Let's talk echeveria 'Compton Carousel'

One of those stop in your tracks plants, if you have seen one chances are it is on your wish list.

My second plant in May 2013, the first suddenly decided to die.

That is where the fun starts as it is not always easy to come by. In the UK it is fairly simple you can simply go to Southfield Catus (home of cactusland). I always tell people, look there first and find out the price, as if you buy it off ebay you'll pay 2 to 3 times as much. I understand in the USA it is a lot harder to find, although there will be somewhere with a constant supply at more reasonable price.

Right so you have searched and found your plant, you get it home and settle back to enjoy your prize only for it to suddenly up and die.  You are devastated; apart from the money, you're back to trying to track one down again. You treated it the same as your other plants, it is an echeveria after all so shouldn't be that fussy. So what went wrong?

This years flowers, the best to date.

I am always getting asked about how I treat them, so it's time for a post on what I have found works for me.

Firstly and this is important. What works for me may not work for you. The most common mistake with this plant is to think as an echeveria it is simple and will cope with the usual succulent stuff. I find them to be sensitive to light, heat and water.

Light. Mine are grown in the the greenhouse in the UK, this means they do not get direct sunlight.  I have not tried one outside but in full sun I would expect them to burn.  The leaves are not strong at all and do not need an excuse to curl up and die. The same goes for low light, they are prone to get leggy.

Heat. They do not seem to cope with extreme heat and even in the UK on hot days in the green house they can go from nice plant to mess.  It goes without saying that they do not cope with cold, I did leave one in the green house over this winter which went down to -3C. But that was totally dry from November - March.

Water. Where most people go wrong as they are really prone to rot and drying out.  This is especially true as they settle into a new home or when taking offsets.  I tend to give them half the amount of water other plants get, whenever I move them.  Initially you want the soil to be damp not wet and never get water in the crown. If it is hot, keep a eye on the water as they will need to be watered, as hot and too dry will cause you problems as well. Once settled and growing you can go back to a more normal water regime, but still avoid water in the crown.

Linked to all of this is the soil mix. It must be free draining as you do not want plants sitting in any water. It also needs to have some food; they are weak plants and need all the help they can get.  I use blood, fish and bone in the mix and feed them one a month from May - July.

It is vital to work out what is required for your location, it will vary, but watch your plants and they will tell you what is working. Once you work that out, they are easy:

My collection of plants May 2016, all from that one original plant

So you have the basics and your plant is alive. At this point it will start to behave like any other echeveria and will want to offset.  Again there are a few tricks.

Firstly they throw out quite a few white pups.  As amazing as they are, treat them like flowers. Admire while there are around and know they will die.  I have managed to get one through two seasons, most last only one.  Except that and you will enjoy them and save yourself a lot of heartbreak.

There are a few tricks you can use to get offsets. Feed you plants as mentioned before, a strong plant will offset nicely. If things are not happening quick enough, forcing the plant in lower light.  The elongated stem will produce lots of pup.

If you leave the leaves on you will find you get offsets like the one on the left in the photo above.  If you take the leaves off you will get good offsets on the trunk as can be seen as well. Remember this plant is weak, so some transplanted offsets will not root. Do not treat them like you do for other offsets.  A lot less water to start with, then intensive care monitoring the watering building it up little by little over a month.

To be honest I tend to do the reverse of my normal and propagate by top cutting, that way you get lots of plants in the original pot and as can be seen form the photos. The stems on the main plant form roots and stand more chance to re-root, this seems far more successful than trying to remove pups.

Top cutting a plant once it has roots visible, will give a nice new plant. Remember take the watering slow to start with and keep it in the shade.  The plants that remain in the original pot will grow quickly to fill the space and give you a pot full of plants by the end of that season. These will eventually get leggy, offset, and send out their own roots and the process can start again.

Flower stalk with variegated laves as well.

As you can see once you have your routine down, plants will not be a problem. Quite the reverse and you will have the alternate problem: keep or sell.  So far I have not sold a single plant, a lot have been given away to friends. for me this is a plant grown for the pleasure, not money. My OH on the other hand likes to work out what she could buy with the proceeds from a single pot (there are 15 plants in the photo above).

I would like to say I never loose plants, but of course I do. Especially when trying to root offsets. Accept it and keep note of what works and what doesn't.  People who have followed for a while, know I like my experiments and recording my results.  For this plant I physically write down when I water and feed offsets and the outcome.

Finally settle back and enjoy them and the looks of envy you get from any other succulent lovers who see your plants still alive. Just don't tell anyone your secrets!

