Miniatures/Succulents - Part 2

My knowledge of &/or exposure to succulents, up until this last year, was limited to Jade plants, that hardy, almost impossible to kill, ubiquitous Jade that back in the day, every good love & peace-nik grew alongside their marijuana plant.

Succulents are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. Succulents are not a species..a given species can have both succulent & non-succulents in their family tree & vice versa, multiple species may be succulent, while not related, such as cacti.

The main attraction for many (me, included) is the ease of succulent propagation; whether from a leaf or root cutting, or seed, most succulents will readily reproduce in a wide variety of potting medium & environmental conditions. One can build a collection of succulent plants quite rapidly, compared to other varieties.

As I grew different types, I was intrigued that many of them looked like "mini-bonsai" or faux bonsai plants when potted..And so, alongside my tree collection, however incongruous it might seem, I've started building a collection of succulents.

And to bring some order to the chaos, I'll create an Album specifically for Miniatures/Succulents, so I have some historical record of each plant..coming soon.

Re-potted Red Caro & New Additions

 Yesterday, I repotted my Red Coprosma..used the same training pot & held off on root pruning except for cleaning-up some exposed roots, as I wanted to minimize any trauma..this plant is recovering from being badly burned by an accidental use of full-strength fertilizer & I am treating him with "kid gloves"

The accident also affected 3 other trees; 1 dead, 1 lived but permanently disfigured, 2 others which are recovering. Lesson learned? Yes!

On a brighter note, also potted some new additions to our succulent collection:

Euphorbia -
Crown of Thorns

Golden Rat-Tail
Cactus

Haworthia

Miniatures/Succulents

A little over a year ago (early summer - 2024) when I was just starting on my horticultural adventure, a neighbor-lady brought me a jar full  of Jade plant cuttings & asked if I would like to have them..

I gratefully accepted & in a few days time, some of the cuttings were showing tiny roots and so this odyssey began.

I potted a couple in very small bowls & realized that they looked like little bonsai..gave a couple away to various folks, which promoted my thinking.

Soon I had rooted cuttings "coming out my ears"..when someone suggested I offer them for sale in our community thrift store. Our building is largely tenant-run & has a very active tenant association (they call it a co-op) in that we regularly host luncheons, brunches, & decorate for holidays..these activities have costs attached which are not paid for by the management company & so the proceeds from the Thrift Store go to help pay for those activities.

Now I'm having trouble getting small pots like these at a reasonable cost since the
source for these is China. But the real upside to this story is my exposure & introduction to Succulents, of which I shall write in a future post.

1st Snow of the Season..

There was an early-season Alaska Low that blew through So. Cal this week and, yes, we got our first snow..on the mountains..above 3000 ft..Mt. Baldy (local mountains) was "dusted" as they say with snow on the peaks..got chilly here, but we had rain, rain & then, some more rain..but, oh-boy, did my trees love it!

I moved all of the plants (see photo) under the overhang of the apartment above me, but they still got more than adequately watered..at least, I got them out of the wind..most plants don't mind the cold & don't seem to mind a little wind, but put the rain & wind together & you have a widow-maker.

Everybody came through the storm just fine & they all loved the rain..after a steady diet of municipal water, I'm sure the rain was like a fine wine to them..(tap water here is terrible)