semi- and succulents, old and new

A few small cuttings and plantlets I got from a friend of the family. I don't know their names, unfortunately. This one has round, flat leaves shaped like my 'ice plant' but a grassy green. It looks like another crassula of some kind.

and these tiny baby plants had grown from leaves that fell on the lady's table. The leaves had actually withered away, and the baby plants were holding themselves up with fine root hairs spread on the tabletop in her sunroom, between trailing stems. Lovely pale blue-green.

Not new- but replacing old. My kalanchoes had grown large enough to sport lots of babies on the leaf margins- and then started looking sickly, just like before. This time I simply cut them down (you can see the trimmed-off stems in here) and planted some of their largest babies.

I threw out the ponytail palm. After a summer languishing outside, it just didn't look like it would recover. Also tossed the string-of-pearls, it looked dead. Bummer. The first set of cuttings off my zebrina plant went into its pot:

I don't know what to do with my lithops anymore. It does not look good. It keeps sprouting new leaf pairs without any of them getting healthy. It's in the brightest window spot I have, yet still looks leggy and needy.

My oldest geranium, the one that's kind-of a bonsai, got its serious trim of the year:

Here's the best of its tops, which I stuck in a small pot to root

Older scion of it is still outside, obviously it loves the sun

Scented geranium is unhappy. I don't know if it was the switch to indoors, or I brought an insect pest in on it? Leaves keep yellowing and dropping. I'm trying to change its watering routine. Think it's too damp. Might move it into a smaller pot. Discouraged as I liked this plant.

Cuban oregano is looking pretty good.

Creeping charlie is glorious.

I am trying to save my elephant bush plant. It got hit really hard with some insect, outside on the porch this summer. It looks terrible. I'm taking cuttings of the few stems with decent-looking leaves, to see if I can restart it, but don't dare bring it inside yet to spread more ill...

pest outbreak

I should have looked closer. Another new-to-me plant, this false aralia, has been sitting in a corner more or less unnoticed.

I meant to repot it with the others, it was crowded when I bought it several weeks ago. But when I picked it up for the procedure, saw with dread it was covered in dusty webbing. Spider mites, ugh.

I upended the entire thing, threw out the soil, bleached the pot, knocked loose dirt off the roots and submerged the entire plant in a large bowl of very soapy, oiled water for good half hour while I worked on other plants. Removed some lower foliage that seemed dead, and gave it a good rinse. It looks much better now.

It also went into a larger pot to spread out. Turns out to be three individuals.

It has a few tiny new baby leaves growing, so I hope all is not lost.

This spelled the end for my six-year-old pepper plant, though. Which has just been limping along. Close look revealed all its leaves had a sickly appearance. I dumped it in the outside trash today. I think because it never has enough sun when I bring indoors for winter, it struggles to stay healthy so is the first to fall to insect pests. I'm tired of taking the risk, spreading things to my other plants...goodbye old pepper. From now on I'll just start new peppers from seed in spring.

I looked close at all the other houseplants in vicinity. Dismayed- the ice plant has suffered a steady leaf drop, so gradual I didn't pay much attention to it. I found more mealy bugs. Wiped off all I could see with a q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol. Doused this plant and others in soapy water/oil mixture.

The elephant bush is in bad shape, too. What I thought were drying-up flower stems is actually shriveling foliage. I tried to clean it up as best I could. Found no mealybugs, but gave it a dousing of soap as well.

More plant inspections. Thankfully tarragon looks fully recovered.

Parlor palms are susceptible and they were sitting right next to the false aralia for weeks. I put them in the bathtub, sprayed heavily with the soapy mix, let sit for half an hour, rinsed off well. None of the other plants actually have signs of bugs on them, but to be on the safe side I also sprayed down the spider plants, boston fern, avocado, dracanea, sweet potato vine, sansevieria, large jade and the smaller schefflera. (Avocado and dracanea so large I had to haul them out onto the front porch). Some of those just appreciate the humidity of being misted, I figured a dose of soap wouldn't hurt and they're all prone to catching the spider mites or mealybugs. Especially when they dry out. I should have done more plant spa days this winter!

Going to keep a close eye on the succulents near the window and re-spray if needed. If the bugs keep reappearing I'll use neem oil again.

thru the window

My plants in the one good winter sun spot- viewed from outside

Elephant ear, jade, ice plant, tarragon, geranium, lithops, Zebrina in the background.

getting better?

Last week I saw there were a few lumps of white sticky stuff in the angle where leaves join stem, on my elephant bush plant. Mealybugs? I removed them and wiped down the area, haven't seen a recurrence but I bet it isn't that easy to get rid of.

Most of the tiny bits of tarragon I stuck into soil dried up and died. But it appears one or two have taken.

some living room plants

got a bit more attention this week, they needed it. Boston fern just got a cleanup. Browned fronds and stems trimmed off. Found several more (still unexplained) cactus seedlings in there.

'Ice plant' has sent out some tall, leggy stems. I think the winter light is too dim for it. I cut and replanted them in a smaller pot.

My 'elephant bush' got two pieces accidentally broken off when I was trimming withered flower stalks. I recall a friend silently admiring this plant last week during a visit, so I stuck the two bits in a small pot to see if it will take root.

Still have a handful of small kalanchoe babies, in pots of larger jade. Hopeful.

Moving the sweet potato cuttings to a brighter spot -other side of the house- helped. Half the stems died, but those that still had decent-sized leaves have grown new roots quickly.

how some succulents are doing

Kalanchoe is making lots and lots of baby plants on their ruffled margins. I don't know what to do with them all, so keep breaking off in sweeps of the hand, for 'greens' in my compost.

Admire the pretty shapes at base of mature leaves.

Of all the newer succulents I have, 'elephant ear' seems to be doing best, really perked up since I unpacked it from a box. I still need to repot all the new ones, want to find some nice terra cotta pots.

new succulents!

A large box came to the house last week, and it wasn't full of rocks like usual. It had plants- a surprise from my husband. So very very dry when I lifted them, but they can take it- these are all desert-area succulents. And completely new to me, so I have to do some reading up on their care.

This one, is very particular: lithops. The plant that imiatates a rock. My youngest calls it "the butt plant".

String-of-pearls: a trailing plant in a hanger. Heard of it before, never seen one in person until now.

This is pink ice plant- some call it miniature jade- and it can grow into a great shrub outside with beautiful pink flowers (but frost would kill it so I need a pot sized to come indoors for the winter).

And my favorite of them is the variegated elephant bush-

the leaves are fat triangles!

I want to repot them all from their travelling containers, but first need to go get some specialized soil- cactus mix- because the stuff I usually use would poison them with richness.