I hope this helps, please feel free to leave comments, either without or without your name. Let me know if I have missed anything and what works for you.

Update on the Sedeveria letizia

I have posted about this little plants a few times before, mainly here.  At this time of year is has not only turned a good red colour but is starting to flower. For the last couple of years there has been one planted in the main rockery as a bit of a test.

It is looking really good.  A few rotted leaves, but all the heads are good.  The flowers are a little behind the main potted pant which has been in the greenhouse. Given our cold spring that is no surprise.  The colour is though, I thought this was purely down to lack of water, but obviously it is general stress.

As for the main plant.

I gave it a little too much water and the red has faded as it's now happy. Time will tell if it survives being cut up for another year.  It does however need to be re-potted. I had hoped to find a really nice hand made pot by now, but will re-pot it into one of the normal pots for the time being.

The purple background is a bit of a test. Remember in a previous post, mention of painting the patio wall. This is one of the colours being considered. Bright, but really sets the plants off. Sadly the OH is not so keen. She is however out during the day this Saturday.

Cleaning up the aloe viper.

This is one of my favourite aloes, it has such good colour and texture to the leaves.  One of Kelly Griffin's hybrids and he was going for bumpy with this one. Originally I thought it was one of the small clump forming group. It has kept growing and has to be re-potted every year.

Thinking what to do this year, the decision was made to split it up see what happens.  It offsets quite freely, so if the single plants don't work out, it wont be long before it clumps again.

Turned out to be quite a few plants, all with good roots.

The largest three were potted up to keep.

At least one of these will be spoilt this year, a big feature plant would look good out on display. Another may be added to the vertical pot wall to colour up.

The other plants potted up and will go into my supply for trades and friends.  May use a couple to expiriment with over feeding vs not.

With so many plants to play with  it seems an ideal oppertunity to be the first person to have one planted outside in the UK.  I always get jealous of the US blogs that show plants collectors here go made for, buying them for their gardens. 

I wonder how it will cope in a UK succulent bed. Mind you this may be taking my aim to have every plant as something special a litte too far.

The echeveria agavoides bowls

It is one of the more variable echervias, with the usual normal, variegates and cristates all being avaiable. Perhaps what sets it apart more is the number of different forms of e. agavoides and it is easy to becoe obsessed with them all.  I posted about my collection of different forms back in August, here.

The red edged forms are mainly planted in the ground, but one is on a mixed bowl of some of the best forms. 

Looking at them you would not guess the two red forms where e. agavoides. 'Sirus' is on the left and 'Romeo' on the right. The best thing about them is that they hold their colour and look this good all year.

The most sort after of the lot is e. agavoides ebony.  Most of mine are now in one bowl which is filling out nicely now.

I am torn about the second largest of these, to me it looks more like red edge than ebony. Given how in demand it is you often see them sold as ebony when they are not.  I had doubts when purchasing it, but the seller was really respected and so assumed it would grow into the colour.  Sadly it looks wrong and may have to be removed from the pot when the next set of offsets turn up. 

It could have been a genuine mistake. Most of mine came from seed and while most come true, some do not. Which leeds onto the pale green one.  There is no doubt it is a mutated form of ebony, something has just changed to stop the dark pigment from being around the edge. Instead it is developing spots.

It is much slower growing than the normal form, it actually came for the same seed group as the largest in the bowl.  There will be updates as it develops.

They will all be fed this year, assuming it is not too wet, so the bowls will look very different by the end of the summer.  Hopefully, apart from faster growth there will be offsets as well.  I look forward to both bowls overflowing with plants.

Echeveria agavoides is my favourite group of plants this week.

I have mixed feelings about naming forms of a plant, sometimes it just feels a bit commercial and a way of trying to get people to by the same plant just by giving it a different name.  However this is not the case with echeveria agavoides and there are some truly different forms well worth adding to any collection.

Last year I put a selection of forms into bowl to see how they developed, it highlights how different they can be.

The 4 different forms are 'Lipstick' (front), cv 'Sirius' (left), 'Ebony' (back) and cv 'Romeo'. Each is distinct and can be reactively easily separated.

The most common is 'Lipstick' there is another form called 'red edge', but I find these look pretty much identical and are interchangeable (at least for me).  It has one of the most most agave like shapes with good pointed leaves and very structural rosettes.

Like most forms, the stronger the light levels, the better the colour to the leaf edges.  It can take a while to settle and then produces multiple offsets giving a very tight clump.  I have had mixed results hardiness wise, like many succulents it seems to grow into cold tolerance, so don't leave it out when it is small. However once larger, especially when clumped it copes fine with my -8C winters.

