BCSS - Forum

I have the luxury of starting my seeds in a beautiful greenhouse and I am wondering if my seedlings are going to go dormant, because I want to get them into a regular cycle of growth and rest and into my unheated new greenhouse.

One particular plant, Pachypodium horombense was sown in February last year and has just started to develop a few yellow leaves. Being aware of how easy this is to rot, I am wondering if you think it might be going dormant regardless of the greenhouse heating.

Same for my Lithops germinated the same time.

If you put Pachypodium horombense in an unheated greenhouse it will die, looks in very good growth and lovely compact plant, keep them growing as long as you can for good growth. Thats a very good size plant for it's age.

HI,

It depends where in the USA you are, i.e. what your winter temperature is likely to be. I certainly wouldn't like this plant to go below 12 - 15 C, so with me that would mean bringing it into the house for the winter.

Lithops will most likely be fine in an unheated greenhouse, they can take really low temps, even when young and what they really need is very good light conditions. Watering Lithops should almost have stopped by now to be resumed after the new bodies/leaves have absorbed the nutrients from the old leaves but if you think they are shriveling too much then give them a little water.

Good luck, Suzanne

thank you for the insight to the cold issues of that Pachypodium, I have always liked them and seem to be drawn towards hard to grow plants. I will keep it at work for the time being,

My Lithop seedlings are still in community pots which has made watering difficult because they are growing at different stages, some shedding old bodies, others not. Some are about 3/8" across.

When is a good time to transplant them when they are at all different stages?

I live in Santa Cruz Ca, 3 miles from the coast, but it still hits 38-39F sometimes lower

thanks

Peter

I live in Santa Cruz Ca, 3 miles from the coast, but it still hits 38-39F sometimes lower

Almost cool enough for Lithops to grow well! Anyway, don't have to worry about them freezing. You might find they are quite active over the winter particularly if they get good sun, which may mean watering from time to time.

Community pots are always a bit tricky. Almost impossible to water individual laggards because the fine roots are so deep. Even so, I wouldn't normally transplant until they are touching, even quite squashed. Again, a warm climate with lots of sun might mean they cope well in individual larger pots than I'd use in dull humid Britain. This is a good period to get them all aligned with the old leaves dried out, then you can water them deeply and let them take their fill. Here, even little tiny seedlings stay dry virtually all winter because the amount of water they really need so is tiny - perhaps a small spray or splash when the sun starts to get above the horizon in a month or two. If you're not used to Lithops, they can get thoroughly wrinkly and look horrible in water without any chance of harm - it is only the new leaves coming through you have to worry about and it is generally best to wait and water them only when they are well free of the old ones.