Thanks for your comments. I'll surely persist in my attempts with Conophytum.
I see, so the winter growers grow in cool temps despite being relatively dry; I suppose I'm not used to plants that grow when it's cool. That must be what all this misting is about that I've seen discussed. England must indeed be a good place for them, under cover from rain. I suppose I'll sacrifice a couple of Aloinopsis and others to the cold after reading Mesa Garden's key to see which ones might survive. But don't call mesemb protective services on me, I'm sure they'll all be safe and sound (and probably too warm) on my windowsill by late November. Then I plan to withhold water if possible until sunlight is available again.
my seedlings
Re: my seedlings
Craig [my pictures]
Re: my seedlings
Here are a few updates on my mesemb seedlings sown July 6th. A few have been doing really well, in particular Aloinopsis rosulata, A. rubrolineata, and A. thudichumii:
^ Aloinopsis rosulata in the foreground, A. rubrolineata in the background
^ A. thudichumii on Oct. 20th (left), the same plant today (right)
These have all reached three leaf pairs, and so I have stopped watering them. These pictures were taken October 20th (except where noted); since then all of their bottom leaf pairs have begun to shrivel. Once the bottom pairs are completely dried out, I will water them again. Temperatures have been cool, 60s F (18C) during the day and 40s (7C) at night.
I recently stopped watering the mixed Pleiospilios seedlings as well, I suppose I'll let the bottom leaves shrivel off before watering again:
^ Pleiospilios sp.
The mixed Argyroderma seedlings have begun coming out of "stasis". They spent every night with a forecast over 60F in my refrigerator during September and October, along with Conophytum and Gibbaeum album.
^ Argyroderma sp. mix
Antimima fenestrata is creeping along. They were in partial shade until the weather started cooling down a couple of weeks ago, because the leaves seem to dry out very easily. Still, most of the growth on these two plants occurred in August:
^ Antimima fenestrata
Sceletium joubertii is doing well. I put this one out in full sun in September, and it is much greener and larger than its partially shaded brothers, and was starting two side shoots. Unfortunately, a bird or squirrel took it yesterday. Maybe its chemical defenses will help deter another attack.
One of the mixed Cheiridopsis seedlings (foreground) is growing two new shoots out the side, inside of the shriveling seed leaves; another (background) also has its first pair of adult leaves; and a third is still just a tiny pair of seed leaves (not visible). Should I water these, or wait for the seed leaves to finish shriveling?
^ Cheiridopsis sp. mix last week (left), the side shoots today (right)
One Dinteranthus vanzylii has survived, and it has recently begun to grow more:
^ Dinteranthus vanzylii
The Conophytums are still tiny pinheads with no signs of adult leaves. I started putting them in the refrigerator every night in late September (I've been told this is strange behavior). I've been keeping them much drier. They do not seem to have grown much, but all 12 that were alive in August are still alive now, which is better than I've done previously with this genus. I'm still awaiting the day they explode with growth, maybe the rapidly cooling weather will help.
I've been trying to understand the notion of leaf stacking. I understand how with Lithops their anatomy does not support multiple leaf pairs, leading to elongated leaves and tearing. With Aloinopsis, I can see that extra leaf pairs are too close to each other to catch any sun, is this the right idea? What about slightly leafier plants like Titanopsis? What exactly is the negative consequence of leaf stacking? My Titanopsis sown March 2014 have been trying to grow new branches, I have been withholding water for a few weeks but I don't know if this has any purpose:
^ Titanopsis primosii
^ T. calcera
^ T. hugo-schlechteri (I believe)
^ T. hugo-schlechteri (foreground), T. calcera (background)
Thank you in advance for any comments or advice!
^ Aloinopsis rosulata in the foreground, A. rubrolineata in the background
^ A. thudichumii on Oct. 20th (left), the same plant today (right)
These have all reached three leaf pairs, and so I have stopped watering them. These pictures were taken October 20th (except where noted); since then all of their bottom leaf pairs have begun to shrivel. Once the bottom pairs are completely dried out, I will water them again. Temperatures have been cool, 60s F (18C) during the day and 40s (7C) at night.
I recently stopped watering the mixed Pleiospilios seedlings as well, I suppose I'll let the bottom leaves shrivel off before watering again:
^ Pleiospilios sp.
The mixed Argyroderma seedlings have begun coming out of "stasis". They spent every night with a forecast over 60F in my refrigerator during September and October, along with Conophytum and Gibbaeum album.