Over the last couple of years new forms have been becoming readily available the most common being e. agavoides cv 'Romeo'.

The leaves are not as pointed as the other forms so it is less agave like.  The colour however is amazing, almost aubergine. When I first got this plant I thought it was stressed or a spring colour, it has held its colour and looks pretty much the same all year.  It doesn't seem to offset easily though, in fact neither of these cultivars do.  I may have a dud of course, and haven't wanted to cut it up to produce more plants.  This one has been kept dry over winter but that is all the protection it gets.

The other cultivar is even better, e. agavoides cv 'Sirius', it has the good agave style shape and a very dark colour. The leaf edges are almost black.

I can't really tell you how this one grows, as it hasn't actually done anything in the 2 years I've had it. No offsets, limited growth (which is probably because I got it fully grown) and no changes to the colour.

Finally by far the most sort after e. agavoides 'Ebony'.  This is the plant that everyone wants and it is the best form for me.  It is the biggest, has the best shape and the very dark leaf edges really make the plant stand out.

This one needs bright light to get any colour.  I have seen a lot of plants for sale claiming to be ebony, but looking distinctly like lipstick. In young plants it is difficult to tell them apart and given the demand it is probably no surprise less scrupulous sellers want to pass off plants as this form.  Once larger the rosettes tend to be flatter and the leaves look different to the other forms,  being a paler green. It actually offsets quite freely, so at some point the market is going to be flooded with them It also takes from leaves, although not as reliably as the other forms.  You can also find seeds and it seems to come true to form in the majority of cases. It is also not quite as hardy and you have to watch out for rot.

So there you have the echeveria agavoides group, which are my favourite plants in the garden this week.  Head over to see Loree at Danger Garden to see my favourites.

Orostachys fimbriata is my favourite plant in the garden this week

With plants in the ground and settled in I am finally able to take plant in Loree's (Danger Garden) "my favourite plant in the garden this week". You can see Loree's selection here.  There are a few plants shouting for attention but in the end I decided on one of the smallest plant in my garden orostachys fimbriata.  It part of the Crassulaceae family, although looks very much like a sempervivum at this stage. It forms neat little rosettes and tight clumps over time.  Mine is much more compact that my orostachys spinosa, although this could be unusual.

It looks very fragile in the alpine rockery, hopefully it will be hardy for me.  If it carries on looking this good I'll probably end up finding a rain cover to keep the worst of the weather off.

No flowers yet, which I am sort of pleased about. It is monocarpic so the flowering head will die afterwards. At the same time the flowers are what the family are known for and it seems to offset readily so the next generation will take over. I can wait a year for flower though, in the mean time I will just enjoy it hiding among the gravel.

Sempervivum Sunday: S. 'Green Dragon'

A little plant for the selection today and another of my favourites (although it seems I say that every week). Unlike last weeks plant, this one looks good all year and always has something worth looking at. S. 'Green Dragon' is another cutivar, green leaves with red tips, change slightly though the year.  

The photo above shows the summer colour, where only the tips are red.  Size wise, at only 1-3cm this one is in the small group.  The size can vary greatly depending on how it is grown; given space they grow, but left form a clump they stay around 1cm. The rosettes are very neat and never seem to get too messy.

The photo above shows not only the smaller size, but  the more red / distressed colour.  As you can see they clump quickly, with lots of offsets coming from the base of the plant.  One of the things I love about this plant, is how it spreads across the pot, new plants forming in the middle of the group and pushing up for the soil around the edge.  For me it works well in a pot of some sort, where it can form a carpet, maybe growing up to and over a rock or two.

Again no flowers as yet and can't find any images either.  Very winter hardy, a little change in colour, but no damage from cold and wet. I found out this summer that they also change colour in during very hot weather.

With their compact form, good clumping and good colour, well worth a place in a pot somewhere on display.

The stats:

• Cultivar
• Size: Small, 1-3cm
• Summer Colour: green with red tip, winter colour almost totally red.
• Rosette: Neat
• Offsets: Many forming from base of plant.
• Clump: Fast, creeping out across the pot.
• Flower: not known
• Winter hardiness: Good

Sempervivum Sunday: S. 'Packardian'

To be honest this Sundays selection alternates between being a great plant and not living up to expectations. Sempervivum 'Packardian' is another hybrid, with red leaves that are described as velvet looking.  On the good days there is no doubt its a very hansom form. The leaves are covered in fine hairs which combined with the dark red colour really does make it look like velvet.

