Closing the Circle (no, this is not a Wiccan thing)

Aeonium rosettes cut cleanly from the mother plant.

This morning I did a little plant trimming and moving to complete the circle of aeoniums around my agave marginita. I started by cutting aeonium rosettes, then found that I had a smaller plant I could pull out and replant, as well as a rosette that had rooted.

This plant could be pulled out of the circle without leaving a large gap.

This little guy had already formed its own roots, so was a perfect choice.

In the larger plant I pulled, you can see how the long, brown stem would stand out as rather ugly in less dense foliage. This is a reason to deadhead a plant, and you would cut the stem off cleanly as closely to the "head" as possible.

Closing the gap. You can see I left some space for the agave where I had trimmed off leaves.

 I dug holes and planted the two rooted plants in the gap where the Mexican feather grass bush had been. They nearly enclose the space as is, but in less than a year will be dense enough with new growth to complete an entire circle around the agave.

Planted and watered.

After I planted the rooted plants, I got lazy. Because the aeoniums grow so prolifically, I wasn't too worried about coddling the two cuttings I had made. I set them in place lightly on top of the soil after I watered it for the rooted plants. Hopefully, without too much intervention from me, they will naturally callus and create a root system for themselves. It's worked before; these aeoniums are tough suckers!

Cuttings placed lightly balanced on the other plants so they won't touch soil directly.

The small plant in front/in back of the agave and aeoniums needs me to do some research on it (it was a gift), but I'm hoping it will be a small tree.

Kalanchoe Blooms and Rebirth

The first plant is the tall stalk, the second is the recognizable fang plant next to it.

There is a type of kalanchoe that if it isn't, at least should be rather popular. Known colloquially as a "fang plant" or even "lambs ear" it features very large, spade-shaped leaves covered with soft fuzz and having curious pointy bumps on the outer surface. It's a fantastic plant, and the one I have has been through a lot, even a beheading and re-rooting. After about three years with  me, it decided to bloom. While it's amazing to have your succulents bloom, the succulents like kalanchoes and aeoniums that have the longest-lasting blooms also perish after blooming. Their flowers are their swan song.

Fresh blooms from about a month and a half ago.

Tall enough to be a super model.

The bloom (technically called an inflorescence) on my fang plant reaches almost six feet in height, which is astounding. It's a collection of symmetrical stalks with clusters of flowers at the ends. The radial symmetry is really quite... mathematical, as Finn and Jake would say.

Two separate plant bodies mean one survives.

This is my second kalanchoe to bloom. My first, which was tall, red, and gorgeous, bloomed all at once, which meant that I had to remove the entire plant (a rather large one) when it died soon after. My good luck in this case is that the fang plant had grown an offshoot which became it's own plant, and so even though this particular plant will die, the now-separated twin plant survives.

The plant loses nearly all leaves, leaving these strange gaps in its body.

Baby plant growing on the left side where a leaf formerly grew.

I'm extra-lucky in this case, as the fang plant generously decided to grow some baby plants on the flowering stalks. This happens with many succulents, but I haven't seen it on a kalanchoe before. At areas where a large leaf formerly grew, and on "crotches" where stems separate, the fang plant has grown little fuzzy green baby plants I will be able to pop off and root!

This is great, because I love this plant, and now I'll be able to spread it around the garden! It does pretty well with full sun (not all succulents do), and it will be nice to have some more of these fun and fuzzy plants.

Babies growing in crotches

Babies growing on the flower stalk where small leaves had grown and died.

The bloom/inflorescence today. Many flowers have died, some are still buds.

The large stem is the remains of the original plant's bloom.

For a little more context, I have some pictures of a different sort of kalanchoe my mother gave me. This particular plant bloomed and died, leaving an offshoot still attached to the dead flower stem, which I will need to remove with clippers. You can see the tall, dead stem next to the tiny left-over living plant. I left the stem on when I planted it in the ground as it gave me a very easy "handle" to move the plant with.

I haven't had this type of kalanchoe before, so it will be interesting to see what it grows into. I'm guessing that as I've planted it in full sun, it will be a nice red color, a guess supported by the red of the dead inflorescence.

Now that it's securely in the ground I can cut the dead stem down, if not completely off.

