Something tells me that Jeff is not our only GPODer who enjoys succulents! Am I right?
"I do not know if many GPOD'ers grow or enjoy succulents but i definitely do. The forms, textures, changing colors and sometimes the weirdness of them makes them a worthwhile plant to collect. Few are hardy here in Tennessee but they are worth the extra work I think."
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Comments
Yay! Jeff's succulents are finally showcased on GPOD. Not only are the specimens fabulous but the containers are whimsical, original and interesting. I never stop learning from you Jeff. Many thanks!
Happy 4th of July to all my American GPODers. Have a wonderful weekend!
thanks, Cherry, but please note that i study all your container combos for inspiration and ideas
Diane, i have ended up ,,,,,,,,,,,,again this summer,,,,,,,with WAY too many. some hard choices will have to be made in October
Hi, Jeff, you know that I am an enthusiastic rider on the succulent/sedum bandwagon thanks to the inspiration of yourself and some other gpod-ers. Ha, thanks for the addiction! I so enjoy your container choices and arrangements and, of course, the manically grinning head commands a smile! Good luck come late fall when you have to decide who gets wintered over.
Mike, they might have to migrate to Friendsville for winter
My track record from last winter in wintering over over my collection was not very impressive. Most of them ended up all leggy and not real healthy looking. It's going to be hard for me but I think I will have to accept letting most of them go to "plant heaven". I hope you find someone worthy to adopt them.
i will be taking ALL the Echeveria , Sedums, Pachyveria and things like that to my greenhouse buddy. he can propagate from them and i get fresh ones back come spring. it's a win win
That's a giant WIN WIN...relieves the guilt and spreads the "wealth"...the perfect solution.
Please provide your friend's name, address, phone number and ask if he can accept freight shipments, please......
:)
Love all the succulents! I have just one basket of them because of the overwintering. One of yours is really tall. How many years have you babysat it? That grinning head freaks me out!
not sure which one you are asking about. the 4th photo down is Kalanchoe beharensis, i got it spring 2014 and it was maybe 8" tall, it's now about 3 ft with very large velvety leaves
That's the one- very impressive. Where do you keep them in the winter?
that will be a casualty, it will just be too big by end of summer
Of course this is FANTASTIC. Where does one start? I love the pale aloe with the echeveria. I have a similar one that is a summer bloomer that has some nice flower power. I am crazy about the wine box. Not only is that box a keeper, but the arrangement and the genius of the wine bottles is so cool that, not only will I try to copy it, but if I come up with something nice, I will claim that it was my idea and that you are a copy-cat..... :)
It's hard for me to let anything go in the fall. There have been times when I have just been too tired and decided I didn't care and let some things freeze and regretted it come spring, when I couldn't find a replacement. I told myself this spring that I was going to stop buying container/tender plants, but then I found this cool bromeliad on sale and it (or its pups) will be coming indoors in the fall!
Tim, my wine box is trademarked but i will gladly accept any/all royalties that might be due me. i always say that i will NOT buy more tender things and then i do. that bromeliad is snazzy with or without the flower scape. i got a few and broke the colored bracts/scape off putting it in the car. i just stuck the broken piece in the pot held in place by the leaves and it's still nice and colorful 2 months later. i had a few aloes that i got from a big box store that developed the dreaded aloe mite/aloe cancer and i had to bag and dispose of them. so far the others are all good
I'll send your royalties check in the mail.
Never heard of aloe mites, but a quick internet search has just educated me. Thanks for the education. cheers and enjoy your weekend.
if you learn of a cure for the mites i would love to know. there is also a snout nose agave weevil,,,,,,,,it's always somethin'
Tim... I love the location for your new babe! Perfect!
What a wonderfully cool looking bromeliad...love those stripes and that fabulously vibrant spike.I can't tell if it's planted directly in the ground or in a container. All the surrounding plants really set it off beautifully.
Thanks, Michaele. I just could not pass up those prehistoric looking stripes and that fanciful feather in it's cap. It does not have appeared to have bloomed, so I am hoping for a fabulous colored flowers as well. I supposed I could try to ID it. I just sank its little pot in the ground. I'm not really experienced with bromeliads. The first ones I purchased, I sank their small pots in the dirt in a container with other plants, because some sources said that they grew better when not over-potted, and they've thrived. I received a generous gift of many bromeliads this spring from a friend from Florida who was passing through. She said to plant them directly in the ground and they would pup more freely, so I did. But she can grow them out all year long and I can't, so we'll see. Maybe a bromeliad expert could chime in. Of course, you didn't ask for a dissertation on bromeliad culture; sorry I went crazy at the keyboard!
I'm pretty much a dummy about bromeliads but they are more on my radar screen now because of being mentioned here on gpod...same thing for the whole agave thing between you and Jeff. Any info is appreciated. So, as proof of my level of ignorance, will the orange spike open and become the flower?
Well, I did a quick search and it looks like this is a fairly common bromeliad: Vrisea splendens or Flaming Sword. The flowers should come out of the sides of the sword. I've copied a photo from this site: http://www.plantsrescue.com/tag/flaming-sword-bromeliad/
There are several other flower types on other bromeliad genus. My other bromeliad is the old-fashioned Aechmea fasciata. I remember it fondly as a kid in the 60's and 70's. It was ubiquitous. Silver striped plant with a bubble-gum pink scape and lavender flowers. If you've ever seen Star Trek Next Generation, it is the plant at the head of every bed on The Enterprise. Apparently it does very well in space!