^ Argyroderma sp. mix
Antimima fenestrata is creeping along. They were in partial shade until the weather started cooling down a couple of weeks ago, because the leaves seem to dry out very easily. Still, most of the growth on these two plants occurred in August:
^ Antimima fenestrata
Sceletium joubertii is doing well. I put this one out in full sun in September, and it is much greener and larger than its partially shaded brothers, and was starting two side shoots. Unfortunately, a bird or squirrel took it yesterday. Maybe its chemical defenses will help deter another attack.
One of the mixed Cheiridopsis seedlings (foreground) is growing two new shoots out the side, inside of the shriveling seed leaves; another (background) also has its first pair of adult leaves; and a third is still just a tiny pair of seed leaves (not visible). Should I water these, or wait for the seed leaves to finish shriveling?
^ Cheiridopsis sp. mix last week (left), the side shoots today (right)
One Dinteranthus vanzylii has survived, and it has recently begun to grow more:
^ Dinteranthus vanzylii
The Conophytums are still tiny pinheads with no signs of adult leaves. I started putting them in the refrigerator every night in late September (I've been told this is strange behavior). I've been keeping them much drier. They do not seem to have grown much, but all 12 that were alive in August are still alive now, which is better than I've done previously with this genus. I'm still awaiting the day they explode with growth, maybe the rapidly cooling weather will help.
I've been trying to understand the notion of leaf stacking. I understand how with Lithops their anatomy does not support multiple leaf pairs, leading to elongated leaves and tearing. With Aloinopsis, I can see that extra leaf pairs are too close to each other to catch any sun, is this the right idea? What about slightly leafier plants like Titanopsis? What exactly is the negative consequence of leaf stacking? My Titanopsis sown March 2014 have been trying to grow new branches, I have been withholding water for a few weeks but I don't know if this has any purpose:
^ Titanopsis primosii
^ T. calcera
^ T. hugo-schlechteri (I believe)
^ T. hugo-schlechteri (foreground), T. calcera (background)
Thank you in advance for any comments or advice!
Craig [my pictures]
Re: my seedlings
The titan's are tricky they love being wet when they are those cute little green leaves that look kinda mushroomed (like Lithips)
But once they start growing the pre-adult leaves they want nothing to do with the water directly on them, luckily mine are doing okay, i do have a few bald spots in my medium where i kept the soil moist and they dilapidated and eventually died off, but th majority's going on to their 2/3 set of leaves so some look like X's and there starting to get there color to, always finding a few late sprouters on the bunch ...just when i thought all the seeds had grown, i was wrong!
Unfortunately those darn flies ate my senico silver coral seeds from the shell OUT! Was very disappointed to find out i was watering plain old soil for weeks SMH... atleast my CP's are enjoying picking those files off before they reach anything else.
But once they start growing the pre-adult leaves they want nothing to do with the water directly on them, luckily mine are doing okay, i do have a few bald spots in my medium where i kept the soil moist and they dilapidated and eventually died off, but th majority's going on to their 2/3 set of leaves so some look like X's and there starting to get there color to, always finding a few late sprouters on the bunch ...just when i thought all the seeds had grown, i was wrong!
Unfortunately those darn flies ate my senico silver coral seeds from the shell OUT! Was very disappointed to find out i was watering plain old soil for weeks SMH... atleast my CP's are enjoying picking those files off before they reach anything else.
Re: my seedlings
Thanks for the info kittiekat, sounds like yours are doing pretty well. I haven't had any trouble (yet?) with Titanopsis dying off, they're in an all-mineral mix and have been getting plenty of sun and not much water. I suppose I shouldn't rush them, since as you say they get more sensitive to water as they mature. I have seen those flies around my seedlings (are they called scaria flies?) but they seem to go away when the watering is reduced.KittieKAT wrote:The titan's are tricky they love being wet when they are those cute little green leaves that look kinda mushroomed (like Lithips)
But once they start growing the pre-adult leaves they want nothing to do with the water directly on them, luckily mine are doing okay, i do have a few bald spots in my medium where i kept the soil moist and they dilapidated and eventually died off, but th majority's going on to their 2/3 set of leaves so some look like X's and there starting to get there color to, always finding a few late sprouters on the bunch ...just when i thought all the seeds had grown, i was wrong!
Unfortunately those darn flies ate my senico silver coral seeds from the shell OUT! Was very disappointed to find out i was watering plain old soil for weeks SMH... atleast my CP's are enjoying picking those files off before they reach anything else.
Craig [my pictures]
Re: my seedlings
Yes i think they are, they actually hatch there lava in the soil tp eat the seeds and plant material like flower remnants etc..etc.. watch out for those buggers they will destroy your seedlings before they even hatch, not a problem for adult plant's in my experience Thoe, so not to worry.