Yog Sothoth Flowers and Spreads

My once-tiny purchase off of Ebay is now so huge it's falling apart under its own weight! It's been an amazing haven for snails, which I've harvested for the turtles that now live in my backyard. Today I pulled bits off and moved them to other parts of the garden to fill in space by becoming monsters themselves.

It's blooming!

It's also started blooming! It hasn't bloomed in the years I've had it, just grown and grown and grown. This type of succulent doesn't die after blooming, it's rather like what most people call a "jade plant."

If I'm lucky there will be half a dozen giant mutant plants in my succulent collection, glorifying and frightening my front yard! I'm guessing these plants are an acquired taste, but I've always been a fan of the strange and bizarre.

First flowers ever!

The stems grow in twists or fan-shapes.

The plant, weighed down, grows roots that anchor it to the ground.

Here, a section of more "normal" plant grows long stems weaving through other plants.

A crest that became too heavy to stay up. Now it will be a new plant.

Another heavy crest, this one will hopefully perk up a bit once it roots.

A third crest, similar to the first. I think of this shape as blades.

One of the original cuttings, now a little fan on its own.

The oldest original cutting has grown to be over a foot tall and going on two feet wide.

Euphorbias: Don't Get Euphoric over the Acidic

Euphorbia genus succulents are very popular these days, with the simple, orange variety known colloquially as "sticks of fire" being used in drought-friendly landscaping for shopping centers and restaurants. The plants grow quite easily, and are beautiful in their orange variety, though they also have a green variety that looks exactly the same except for the color. The plants grow extremely easily and thrive in drought conditions (or when "stressed" by denying them regular water).

Sticks of Fire, not "stressed" enough for full orange color.

Another form of euphorbia you might have seen is known as "crown of thorns" in what one can only assume is a reference to Jesus Christ (yes, it is, no assumption necessary). This plant is known for its incredibly thorny stems and the tiny flowers that bloom at the ends in a variety of colors.

I have one of these, bought by my brother, and for safety's sake I planted it in an area where it's unlikely to be stepped on or accidentally brushed by the hand. It's even hard to photograph my plant because I have surrounded it with "safety" succulents that are safe to touch. The thorns are vicious, but the real viciousness of all euphorbia plants is what's inside of them.

Best picture I could get of my Crown of Thorns.

The sap bleeds out wherever the plant is broken.

Euphorbia plants contain a milky sap that might remind you of the liquid inside milkweed. Unlike milkweed, the euphorbia sap is extremely painful to come into contact with, not just causing itching, but actually able to burn the skin.

Most succulent plants break easily, and the green and orange thorn-less varieties of euphorbia are no exception. A slight bit of pressure can cause a split in the skin where the sap will well up just like a cut in animal skin. The branches snap extremely easily, and gloves with protective gauntlets should be worn whenever working with this plant.

If the sap touches skin, the effect isn't immediate. The sap flows rather copiously, and is sticky. It will dry on skin sort of like white glue does. Unlike that lovely school glue, this stuff will burn where it touches.

I suffered for your benefit, but only a little bit.

I dabbed a tiny bit on my hand so I could add a little demonstration for this blog entry. I received some pretty bad burns a few weeks ago when staking the green euphorbia to a piece of rebar, but they've healed since then, so I gave myself a little injury for your benefit.

The sap I put on my skin was from a previously-broken stem that was drying out, so there was less sap than would appear if the plant was freshly broken. After about a minute, I washed the skin, and then scratched it with my fingernail. That's where those shreds of skin came from. The sap will burn through layers of skin, and you will notice because it is nearly impossible NOT to scratch at the itchy and painful areas it touches.

I only had the old sap on my skin for a minute, and it only stripped a bit of skin and left a bit of redness. I've had burns that have stripped more than just one layer of cells, and the skin itself is red and once healed is an obviously lighter shade than the uninjured skin surrounding it. Now, about forty five minutes later, the area on my hand still itches and burns.

Where I staked the plant and managed to burn myself even with gauntlet gloves.

Why this blog entry? With the proliferation of this plant in public places, I get increasingly worried about children and pets (and even adults) injuring themselves by "playing" with this plant. No matter how interesting those carroty-colored stems look, DO NOT TOUCH! It is very easy to get sap on you, rub it off (which really doesn't work, you need to use soap and water), and later find your skin shedding a bit like a heavy sunburn.