Size wise, it should fit into the large group, and was purchased in the quest for the largest sempervivum. Sadly it has never quite lived up to the size promise and mine seem to stick around 7-10cm.

It could be the size thing, is a reflection that it's fussy for a sempervivum and can be difficult to settle. Strangely unlike some that fade away when they are unhappy, this one just stops growing, although it still offsets and goes on to flower. They tend to produce 2 or 3 offsets on mixed length stolons, it hasn't really formed a decent clump.

So far they haven't flowered for me, so can't describe them in detail, but photos on the internet suggest pink.  Given that I have owned the plant for 3 years, it's a surprise to have had no flowers.

They're fine over winter with little die back, but are one of the least colour-fast forms I own. The deep red is only their spring colour and if fades through the summer until they end up green/grey with only a hint purple for winter.

This is probably the first form I've highlighted here, that while it's worth a place in a collection, it is not always a stand out plant. So unlike some forms, this is one to move out into view for spring while it looks great and then move out of sight for the rest of the time.

The stats:

• Cultivar
• Size: Should be large, but mine seem to stay medium, 6 - 10cm
• Summer Colour: dark red, winter colour green/grey.
• Rosette: Neat
• Offsets: Few, on medium length stolons
• Clump: Slow to clump, but lives for a long time.
• Flower: Pink
• Winter hardiness: Good.

Sempervivum Sunday: S. 'Titania'

Todays pick is a bit of an illusionist; for it seems bigger than it is. S. 'Titania' is a cultivar from the US, apparently created by Ed Skrocki in 1980.  It is a very regal looking plant, with olive/gold leaves with burnt orange tips.

Size wise, it fits into the medium group, being 6 - 10cm across. It always strikes me as bigger though, maybe because it stays in fairly small clumps. It is quite a fast grower, but tends to only produce 2 or 3 offsets on medium length stolons. These root a little way from the parent plant, giving a feeling of a cluster of individual plants instead of a more defined clump. The rosettes are a good structured neat shape and stay that way throughout their life.

Sadly its flowers let it down a bit, being a very pale pink on the end of thin unbranched stems.  Flowers mid summer and have finished by August.

If planted with very good drainage, it is fine over winter, but you do have to watch it doesn't sit in damp soil. Overall it is another one of my favourites.

The stats:

• Cultivar from US
• Size: medium, 6 - 10cm
• Summer Colour: olive/gold with burnt orange tips
• Rosette: Neat
• Offsets: Few, on medium length stolons
• Clump: Doesn't tend to clump, instead new plants settle a little way form the parent
• Flower: Pink on thin stalks
• Winter hardiness: Good, although does not like sitting in water.

Sempervivum Sunday: S. 'Oddity'

Another of the aptly named varieties today, sempervivum 'Oddity' is a US cultivar of S. tectorum and is one of the most distinctive plants around.

It is is very slightly hairy around the edge of the leaves, and is green, with brown tips.  What sets it apart is that the leaves at first glance appear to be tubes. Infact these tubes are formed by the leaves folding back. It makes for an interesting plant.

Size wise, it fits into the medium group, at around 5-8cm.  It is very slow and offset, so do not expect big clumps. On the other hand it does not (as far as I know) seem to flower, so it has time to multiply instead of rushing.

Seems good for winter, although it is so slow I am not sure if it doesn't like it's growing conditions and is sulking, or if this is normal behaviour.

The stats:

• Cultivar
• Size: Medium
• Summer Colour: green with brown tips
• Rosette: Neat, with unusual tube like leaves.
• Offsets: Few
• Clump: Clumps slowly
• Flower: Does not seem to flower (or has not in the 4 years I have grown them)
• Winter hardiness: Good, no problems with being wet and cold.

Sempervivum Sunday: S. 'Jet Stream'

Todays subject is one of the slightly frustrating varieties. Sempervivum 'Jet Stream' is another US cultivar. Symmetrical rosettes with very dark red leaves with small hairs around the edge. A really strong colour, which stays for most of the year.

Size wise, it fits into the small group, being only 4 - 5cm across. It is not the biggest clumper, tending to produce only 2 or 3 offsets at most.  This should be fine except that it flowers really quickly and just as a clump starts to form a mass of flowers reduces it back to one or two plants again. 

The flower stalks start of thick, but then branch into slim stems. Flowers early summer and have finished by August.

Seems good for winter, with no noticeable die back, also seems to cope with heat without showing signs of stress.   If it wasn't for the problems with the very quick flowering these would be one of my favourite varieties.  As it is, they are well worth having for their compact shape and strong colour.  You just have to accept they will never really clump and you are going to only ever have a few plants.