Well, with as flashy as the sword is, those flowers seem pretty much an afterthought. I find the older I get, the more appealing vibrant orange or red is as a flower color...must be weakening eyesight! There was a time I was all gaga over soft pastels and couldn't imagine wanting to use strong orange...I have evolved.
Fantastical !!!! Love it !!! Just was noticing how all the El Nina rain or is it El Nino has benefitted the succulents… They are particularly happy this year...
I am rapidly developing a fascination for succulents although it's all a bit hit or miss with overwintering. Some rather sorry looking individuals actually perked when put outside for summer, which probably guarantees their home indoors later.
Your creative potting is just great, Jeff, clever and whimsical. Like Cherry, I always learn something from your posts.
Watch out for Tim, though, he is hot on your heels!
Thank you for sharing do generously.
Eddi, take care with succulents as they easily become addictive
That is quite an impressive collection of succulents and all so artfully displayed! I just love that strange smiling face pot...
Clare, i got that smiling face pot for my mother when i was maybe 16 or 17 years old,,,,,,,,,,,,now it's a priceless antique :)
Very cool! I've never seen anything like it.
Gorgeous Jeff! Succulent businesses everywhere have been thriving since you got so many of us addicted to their beauty! I am one of those who succumbed, and am not sorry! I did learn though, that I must treat the tender ones as annuals and not try to overwinter them in my house. I'm so glad to see in an earlier comment that you have found a place to overwinter the overflow with mutual benefit.
May, i have given up trying to successfully over winter Echeveria and Aeonium. they just etoliate too badly but i still enjoy them as an annual
Yes, it is hard to let the beauties die, but that does make room for new ones! I'm trying hardy cacti and succulents in a new small bed. Will see what happens to them over the winter. We have serious drought right now, but our winter is very rainy.
Jeff, your succulents are gorgeous! Absolutely love the wine box/bottle idea. Very creative and beautiful. Succulents are at the top of my "bullet-proof" list of plants. Here in western WA they do beautifully, given good drainage (rainy winters). The tropical ones I keep in big dish gardens in my house and they survive pretty well usually, and if they don't I get to choose a replacement. There is such variety available these days, they are endlessly fascinating. Love your gardens and ideas - wish I could afford you!
Shirley, i had to get rid of some of the larger ones because of the size and weight. it just became too much to deal with twice annually
That wasn't a criticism, Jeff. I think mine never survive long enough to become that large!
i didn't take anything as a criticism, Shirley, but some of these plants can get large and heavy, when it takes 4 people to move something in and out,,,,,,,it's time to rethink the situation
So true - and since I am much older and less strong than you, I get there sooner...
I love the succulents also. I have one planter that I drag (cement and it is so heavy) to the garage every winter but it's worth the effort. I've run out of room to add any new plants so I may have to get another pot so I can feed my addiction. Jeff, your collection is beautiful and the menacing pot head is a hoot. I love his hairdo! Vikki in VA
thanks! i thought he needed to be spiked this year
Very inspiring!!! Happy Fourth of July everyone??????
Hi Jeff love them all. Quite a collection.I put my Aeoium and 2 other containers with succulents in my small greenhouse for the winter.I also have a large hardy cactus which is still in the greenhouse as it is too heavy to move. I keep a small space heater going at just above freezing. Seems to work well.
Your Mom must have had a good sense of humour. What did she plant in it.
the truth,,,,,,,,the only thing i ever remember her having in it was plastic vines
Jeff, so, so fascinating and beautiful ! The 4th photo, Kalanchoe, is amazing. I don't think you have shown us that one before, what a beauty. Thanks for the succulent show, so great.
HAPPY 4th of JULY everyone. (They have banned fireworks on Bainbridge Island this year due to the incredible, never ending heat and pending fire danger - and I am so glad.)
Great photos, Jeff... your spikes are definitely enjoying their summer vacation! And the succulent filled wine-box is brilliant, it would certainly be a big money ticket item for a charity fundraiser ;)
sheila, i did 7 of those wine boxes (all different and yet the same) sold 6 and kept one for myself
They're very cool. Have a fun 4th, Jeff!
Ah, as soon as I saw the title for this morning's post, .... hmmm! I think that sounds like we'll have photos from Jeff! They are great! Love the "face" planter, especially~ and your wine bottle planter is very clever. A wonderful collection of "Weird and worthwhile"!
Margaret, i know i am weird and i hope i can be worthwhile!
I'd say weird is GOOD and you are definitely worthwhile! LOVE your creativity!!!
Your photos are terrific! I'm just starting to "get into" the succulent world, I really like agaves and so I appreciated it that you had one in the photo. The hanging planter, of course, made me smile. Very well thought out. Here in Sandy, Utah I'm in a zone 5 (some say 6) but at my place in Southern Utah it's a zone 8. I hope I can grow some succulents there with success. Again, your shots are beautiful.
Steve
thanks, Steve, you should be able to grow many Agave there with success especially at the Zone 8 property. here even the ones that are rated very very cold tolerant do not survive long term because of winter wet, i just can't keep them dry enough outside in winter
Jeff, you have turned me into a succulent lover. I never knew there were so many sizes, shapes and colors. Love them all and you have a wonderful eye for the unique. The purple succulent in the metal tub, is that one plant?
that is one plant, Elizabeth, it is an Aeonium (not sure of the variety but probably atropurpureum) they branch, each "head" can be removed and rooted and more heads will form along the remaining stems
I love succulents. My mom has 1 by her front steps. When it blooms, it stays covered with bumble bees. Do you know the name of the 1 in the 4th pic? All your plants are gorgeous, but this 1 really caught my eye.
the tall gray leaved plant is Kalanchoe beharensis
Thank you, it is so gorgeous.
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