If you DO come in contact with the sap of this plant, DO wash thoroughly with soap and water as soon as possible. Even spitting on the area and rubbing it off immediately is better than nothing (if you or a child is injured away from sanitation facilities). As in my demonstration photo, skin will still be injured, and it will be irritated, but the effects will be much less severe than letting the sap stay on the skin.

If you desire to grow any of these plants yourself, be smart about it. My neighbors have several VERY LARGE crown of thorns euphorbias in front of their house, and I keep myself and my dogs away. The thorns themselves are scary enough. As for the thorn-less varieties, do not plant them in areas that are accessible to children and pets. It's just asking for trouble. My euphorbia plants are in an area of the bed that is near the back and not touch-accessible to people looking at the patch of succulents. Don't want the neighbor's kids catching their balls in my yard and falling on these plants!

Edited 4/3/16 to add:

Euphorbia sap burns

Two days ago I did some heavy work on the euphorbias, re-tying them and cutting off excess stems. I did not wear long sleeves, and my gauntlet gloves end just before the elbow. These three burns are from sap that stayed put on my skin for the duration of the gardening work; about twenty minutes max. You can see the middle one is my inner elbow, and the largest is on my upper arm. I also burned my face a bit, and my legs because I was silly enough to be wearing shorts. BE CAREFUL!!! Don't be like me!

Placing Plants: Pots vs. Ground

  The placement of plants is a decision that must take into consideration many factors. Before owning a house, I only had potted plants, and to recap, only one (an aeonium) ever survived! One of the most immediate things you can do to perk up a sad-looking plant is put it in the dirt, the real dirt. Of course, one still has to determine what area of ground will be the best for the plant.

My succulent cutting garden. The furniture is 1:12 dollhouse furniture from the 1980s.

  The first decision to be made is whether the plant should live indoors or out. In Southern California the fairly mild to warm climate supports quite a large variety of succulent plants, and worrying about plants getting frostbitten is something very rarely worried about. The one thing that can and does happen to some of my succulents is that they are too delicate for full sun. This applies to different types of succulents, but its good to know that young plants are easily burned in hot sun and must be given some sort of shelter until they reach adult size.
  

Grew "under" another adult plant.

  The mesembryanthemums in the indoor window box I grow cuttings in were on clearance at Home Depot. They could probably be planted outside, but I'm not comfortable putting these rock-shaped plants in the ground. I KNOW they'd get stepped on!

The cuttings garden is a safe indoor area for baby plants. 

The un-ID'd baby succulent loves its safe home.

  You can see in the photos where I have set baby plants from leaf cuttings atop the potting soil to grow safely indoors. Yes, I have used seed beads, crystals and rocks to cover the soil and make it purty. Well, "fairy gardens" are in now, aren't they?

  

 

  These three pots contain some of the smaller or more delicate plants. For instance, in our lovely lady on the far right is a small piece of that wacky jade plant they're calling "Gollum Fingers" these days, but in front of that is a haworthia that I had originally planted out of doors. The plant was just too delicate for direct sunshine, so I brought it indoors. Haworthias are popular indoor plants, especially in Asia, where cultivators have bred some frankly weird and wacky plants.

"String of Pearls" is NOT an easy grow!

  A plant that I potted but kept outdoors is this still-tiny string of pearls plant. It finally has grow some new leaves (those bulbous "pearls"), but is not thriving at all in its location of direct sunlight. I only potted it because its a trailing succulent, but  since it's in a pot I already have the flexibility to place the pot itself in a shadier location.

A "crown of thorns" euphorbia and a "bunny ear" grafted cactus

  The biggest problem I have with potted plants is keeping them watered! The above photo has a euphorbia with lovely orange-pink flowers. After planting it in that pot, I neglected it. When I finally started regular watering again, the new flower growth was pale yellow and white! At least it stayed alive, and it appears that the color is changing back to the terra cotta pink seen above.

A week after being in the ground.

   Back to the ground; if you want a plant to really grow, you've gotta give it room. This piece of floribunda would never had survived had it been in a pot. By sticking it in the wet earth near the hose spout, I've got a revitalized plant. I've never experienced this sort of regeneration with potted plants. Every plant I've left in this condition dried up and died in its pot.

