do that?

L. karasmontana likes to stretch no matter what, no surprises there. It is quite small and the shape will correct itself next year.

What I find strange is that another L. karasmontana (v. aiaisensis C224) in a nearby pot is as flat as it can be.

So what triggers it really? Unlucky watering timing? Or is there something more to it?

In other news, my Frithia pulchra has grown flowers again this year. Unfortunately I still have not seen them fully open because, as I said, there is no sunlight. They open just a little without it, and then close again...

Catching Anacampseros flowers proves to be difficult as well. I keep missing them! It's so annoying. I've missed the biggest and prettiest ones so far.

I'm complaining a lot today XD

Conophytum herreanthus (4 pics)

Sorry for not posting much, I've been a little preoccupied lately by an acquisition of a rare mesemb of a feline variety :)

The weather is terrible here. It's like we've had fall weather since October, all darkness and rain. These days the sun comes out in the mornings (huge improvement) followed by heavy thunderstorms in the afternoons. How my plants are not cucumbers yet is a mystery. All my watering schedule is confused. I've watered almost all of the lithops by now but only once or twice to let them know they can start growing but also to prevent them from stretching towards the rare sunlight. If that makes any sense. I think it does not. Better dry than growing under these circumstances. I just feel bad seeing them shrivel. 

You know which plants don't care about all of that? Winter growers, especially conophytums. They are in sheaths and asleep. Who new German weather would support their resting schedule so well? You know who else doesn't care? The strange plant below. It's not sheathed as others but it's clearly resting.

I got it in February under the name of Herreanthus meyeri (H-637, Umdaus) and it's still listed as such at Mesa Garden. But it's actually a Conophytum herreanthus. Hard to believe this giant is a conophytum. Apparently Schwantes has considered it a separate genus but has not taken into account the behavior of seedlings and the flower structure. Also, back then the non-sheathing conophytums (like C. khamiesbergense) have not been well described, it seems. And so, as a revision, this plant is now a conophytum. Crazy. I haven't watered it since February and it doesn't show any signs of distress. The only thing it did is drying of the big floppy old leaves. I guess, it best be watered around end of august, with the other conos. 

Hope that proper summer will reach us soon.

Cheiridopsis on a diet (4 pics)

A months ago I was struggling with the decision whether to keep watering the opportunistic Cheiris or diet them down to one pair of leaves. I decided that the smaller the plant the better, more natural looking and stopped watering. Some structure within the yearly growth cycle must be beneficial as well. I'm glad to report that the plants reacted very well to this treatment. Not only it improved their looks, it also shows that this is how they wanted to be treated to begin with. No, I'm not hearing voices in my head and my plants have not started talking to me. It feels right because the plants have reacted to the absent waterings in the way a plant preparing for rest would react. As soon as they noticed the drought they started using old leaves for resources. The newest leaves stayed firm and wrinkle-free while the old unnecessary leaves are shriveling. I hope to bring them to the state they had last July. If the plants had shriveled completely, old leaves and new, I would have aborted the mission.

Cheiridopsis brownii (MG 1365.4). Very close in looks to last July. I'm glad.

Cheiridopsis bruynsii (MG 1404.81).

Cheiridopsis excavata (MG 1375). Might be called Ihlenfeldtia excavata.

The strange Cheiridopsis meyeri v. minor have also reacted to the withdrawal of water by getting much closer to the looks they had last year. According to the books this is how it should be so I'm not questioning it. They look awful though XD

I've reduced watering to the huge Ch. denticulata as well but nothing can stop them now. They are pushing new leaves and even new branches like crazy no matter what I do.

Recent observations on Anacampseros (15 pics)

I'm getting excited about Anacampseros again :D

Seeing the seedlings grow and some of the adults with first signs of flower stalks is more than enough to rekindle the fascination. Growing Anacampseros is very new to me and there's a lot to observe and note to myself. 

First, please let me brag about my 2014 and 2015 seedlings, grown from own seeds, for just one moment. Both sets of seedlings have recently started looking like adults and it's just such a joy for me!

The fuzzy An. filamentosa ssp namaquensis are probably the closest I'm gonna get to owning a cat.

An. vanthielii have finally grown enough leaves to form neat rosettes. They will be quite large when they grow up.

Back to the observations, I've noticed an interesting growth pattern on a couple of my older and bigger plants. This An. vanthielii (mother to the above seedlings), for example, seems to abandon (or replace?) the tops of the stems while growing lots of new branches "from below" near the root.

The below An. telephiastrum are doing the same. It's a forest of new growth near the roots while the tops barely grow any new leaves. Although they do seem to re-use the tops for growing flower stalks.

This growing pattern seems strange to me but it is also very welcome. I'd greatly prefer it to the tendency of growing in hight while dropping leaves down below (looks like An. arachnoides enjoy doing that, from what I see). This results in ugly sticks and necessity of cutting and re-rooting. Or in going horizontally overboard. I really don't have room for that. So do your thing, little guys, I support you.

In other news - flower stalks! I see several around. It's pretty exciting :)

This An. lanceolata (An33 in atomic-plant catalog) is ahead of all others. Unfortunately I missed the fully open flower yesterday. Still sad about that. Stupid.

Other flower stalks are just starting to show.

Anacamoseros sp.

An. arachnoides (An106)

An. arachnoides (An208)

Also, the seedlings sown in February are still alive. Actually, I won't stop worrying about them until they grow first "real" leaves.

Some are already quite fluffy.

An. telephiastrum

Some even show a glimpse of first true leaves.

An. rufescens

An. filamentosa ssp. filamentosa (An150)

Other appear fine but are kinda stuck. I'll keep worrying about them until I see some action. Maybe it's the recent heat or maybe they're just too young. Time will tell.

An. filamentosa ssp. tomentosa (An156)

An. rufescens 'Sunrise'

I have many more seedlings but of a smaller varieties. I can't quite catch them on camera yet.