BCSS - Forum

Thank you everyone for your comments. Tony, it only looks tidy because half them are outside in the garden. In winter, I have to juggle space like fury.
Jane, some of these Aeoniums only ever have one head, sometimes you will induce branching if you cut off the head, sometimes it won't work. You must have one of those.
Diane, thank you for the name of the Kalanchoe, I guess it is just going to carry on sprawling. I will have to have a think.

Hi Liz - just looked through your collection, some lovely looking stuff you have there the challange for me starts now really, having just brought everything into the shanty town greenhouse i share with my parents fuschias/geraniums etc ...the greenhouse is rickety at best but does the job and out climates will be pretty similar looking at your location, and i am in Halifax.

How do you do with your aloe's and crassula's? In the past i noticed one or 2 got drawn out, and my aeoniums too, but was mainly crassulas, i was hoping the lower temps of the greenhouse in winter would send them into a dormant state but they still appeared to get a bit leggy

Hope i do ok this year, i have a variegated aloe brevifolia thats got about 6 pups round the base, and i have a larger aloe cosmos, a simple looking plant, nothing showy, but i do love it I fed it earlier in the year, and it seemded to have a growth spurt aswell as developing 3 pups round the base too

Is the tip to kepp them dry, and just let them have a sip of water a few times over winter?? I'll gladly take any tips on board
regards
Phil

Hi Phil, The Aloes are kept in the freestanding greenhouse, which is insulated and heated. I aim to keep it above freezing. The Crassulas will stay in the same greenhouse, I have been watering them quite a bit recently as a lot are in growth for winter but I will not bother from now on, except for the occasional drip, as a lot will flower. Once it warms up a bit next year, I will water them more.
The Aeoniums are mostly winter growers and you have to keep them above freezing, especially as I tend to keep them damp over winter. They have grown much better since they were kept in a heated greenhouse, with small amounts of water during mild spells. The colours fade and they all go green but as soon as you get them back outside in Spring they colour up well again.

Liz M wrote:Hi Phil, The Aloes are kept in the freestanding greenhouse, which is insulated and heated. I aim to keep it above freezing. The Crassulas will stay in the same greenhouse, I have been watering them quite a bit recently as a lot are in growth for winter but I will not bother from now on, except for the occasional drip, as a lot will flower. Once it warms up a bit next year, I will water them more.

I was always under the impression with crassulas that watering them is to be given sparingly to avoid them rotting off, but even doing this the ones i used to have didnt fair well great, so the couple i do have now, a couple of mini stacked types, and alstonni have done a lot better for me with a more liberal watering regeime

I really enjoyed looking at your greenhouse -love your Echeverias. That's some collection.

Yes - I agree - wonderful plants.

Thank you all for your very kind comments. I will be doing another tour next year to explore the new greenhouse. It will be interesting to me to see the changes.

Wow What a collection Liz, well done to you. Thanks for sharing it, need to go away and start again me thinks LOL.

Beautiful, you even have a SinoCrassula, (Chinese) that not many folks grow, in the u.k.