Six weeks being in the ground.

  Controlling plant growth is something that a pot can assist with, but just because you've got a plant in a certain sized pot does not mean it will stop growing to fit the container! Plants should be repotted at least every two to three years. What putting a plant in a pot does do is prevent the plant from sending out underground shooters that pop up as pups. Of course, if I did have my agaves in a pot, they'd probably just skip the long rhizomes and make the babies right against the mother plant.

Agave pups broke ground about three feet away from mom.

  To wrap it up, then, most plants thrive in the ground, but succulents do grow quite well in pots. Succulent growers in cold climates will want to pot their plants so that the plants can be moved to warmer areas during winter. Pots might slightly inhibit your plant from reproducing, but not to a noticeable degree. In fact, I keep all of my cuttings in the kitchen, and here's the latest batch of will-be-plants:

All echeveria leaves, I believe.

Lovable Lithops

My instant lithops collection purchased from Ebay

  
  Lithops are a type of Mesembryanthemum (try saying that five times fast) found in Namibia and South Africa. Mesembryanthemums are a family of succulents with an interesting characteristic. They look like rocks.

  Lithops are characterized by a two-part plant body. With a yearly growth cycle they reproduce themselves, a new plant emerging from between the two plant halves (which aren't exactly halves, one is slightly larger). Sometimes a lithops will produce two new plant bodies, like the plant in the top right corner of the first photo. A lithops can expand like this over many years, creating a plant body of many lithops joined in a cluster.

  Lithops, apparently, are known as difficult to care for. This is far from true. I think lithops must be the easiest houseplant one can find.

A four-headed lithops I found on clearance at Home Depot.

  Lithops are rarely in need of water. In fact for at least half of the year they want nothing to do with it! After growing a new plant body a lithops will absorb the nutrients from the old plant body, eventually leaving a husk that can be pulled off with care. The four-headed lithops in the above photo still has the desiccated leaves attached. It is essential during this time that you DO NOT WATER! Lithops are from extremely arid areas, and only experience rainfall a few months out of the year. Overwatering can easily lead to the death of the plant!

After potting the plants. Old plant bodies are visible on a few.

  In the spring the old plant bodies are husks, and you can water your plant(s). Only water them about every two weeks, and STOP WATERING when summer hits. The plant is resting, and too much water can overwhelm it. Towards the middle/end of August start watering again, and water well, letting the soil dry completely in between waterings. In a month or two a lithops will produce a single yellow or white flower, which emerges from the center just like the new plant body eventually will. Stop watering when the flower begins to wither. After the flower dies a new plant emerges. At the end of winter, in late spring you can start watering again.

I usually don't name plants, but this is Audrey!

  I'm looking forward to my plants blooming this fall, but not all of them will. Lithops won't produce a bloom until they are at least a couple of years old. With that in mind I am pretty confident my "four-headed" lithops will bloom in September. It has to be at least a few years old, as a lithops only doubles (if that) during a single growth season. This also means that my two-headed lithops could be old enough to bloom as well. As far as I can determine, the only way to know a plant is older than a year is if it contains more than one plant body, and plants do not necessarily double every growth cycle.
  

Lithops a few months later. The old leaves have withered away.

  I've watered my lithops only a few times. I watered the four-headed plant when I planted it because one of the plant bodies was slightly wrinkled, indicating a need for water, as well as the fact that the soil it was in was sand-dry. I'm guessing that's why they were on clearance. Home Depot probably only sells lithops and other mesembryanthemums seasonally and has a "no watering" rule.

  When it comes to placing your pot of lithops, make sure it's in a location where it can get four to five hours of direct sun each day. More than that can lead to sunburn, as you can see the lithops on the 

left in the above picture. Without enough sunlight a lithops will grow long and thin, trying to reach whatever light they can. Mine are all in an indoor windowbox facing the north. I don't have good east and west windows, so it was a choice between north and south, and I'm definitely more Yankee than Union.

  Most of my lithops were an eBay lot purchase with which I'm very pleased. Lithops seeds are inexpensive, and apparently grow well. Having no patience for seedlings, I went straight for the adult plants, which one should be able to find for less than $5.00 for an individual plant. If you hurry now (date of post) to Home Depot you might find some on clearance for a couple of dollars. Good luck!