Transplanting for those who live dangerously (4 pics)

Okay, what I'm about to describe below is not the correct way of transplanting, in fact it's very risky and I would never do it with lithops and other mesembs because they rot easily. Yesterday however I was facing a challenge of transplanting over 60 Anacampseros seedlings (An. retusa fa. rubra, An44) from the 5cm container they were growing in. Basically it looked like this:

My goal was to give them more room to grow but at the same time not to use more than 4 new 5cm pots. Also, I wanted to do it quickly. Anacampseros are easy and don't rot when young (rotting sometimes happens to adult plants with thick roots) and I have way too many of them to worry.

The method is simple: fill up the new container with dry pumice, then water the top layer (really just as much as necessary, don't make the whole thing wet), poke holes into it and stick in the plants. 

This way you can fit up to 25 plants all neatly into one 5cm square pot quickly and with little effort.

Remember, if you're not afraid to lose plants and need to do the transplanting in a hurry this is the method to go for. BUT if you use it for mesembs the risk is very high - the seedlings might turn to mush the next day. I warned you! In case of Anacampseros, I have transplanted all my seedlings (hundreds of them) using this method a couple of months ago and had zero losses (you've probably seen the LQ pictures of my huge plantation over on Twitter). Young Anacampseros are low-maintenance.

The new Anacampseros free seed list! (2 pics)

Hi guys!

I finally found time to compile the Anacampseros seed list. If you are fascinated by these plants as much as I am make sure to check it out here or to the right under "new!"

Also, this is my 600th post. Congratulations to me :D

Avonias lifting branches: a theory (3 pics)

In the latest post I casually mentioned my observations regarding the behavior of Avonia albissima branches with ripe seed pots. I find it quite interesting. Apparently, the branches that otherwise lie flat on the ground at all times suddenly lift when the seed pod has ripe seeds in it. I've been watching the flowering Avonias closely since then and it happens regardless of whether they've been watered or not. Recently a couple of my Avonia quinaria plants have been flowering, too. They are normally not self fertile but it still happens from time to time that a seed pod develops. This time it happened again and look at that! The branch with a ripe seed capsule goes way up while the other one lies on the ground. 

I've developed a theory as for why Avonias are doing that. Completely unscientific of course!! :D You know, ripe Avonia seed pods workings are the opposite of Mesembs. The seed pods close up when they are wet and open when they are dry. Not only lifting the pod up to the sun makes it dry quicker and throw off the rests of the old flower it also surely helps distribute the seeds better with the wind. Moreover, if it happens to rain and the seed pod is on the ground it will be much wetter and therefore sealed for longer time. If it's in the upright position when it rains the pod can dry quickly in the sun and the seeds fall out before the ground dries ensuring better germination chances. What do you think?

Some flowers (10 pics)

My lithops are usually quick to show flower buds but there's still nothing, not even a hint. I doubt I'll see any flowers this year, there has been very little sunlight and warmth for that. But at least some of the other plants don't mind. There have been several conophytum flowers and there are new buds visible.

Conophytum fulleri 

Conophytum pellucidum ssp. cupreatum v. terrestre

Conophytum angelicae ssp. tetragonum

Conophytum uviforme ssp. decoratum

Avonia albissima multiramosa has been flowering, or rather producing seed pods as I'm pretty sure the flowers do not open. I might have missed them but, really, I've never ever seen them open in my life. It always goes from bud to seed pod.

Funny thing is that the branches are normally lying flat on the ground, but when the seed pods are almost ripe they get pushed up and the branches suddenly lift into upright position, just for a day or so. I wonder what is happening there chemically that makes them do that.

The seeds are all viable and I've been sowing them a lot over the last couple of years. They germinate perfectly but then grow so slowly they die before they can gain any weight. I currently have several seedlings but it looks like only one of them is going to survive. It took it 2 years to get to this size. FML.

Anacampseros namaquensis (An17) has grown one flower only with much effort this year. As most Anacampseros flowers are pale rose-white I was really looking forward to this bright pink flower. But it never opened. Hope it has at least produced some seeds. I really like this plant.

Ah, and this young Avonia quinaria ssp. quinaria has opened both its flowers this weekend! Here is one of them.

More observations on Anacampseros (6 pics)

This is the first year I am growing several adult Anacampseros of all different kinds and can watch and compare how they grow throughout the year. For a plant nerd this is really fascinating. In my last "observations" I was talking about new growth coming from underneath and this one will continue this thought.

It looks to me that these plants tend to abandon the branches that have extensively flowered. As if producing the flower stalk is sucking all the juices out of it. Well, considering the size of those flower stalks, no wonder! What I have seen in the multi-branched plants that flowered this year is that the flowering branches drop leaves one by one until they look like bald twigs with only a couple of leaves at the top and no signs of new growth. If I think back to last winter when I got the majority of my adult plants, some of them have arrived with such "towers", meaning the towers have not grown any new leaves or branches of their own to cover the baldness during fall and winter. This year it seems the same thing is happening and my guess is that this is quite natural. Not very pretty though. 

I don't need my Anacampseros plants to be big and so trimming those twig-towers looks like an option to keep the plants round-ish and compact. This year I have trimmed two plants with good results. 

Remember this plant I was showing back in February?

Anacampseros arachnoides, An35

Well, I thought the towers quite ugly and cut them off shortly after. Since then the plant grew new leaves and branches with fresh strength and then flowered. And you have to admit the general look is much better.

Moreover, as I felt sad to throw away the towers, I tried to root them, and it worked! They looked so dead and then, when they were cut off and not dependent on the roots and resources of the big plant, they really flourished. (This sentence sounds like some kind of lesson for humans I'm not going to elaborate on.)

Here they are when they just barely rooted and started to show some green.

Here they are now.

The other plant in a similar situation is my beautiful Anacampseros vanthielii. Here is the photo from May this year, when I was pondering on whether it's going to abandon the "tops".

Well, it did. And I should have cut the yellow branches then and there. I kept them in the hope that all the growth from below will eventually consume them or some new leaves will come out from the top. I think the plant was just wasting energy on them and that's why didn't flower. Meanwhile the tops grew scruffy-looking. A month ago I took my scissors and cut off all the yellow stuff and look at that! The "undergrowth" spread its leaves and got a healthy color under the sun. And the plant is now a cute ball of leaves and hairs. I should have cut off all the yellow parts back in the spring.

This year, as the flowering nears its end, I see some plants abandoning the flowering branches and I will be cutting them off and rooting them this time without a second thought. It benefits the plants and creates "back-up copies" I can give away. 

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

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.