Month: February 2014

Echeverias, not to be confused with chick and hen succulents grow great in rock gardens, containers and in some parts of the USA in the ground. They do tolerate cold better than some varieties of succulents. Echeverias grow into magnificent plants with a very wide variety of leaf types – some very colorful.  Vary Echeverias such as truffles or giant blue will get large and create a fantastic center pieces that are used florists for weddings and other occasions.

Echeverias succulents are easy to grow as long as you treat them properly. Just like any flowering succulent, the soil must be porous and we do advise using sand because most sand retains water. It highly advised that you put a layer of rock between the soil mixture and the leaves to prevent left damage and left rot. Older leaves will dry up and fall off from the bottom up.  The soil mixture you use for adeniums and other succulents will work great when growing Echeverias. Do not use potting soil or soil that contains peat; if at all possible coir is better. Make sure the soil is drying out before each watering just as you would with any succulent.  Look for echeveria hybrids from AdeniumRose Company in march including rare,extra large blue giant, neon breaker and others succulents.

The pots should have drainage holes (put a rock over the holes so it does not get full of dirt).  Most people growing succulents like to use ingredients like perlite, pumice, scoria, gravel, coir and other material.

When you water always try to prevent watering leaves if at all possible or insure that the water either evaporates or rolls of the leaves to prevent leaf discoloration.  Just like succulents Echeverias does not like standing water on them.

 

Spring here in Southeast Florida is here even while the northern states are still getting  the snow. The adenium plants, desert roses, received in November and some received in late December are already starting to bloom. Many new adenium hybrids haev arrived for spring and now it the time to get yo plants ready.

You need to start watering a bit more and maybe give some blooming fertilizer like Dyna-Gro Bloom which is low in nitrates great for all flowering cactus and succulents to get them to bloom in spring (perfect for other flowering plants too).  Remember do not give any fertilizer while the desert rose plants have flowers or flower buds otherwise you will loose the flowers!

If you are in the southern states such as Texas, New Mexico, Florida, Southern California and similar states where the air temperature is staying above 50-55 degrees at night then water the adeniums plants 2 times a week making sure the soil dries between watering. if you are seeing new leaves do not wait to fertilize because the bubs will be right behind – do it now.

Use Dyna-Gro Bloom for 2..3 weeks checking to make sure you do not see buds and then switch to just regular water with no fertilizers. AdeniumRose Company did this in early January and now many of adenium plants are blooming now!

After your plants are finished blooming add some time released fertilizer and then right before winter, depending upon the amount of rain you received over the summer give the desert rose plants, cactus and other succulents plants another tablespoon of time released fertilizer.

Short note on when to change pots if your plants are getting big. Wait until after they bloom then re-pot them. when you re-pot them dip them in a rooting hormone such as Dyna-Gro K-L-N to give them a boost to help prevent plant transplanting shock. (yes, we do this and the leaves really take off!)

Great addition to any garden are accents to potting arrangements. Long time favorite for bonsai and cactus gardens are China handmade from special clay mudman.

Look at the fantastic detail all hand produced and painted from famous refined Chinese mud, glazed and then kiln fired.

These figures adds creativity realism to your bonsai plants and succulent decorative pots. Whether you add a fisherman, China wise man or even a village hut these creatives a story and gives your plant arrangements a realistic quality.

In Chinese society the fisherman represents one of the four basic pursuits, along with farmer, scholar, and woodcutter. In Chinese the word for fish is a homonym for wealth or abundance, so the fisherman can have a greater symbolism of self-reliance and seeking fortune.

When you create your minute garden scene create balance between the size of the plants and the accessories. Whether you add miniature garden figures, huts, walls or other cactus garden accents it gives your arrangement life!