Alpine planters updates

With all the new pots, it is easy to forget about the two larger alpine planters that have been created over the last couple of years.

I can't remember what the plant was that is missing.  Strangely I don't have a photo of it when planted, but I am guessing it has not grown much as two of the plant are known to be slow growers.

The next one was suppose to be quicker.

The little androsace sempervivoides (top right), flowered and then died. I have another else where in the garden and that hasn't done well either.

The orostachys spinosas (centre middle, and top) both struggled last year shrinking right back.  I thought they were gone, but this year they seem to be making a bit of a recovery. For both of these water is probably key and they can't cope with baking.

The two sempervivums have both thrived. I hadn't noticed them growing, but the photos show how much more space they are taking up.  Red devil has got quite big, for something I thought stayed small. The green dragon, is just doing it's thing, slowly creeping out with lots of little plants.

The eagle eyed among you, may have noticed two semps were removed from beside the red devil.  These turned out to be a different form and have been moved.

The other plant, armeria juniperifolia, has done well. Again water is an issue, got to keep an eye on it as it has a tendancy to suddely turn brown in sections, which totally spoils the look.

And what happened to the other sempervivum, it is now all planted up with a semp lilac time.

They look slighty dwarfed at the moment, but it is semp 'lion king' so wont stay that way for long.  Hopefully the two should work well together, as 'Lion King' looks best in spring and then fades a bit, which 'lilac time' gets better as the summer progresses.

The main thing I learnt from last year is not to treat them like succulents in high summer.  They need a bit of shade or more water.  I am determined to get it right this time and actualy take notice of the water needs.

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 ebony update.

Back in the middle of May I posted that one of the first jobs getting back in to the greenhouse was to chop up my largest echeveria agavoides ebony, the original post can be found here.   At the end of the last post the main head looked like this:

Time for an update.

The plants have been sitting on a tray developing roots since the last post.  This is probably a bit extreme, normally I would wait until the first roots stared to show and then rest very lightly cover in slightly damp soil.  I know it is bad, but with everything else going on it kept getting put off. While the plants are behind where they would normally be, it is an ideal opportunity to  see how the good root development:

As the stem rotting was an issue, it also means I can be sure that was no longer a problem. Good roots and no sign of rot means it was time to pot up. 

I have been looking for a plant to put in a large bowl as a real feature.  I figure echeveria agavoides ebony would make quite a bowl. There was another plant waiting to be homed as well, so it made sense.

The new plant has a very different look to my main plants, it came form really reliable source so it will be interesting to see how it develops. 

The pot will be placed in the shade and gradually moved out into full sun. If previous growth is anything to go by they should be well settled and starting to fill the pot by the end of the summer. Hopefully in time the whole pot will be overflowing with plants. Especially if I can learn from the past and actually just leave the plants to get on with it and not meddle. It should make quite a feature in the garden.