And the titans start getting sensitive pretty early on in the growing stage they should be fine watering as long as you don't mist or get water directly on them. I used a spray bottle thinking they would be okay since they liked the soil a little damp as wee little things... that was an oops on my part. Now i spray/ water the bare patches of soil and careful not to touch them with the water.
I would suggest if you see those files flying around to cover your seeds with clear plastic or a clear top for container, cause they are horrible at times, and try to remove all plant remnants like flower pods or seed pods or stuff like that, or you'll literally see little wormies eating the plan material ...they are soo nasty like miniature grubs wiggling around the soil eating the stuff.
You can also put some ant sticky paper on the rims of the container and they usually get stuck on it, but not always...i sometimes go at them with a spoon and chase them around till i kill the ones i see that my cps Havebt caught lol!
My wee-titans are getting bigger but i gatta repot them i want something more gritty then the C&S soil w/ perlite....hopefully ill have some left over from all the repots of lithops for the kids after sowing them, but I'm sure that will be a little while until that happens, cause they are just sprouting!
Everything looks great btw, congrats!
And the titans start getting sensitive pretty early on in the growing stage they should be fine watering as long as you don't mist or get water directly on them. I used a spray bottle thinking they would be okay since they liked the soil a little damp as wee little things... that was an oops on my part. Now i spray/ water the bare patches of soil and careful not to touch them with the water.
I would suggest if you see those files flying around to cover your seeds with clear plastic or a clear top for container, cause they are horrible at times, and try to remove all plant remnants like flower pods or seed pods or stuff like that, or you'll literally see little wormies eating the plan material ...they are soo nasty like miniature grubs wiggling around the soil eating the stuff.
You can also put some ant sticky paper on the rims of the container and they usually get stuck on it, but not always...i sometimes go at them with a spoon and chase them around till i kill the ones i see that my cps Havebt caught lol!
My wee-titans are getting bigger but i gatta repot them i want something more gritty then the C&S soil w/ perlite....hopefully ill have some left over from all the repots of lithops for the kids after sowing them, but I'm sure that will be a little while until that happens, cause they are just sprouting!
Everything looks great btw, congrats!
Re: my seedlings
Thanks for the advice and comments. I've seen the grubs before, might try sticky paper like you say next time they show up. I like it best when carnivorous insects come along and eat pests—at least I think that's what happens to keep pests at bay when the plants are outdoors, and pests always come back when the plants come inside.
Craig [my pictures]
Re: my seedlings
Yea my carnivorous plants catch the adult files on there sticky tentacles especially my cape sundews have a feast.!
Pest are annoying but could be worse.....there could be a different pest that's even worst then flies, i dare not say there name!
Lol, Goodluck on everything
Pest are annoying but could be worse.....there could be a different pest that's even worst then flies, i dare not say there name!
Lol, Goodluck on everything
Re: my seedlings
Here's an update on these seedlings. Many have died out for various reasons (I let a few mesembs freeze last year), but a good number are still going strong. Hopefully it's acceptable to revive this old post. And I suppose I'll keep calling them "seedlings" until they first flower. I resisted the strong temptation to buy new seeds this past year, but I'm sure I'll start a new batch one day. I have started one or two pots of my own cactus seeds (I'm particularly looking forward to seeing mature Gymnocalycium horstii x chiquitanum), but not much to show yet.
The mesmbs have started growing again over the past month. They were outside with no cover for much of the summer; there was only one rainstorm I can recall during August and September. Of course I'll have to provide cover from the rain if I want to do that over a typical summer. Here they are after their first fall watering, after which I hope some old leaves will start shriveling off as they start growing:
^ Aloinopsis schooneesii, sown 12/13/2013. A few have two branches, and I'm trying to keep them all down to 2-3 leaf pairs per branch. I have several pots of these.
^ Sceletium joubertii, sown 7/6/2014. This one has been grown in partial shade, and has grown much faster than the ones in full sunlight.
^ Clockwise from top left: Titanopsis hugo-schlechteri, two Aloinopsis thudichumii, Aloinopsis rosulata, Aloinopsis rubrolineata, A. rosulata and A. rubroleneata, and two Sceletium joubertii (grown in bright sunlight). Sown 7/6/2014.
Mixed Lithops, sown 2/10/2014. 5 of my remaining 6. Probably over-potted, though I'm not sure if it matters since they're in an all-mineral mix and watered so infrequently.
Titanopsis primosii, sown 7/6/2014.
Clockwise from top left: Aloinopsis rosulata, two varieties of Titanopsis hugo-schlechteri, Titanopsis calcera. Sown 7/6/2014.
