Early Flowers

[brianc]

I have afew Echeveria Lauii of various sizes

[ralphrmartin]

Nice plants in there in excellent condition. I reckon they must all be behind a barbed wire barrier to keep the pokey fingers away!

[juster]

Lovely plants Brian. I find Echeveria lauii very difficult to keep, even in a clay pot, it seems to rot so easily. Well done.

[brianc]

Hi juster
I grow my plants in very open compost, believe it or not i water these a little even in winter that way
they tend not to loose their bottom leaves so much . I think people read articles and they all say these
plants are difficult to grow well? try different positions in the green house, i have plants in 5 inch pots
that started to send up flower spikes at christmas. If you want to increase your number of plants try
rooting up the little leaf things that grow up the flower spikes,
hope this helps . Have a look back at my topic i posted about 2 weeks ago detailing how i grow my plants.
Try different things and see. I am sorry if this sounds like a lecture i can assure you it is not.

[juster]

Thanks Brian for the helpful points you have made, no it didn't seem like a lecture! It's certainly always worth starting a few 'insurance policy' cuttings of many plants. I will look up your previous post and have a think.

[Liz M]

Hi Brian, not so much a lecture as some very helpful advice on how to get your plants through winter in the UK. We start from a difficult position in having a long dark and cold winter, which is totally unsuited to cacti and succulents in general. I am assuming that you heat your plants enough to keep them above freezing in winter. That enables you to water them just enough to keep them ticking over, so that they do not lose leaves and shrivel up excessively. I have learnt from growing Aeoniums, which are real winter growers, that in above freezing conditions they benefit from enough water to stop them losing unnecessary leaves and staying alive enough to take off in spring and start real growth. I have watered Crassulas a little this year, after a stray remark that Crassulas are winter growers and Kalanchoes seem to do better if given enough to keep them looking lively without growth. In all I find I am growing more winter growers than I realised and have come to the conclusion that plants kept above freezing, if only minimally, will do better than those kept totally dry and unheated. I would welcome another viewpoint on this as it is always useful to get a spread of experience on these things.

[JaneO]

Hi Liz,
I agree with your views. I bring some plants into conservatory to over winter and these certainly get light watering. Conservatory faces south. It can easily reach 22 degrees so the plants need water. I do the finger test. If medium is bone dry and plants have shrivelled I do give small amounts early in day so the moisture is absorbed. My Aeonium velour certainly gets water all year as do other smaller ones. Plants in greenhouse receive more water than they should, curtesy of Robinsons cedar wooden greenhouse with automatic leaking roof! The plants look more like Mike's Aeonium but respond well to sun/warmth. Jane

[brianc]

Thankyou for your comments on my topic, watering in winter there are no hard and fast rules you have to let your
plants tell you when they need it, i failed to mention that this only applies to my succulent plants i do not water
my cactus in winter. If you grow aloes a little water helps to stop the leaf tips from turning brown, Agave leaves
start to turn inwards when they are too dry, Adromischus leaves go soft and start to fall,you are not trying to grow
your plants in winter just trying to keep them ticking over. I am not suggesting you attack your plants with a hose
go a little bit gentle, i visit my plants every day so i can keep an eye on them i heat to about 40 degrees and have
a fan on 24/7. some times you may lose the odd plant but not very often?early spring fills me with dread when i start to water my cactus they are more touchy than succulents.

[Cidermanrolls]

For me, if not Mamm sp Lau 1108, the early flowers are often the Mammillaria lasiancantha group. Here, as the blizzards howled outside and again on my camera phone, are M magallanii from seed ex Mesa Gardens (probably via the Mammillaria society) and a "lost label" form. Anyone brave enough to suggest which it is?