The stats:

• Cultivar from US
• Size: Small
• Summer Colour: very dark red
• Rosette: Neat
• Offsets: Few, coming from the base of the plant
• Clump: Clumps slowly, but wiped out by flowering
• Flower: Pink on thin branched stalks
• Winter hardiness: Good, no problems with being wet and cold.

Sempervivum Sunday: S. 'Lively Bug'

First of the properly hairy varieties, S. 'Lively Bug' is a cultivar from the US.  This photo shows why it is worth a spot in any collection

This is a young plant with its summer colour; a brilliant purple/red. For the rest of the year they are green. The young leaves are covered in fine hairs, which are less prominent as they age. The spiral to the leaves, is very neat and is another of the draws. It fits in the medium size category about 6 to 8cm.

New plants form on short stolons from the lowest set of leaves.  These tend to be well distributed around the plant forming a neatly clustered group of plants, matching the very symmetrical rosette of the parent. Once the offsets grow and the whole group take on their summer colour there make a fine pot to have out on display.

As with many of the very structural forms, these tend to look best in their first few generations, before the pot gets too crowded and the clump becomes a bit messy.  At that stage I tend to select the largest plant and start over again.

They flower early summer with pink flows on top unbranched stem. Not the strongest colour, but beautiful flowers if you get in a bit closer.

Copes without problems with winter rain, although does die back a bit. Summer heat seems to be as big problem (which we found for the first time this year). Growth stops totally and getting the balance right yo ensure you get the summer colour without drying the plant out so much is a bit trial and error.

The stats:

• Cultivar
• Size: medium (6-8cm)
• Summer Colour:Reddish Purple
• Rosette: Neat, very structural spiral
• Offsets: Lots, coming from the base of the plant, on short stolons
• Clump: Clumps quickly, forming very neat groups
• Flower: Pink on thick stalks
• Winter hardiness: Good, no problems with being wet and cold.

Sempervivum Sunday: S. 'Lion King'

Let's get the tacky jokes about this being the king of the semps out of the way form the start.  A very aptly named cultivar from the UK, which really is one of the best of all varieties out there (of those that I have seen so far anyway). 

It is is very slightly hairy around the edge of the leaves, and is green, with brown tips.  Size wise, it fits into the large group, although at around 10cm it's not the biggest semp available.  It sizes up fairly quickly under the right conditions, but can be a little fussy at times and it is worth watching to find somewhere it likes.  The young plants are very upright in form, and tend to flatten out as they grow. The mature plants are great, but the young plants probably fit the name best.

Once settled, offsets are produced on stolons from the base of the plant.  Although doesn't seem to form big clumps.

They flower a bit later in the summer than many, with good thick flower spikes which branch along their length instead of just at the top.  Flowers are pale pink

Seems good for winter, although there is some shrinkage and a slightly paler colour, this is not that noticeable.   It does take a little time to settle as mentioned before, so I would avoid purchasing it or planting it after mid summer, so it has time to acclimatise to the new home.

The stats:

• Cultivar
• Size: Large
• Summer Colour: green with brown tips
• Rosette: Nea, very upright when young
• Offsets: Few, coming from the base of the plant, on stolons
• Clump: Clumps slowly
• Flower: Pink on thick stalks
• Winter hardiness: Good, no problems with being wet and cold.

Sempervivum Sunday: S. Virgil

Todays selection has to be one of the best varieties in my collection, S. Virgil

There are a lot of things going for this plant. Starting with the colour which in summer is a dark grey/purple and in winter is more lilac. Either way it stands out.  Size wise, it probably fits into the medium category, with individual plants being about 8 - 10cm across. It clumps very quickly with the new plants forming on short stolons, giving a tightly pack clump. 

It is not the most symmetrical variety, but all the clumps I have look like the photo above. It seems to look after itself, not needed any interference to stop clumps getting too messy or requiring gaps to be filled in.

They flowers mid summer with good thick flower spikes topped with pale pink flowers.

Finally it is fully hardy, coping with cold and wet without problems.  There is very little die back, so the clump looks good all year round. You can just plant this one and let it do what it does best.

Summary:

• Size: medium
• Summer Colour: Purple / grey (more lilac in winter)
• Rosette: Neat
• Offsets: Lots, coming from the base of the plant, on short stolons
• Clump: Clumps quickly and stays compact
• Flower: Pink on thick stalks
• Winter hardiness: Excellent, no problems with being wet and cold.