Delospermas on the balcony (8 pics)

Well, now I know, Delosparmas really like it on the balcony. All of the below plants have overwintered outside in the cold and are now enjoying direct unfiltered sunlight. No burns and lots of flowers and flower buds. I'm seriously thinking of moving all my Delospermas out there permanently. Except for D. sphalmantoides. And the "bonsais", I suppose. And D. harazianum is flowering just fine on the windowsill after a warm winter. But otherwise, these guys do enjoy fresh air :)

Delosperma sp. A variety called "garnet", I think.

Delosperma sp. A variety called "moonstone".

Delosperma sutherlandii

Delosperma lineare "golden nugget"

Plant similarities (5 pics)

I wanted to write something clever about how Neohenricia sibbetii and Delosperma sphalmantoides are similar in looks and growing pattern when in fact I just wanted to post a couple of pictures I recently took of these two plants. They have finally started growing after their winter rest and show off their beautiful leaf tips in the mild spring sunlight. 

Even though they don't grow new leaves in the fall and winter months I've been watering them a little once in a while when I felt they looked too sad. They reacted by getting firmer but never by proper new growth. It's nice to see them happier now that spring has come. Both species dry off patches of leaves in the fall making them look scruffy but it all gets better once they start growing and cover the bald spots. In fact they will grow out of their containers before you know it! Neohenricia goes "overboard" every year and within 3 years since I've had it it went from half a pot to two pots and several cuttings I gave away. D. sphalmantoides is slower. I've had two plants, one of which was spreading like crazy just to dry off leaves rapidly at some point without compensation. It died soon after. The one that is left is more compact and I try not to stimulate rapid growth. It is important that there is a balance between growing new leaves and drying off old ones. I reckon, when it grows too many new leaves it leads to problems later as it will have to keep it up. Better to have it grow few new leaves and dry off few. I'm still figuring out how to achieve that. Probably diet.

The flowering pattern is completely different for these two species. While Neohenricia flowers eagerly all summer long (at night!), D. sphalmantoides only sometimes graces me with flowers in spring. Does not look like it's gonna happen this year though. But, as with so many other plants, I am content with looking at their leaves and see flowers as a rare treat, not a rule.

Delosperma harazianum first to flower (3 pics)

Delosperma harazianum is opening the flowering season again. It has cute little flowers that produce seeds on their own. None of my other Delosperma plants want to flower, except sometimes D. sphalmantoides. But at least the leaves are pretty :)

Delosperma bonsai 2/2 (6 pics)

So, here's the other one :)

I think I find the shape of this Delosperma even more interesting. It grows small leaf-batches of a darker color and often develops curious 3-leaf-sets. At the moment I could count 9 sets of those. The pot is 5cm, for scale.

Delosperma bonsai 1/2 (5 pics)

I have two Delosperma plants I grew from seed back in 2012 and am now trying to form into bonsais. Surprisingly it works really well. I was expecting them to grow uncontrollably but they keep their shape since a year when potted in a small 5x5x8,5cm pot each. 

Actually I've wanted to post photos of them for a while now but it has turned out to be quite difficult to capture them due to their three-dimensionality. I could never focus my camera properly.  Below are my best attempts at a photo session with one of the plants. It looks much cooler in real life :D

As you can see it grows many short-leafed branches along the stems while not increasing in size all in all. But it gets thirsty a lot. It never flowers though. 

I have another plant to be featured in the next post and since it's fun to watch them grow here is a compilation.

Parents
2 months old
3 months old + one more
6 months old
10 months old (root view)
1 year
August 2014 (before and after the haircut)

Quick update on some plants (9 pics)

I've been a little busy but plant-watching on weekends is a MUST. So here are some observations :)

The little Aloinopsis schooneesii have started to grow after a winter pause. This one is still growing sets of three leaves.

I tore of a piece of my Crassula ausensis ssp. titanopsis and it rooted even though I haven't expected it to do so. Nature finds a way.

There were two Deilanthe plants, both quite large. One has managed to successfully downsize while the other failed at it and eventually died. I strongly believe that when we buy rather large adult plants somewhere their survival depends on whether they can reduce their size. This goes mostly for lithops but some other mesembs as well.

I bough more Delosperma planties. D. sutherlandii this time :)

Mitrophyllum grande are digesting old leaves. Just a little more and they're done. Soon the new leaves will break through!

I haven't watered my Conophytums for a very long time (since November maybe?) and a couple of them are already through with the leaf change. A bit early, isn't it? The new leaves are already showing and I'm not sure whether I should start watering soon... Should I?

The Frithis humilis seedlings look great and enjoy the sun. Still no flowers though.

Delosperma sphalmantoides flowers

My marshmallow plant has blossomed and there are even more flowers to come. I consider this a good sign for the conditions at my new place :)

PS: Just to let you know that I'm out of seeds to send to you by now... There should be more with the next harvest.

Upcoming flowers (3 pics)

The growing season barely started but there are already a couple of pleasant surprises lining up.

Prepodesma orpenii is quite oportunistic in its will to flower and this particular plant is flowering under my conditions all year around except for winter. Now with the touch of spring a new flower bud is coming up. Thank you plantie.

Even though Delosperma sphalmantoides looks a bit sad after the winter - lots of leaves have dried off and the color is not the best - I can see 3 flowers on their way! The looks will improve during the growing season I'm sure.

I can also see a flower bud on my Ebracteola wilmaniae but it had three of them last year that have never developed. So now I'm actively ignoring them. Sometimes this tactic works.

New growing season!

My dear readers, I'm sorry I have neglected the blog this winter. It's been busy and chaotic during and after the move to my new place but things are getting better, I'm settling in and finally have more time to look around instead of running all the time. I've been using my weekends for shopping (so many things are needed when you move!), assembling new furniture (all by myself and very proud of it) and simply getting used to the new environment (much like my planties). During the weekdays I couldn't take any pictures - I leave home in the dark and come back from work in the dark.

Anyway, this is how the new lithops-growing-place looks like. I'm going to put a panel from one side of the "inner balcony" to the other and shield it from the living room with curtains creating a winter garden of sorts. There will be much more room there for all the new sowings I've been planning for so long. I want to use the actual balcony for summer plant growing as well (much more light there!) but have to figure out how exactly.

I've lost some plants but much less than expected and about as many as I lose every winter. But we're not out of the woods just yet. The first year in the new environment is critical so this year I'm going to find out which plants can grow well here, which need a special care and which won't grow at all. I think this apartment will offer less sunlight but so far I can not see any plant growth assosiated with bad light conditions (fingers crossed it stays this way). And there is a first flower of 2015 - Delosparma harazianum decided to open a flower that's been in the pre-flowering state since months. Does it even have a fixed flowering season? To see it is very welcome and encouraging.

Lithops are doing their thing and regenerating more or less gracefully. L. fulviceps are doing it so nicely again they deserve a portrait. It definitely pays off for them to sometimes start the regeneration in summer already - they finish perfectly in time. And all the fresh two-headed-ness!

Perfect leaf changing performance from L. gesinae v. annae.

Smaller seedlings seem to be doing more or less okay. L. lesliei 'Fred's Redhead' are, I think, in fact doing much better this winter and I hope for a good growing season for them. Others are still in early stages while older seedling are all done by now and just slumber waterless untill it's warmer. Check out the cute smiling L. steineckeana!

I'm not watering any of the lithops yet but some of other succulents depending on their needs (judged solely visually). Avonias were getting a little water all the time (click for XXL pic).