Clockwise from top left: Aloinopsis rosulata, Aloinopsis thudichumii and A. rosulata, A. thudichumii and A. rubrolineata, two A. rubrolineata and a Pleiospilos, two Pleiospilos, A. rubrolineata. Sown 7/6/2014.
^ Ihlenfeldtia vanzylii, sown 7/6/2014.
^ Cheiridopsis sp., the only one surviving from Mesa Garden's Cheiridopsis mix.
^ Clockwise from left: Antimima fenestrata, Argyroderma mix, Aloinopsis rubrolineata, Cheiridopsis sp., Ihlenfeldtia vanzylii. The A. rubrolineata are all ones with unusual growth. Sown 7/6/2014.
^ Astrophytum asterias "Super Kabuto", sown 10/15/2013, grafted to Pereskiopsis for about a year until it was ripped off by a squirrel, which luckily decided it wasn't very tasty. I have three more of these remaining, none of them grafted. None of them really look much like "Super Kabuto", though I suppose they do have a few little white dots.
^ The only surviving Echinofossulocactus lloydii, sown 4/2/2014. It stayed on its Pereskiopsis stock for about a year, until it started growing adult ribs, and then the stock withered. It rooted very easily.
Thank you for any comments and suggestions! I'm probably going to hear it for having some terra cotta pots, but at least one of them is glazed on the inside! I'm moving the mesembs into separate pots one by one as I buy little glazed teacups (with holes punched in the bottom), as it is a few are suffering from differences in watering needs.
The mesmbs have started growing again over the past month. They were outside with no cover for much of the summer; there was only one rainstorm I can recall during August and September. Of course I'll have to provide cover from the rain if I want to do that over a typical summer. Here they are after their first fall watering, after which I hope some old leaves will start shriveling off as they start growing:
^ Aloinopsis schooneesii, sown 12/13/2013. A few have two branches, and I'm trying to keep them all down to 2-3 leaf pairs per branch. I have several pots of these.
^ Sceletium joubertii, sown 7/6/2014. This one has been grown in partial shade, and has grown much faster than the ones in full sunlight.
^ Clockwise from top left: Titanopsis hugo-schlechteri, two Aloinopsis thudichumii, Aloinopsis rosulata, Aloinopsis rubrolineata, A. rosulata and A. rubroleneata, and two Sceletium joubertii (grown in bright sunlight). Sown 7/6/2014.
Mixed Lithops, sown 2/10/2014. 5 of my remaining 6. Probably over-potted, though I'm not sure if it matters since they're in an all-mineral mix and watered so infrequently.
Titanopsis primosii, sown 7/6/2014.
Clockwise from top left: Aloinopsis rosulata, two varieties of Titanopsis hugo-schlechteri, Titanopsis calcera. Sown 7/6/2014.
Clockwise from top left: Aloinopsis rosulata, Aloinopsis thudichumii and A. rosulata, A. thudichumii and A. rubrolineata, two A. rubrolineata and a Pleiospilos, two Pleiospilos, A. rubrolineata. Sown 7/6/2014.
^ Ihlenfeldtia vanzylii, sown 7/6/2014.
^ Cheiridopsis sp., the only one surviving from Mesa Garden's Cheiridopsis mix.
^ Clockwise from left: Antimima fenestrata, Argyroderma mix, Aloinopsis rubrolineata, Cheiridopsis sp., Ihlenfeldtia vanzylii. The A. rubrolineata are all ones with unusual growth. Sown 7/6/2014.
^ Astrophytum asterias "Super Kabuto", sown 10/15/2013, grafted to Pereskiopsis for about a year until it was ripped off by a squirrel, which luckily decided it wasn't very tasty. I have three more of these remaining, none of them grafted. None of them really look much like "Super Kabuto", though I suppose they do have a few little white dots.
^ The only surviving Echinofossulocactus lloydii, sown 4/2/2014. It stayed on its Pereskiopsis stock for about a year, until it started growing adult ribs, and then the stock withered. It rooted very easily.
Thank you for any comments and suggestions! I'm probably going to hear it for having some terra cotta pots, but at least one of them is glazed on the inside! I'm moving the mesembs into separate pots one by one as I buy little glazed teacups (with holes punched in the bottom), as it is a few are suffering from differences in watering needs.
Craig [my pictures]
Re: my seedlings
Hello I doubt that you will read this reply but I'm taking my chances lol. Soooo can you please update on your seedlings if you will? And your echeveria seedlings too, you didn't posted some pictures yet. Thank you for this thread, it was very helpful 