The cheshirecat's succulent problem...

[the_cheshirecat]

my bryophylum is gonna bloom. Whadya think about that?

uh... seeds?????

[stefan m.]

No, buds. Wanted to keep it a surprise, but im the kinda guy who lets the cat out of the bag. Will post on my collection when it blooms.(Unless you were asking if i had grown it from seeds, than no. Bought it from the market when it was smaller. Usually cloneable from the tiny plantlets it sprouts from its leaves-its called mother of thousands for a reason.
Its common, so you would have too much trouble finding one. Word of advice-after it blooms it dies. Suggest making clones beforehand)

[the_cheshirecat]

nope, I was asking for seeds.
However I'm not sure I'd want something that dies after it blooms, I get really sad when something dies on me

[stefan m.]

It lives for a few years. But dont feel bad, in its lifetime you could make hundreds of clones.Such is the story with agave,a eoniums, sempervivum, bromeliads.... But Id recommend it. Easy to grow, sturdy, humidity tolerant.
Also, i cant really pollinate the thing(ive only done this for some cacti, and most of them are dead now). There are even other types which are also visually stunning like bryo. delagoense and a crossbred between it and dagermontianum.
In the wild, it easily becomes and invasive species.

[the_cheshirecat]

ye but I grow really attached to them!
You haven't seen any mortal plants in my trays, have you???

[stefan m.]

Hey , im attached to my plants too. But it kinda makes me happy seeing them all grown up, blooming and stuff. For example, ive yet to have a sempervivum bloom, so i kinda keep them in low regard.

You haven't seen any mortal plants in my trays, have you???

Aeonium. Fortunately they grow slow, and you can clone them by either chopping of the flowering heads, or , chopping of a non flowering head and propagating it as a cutting.

[the_cheshirecat]

Omg no!
I'm really attached to that one!
My sister's little kid bought it to try and bribe me when I threatened her with her homework....

[stefan m.]

Ive had mine for 2 years. Its slow. You have nothing to fear. In fact, some plants need a bit of pruning- i had to prune the saggy pads off my opuntia elata, and have to do the same to my opuntia engelmianii,. On the bright side, its a great way to make backup clones of your plants. You will eventually lose plants to pests every once in a while, doesnt matter if theyre easy to grow or not. It happens even to veterans. Is happened to me a lot.
...Its a drag i know, but everybody's gotta go ..

[ElieEstephane]

Aeoniums are probably safe. They take forever to bloom (and grow for that matter).

[the_cheshirecat]

Ugh!
I don't want to lose any, they all have a story

[stefan m.]

Heh, your still a newbie grower then. Ive lost a lot of plants, not gonna lie. Been attached to some, also with a story. But thats why my signature says

[ElieEstephane]

They will branch a lot so you have nothing to worry about!
Btw i just saw your kalanchoe buds and i raise you this. All happening at the same time.
Kalanchoe buds
Sedum palmeri buds
M. Karwinskiana flowers
P. Ottonis flower
And fuchsia flowers

[stefan m.]

Heh. Had a lot of flowers back in the day. Parodias,mammilarias, rebutias,gymnocalyciums, echinopsis, disocactus, lepisimiums,even a thelocacctus setispinus. But they had some serious acclimation issues(and i kinda sucked at the time) and lost all of em to various pests and problems. Even now, i have a parodia with a dead growing tip, waiting to croak.Nowadays, only reliable ones are the sedums, schlumbergera, and opuntia humifusa outdoors. Some echeverias bloom from time to time too, but one of them got real sick beacause of meallybugs.

[ElieEstephane]

Some of these are just odd with their timing especially the parodia. But hey, always a happy sight!

[stefan m.]

I have a theory that some these store bough plants are so roided out on hormones, and special conditions, that their natural cycle is disrupted to the point where they get damaged from the slightest change. If i try to grow them more naturally(seeds), more accustomed to the alkaline water, the high humidity, the winter heating, the sun cycle, no fertilizer, they will be tougher and live longer.