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Today's flower buds (3 pics)

June 7, 2014, 1:25 pm
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The newest flower buds have developed to a considerable size by now and should hopefully open soon. Flowering is not very frequent occurrence for me so to have so many potential flowers this season is pretty exciting! Unless they drop... I saw it happen a lot, so... For now, fingers crossed.

Aloinopsis rubrolineata looks like its flower will make it on the first try this year. Should they actually flower in summer? I always thought they did it in the fall and winter but okay. The Titanopsis Group book says the flowering is in winter and spring. Last year this plant was growing and drying up flowers in summer until it finally bloomed in late November.


This Aloinopsis rosulata is relatively new on the windowsil, I got it in March. The acclimation is going very well so far, a lot of new growth and always good reaction to water. It needs a sunnier spot but it is unfortunatelly too big to stand in the middle.


And finally Prepodesma orpenii! My other plant is growing flowers too but they are way too small and it is uncertain they will ever develop fully. In case they do I'll try to gather and store pollen from this one when it opens.

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Happy Cheiridopsis

June 7, 2014, 11:34 pm
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I must be doing something right with these Cheiridopsis denticulata kids even though I have no idea what. They're just happy and grow like crazy (for mesemb standards). They've grown a second pair of those big and beautifully sculptured leaves and almost all of them have developed side shoots. One is even growing two new side branches now, going from one to four within a year. I hope they will keep this up and flower one day. They seem to find the condictions I can offer them not only acceptable but very enjoyable. :)

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Cheiridopsis pillansii seedlings (3 pics)

June 8, 2014, 3:43 am
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To continue the Cheiridopsis theme, on April 20th I've sown some of the Cheiridopsis pillansii seeds I got from Mesa Garden this year. Almost all of them germinated on the second day and now they are growing their first true leaves already. The pics are very large but make sure to click on them to see the new tiny hairy leaves in all detail :)




Cute kids, huh? :)
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Prepodesma orpenii blooming

June 11, 2014, 9:56 pm
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The flower is so kind to still be open every day when I come home from work :)
I'm not sure if the flowers on my other Prepodesma plant will ever fully develop and open but I've swept the pollen from this one and put the brush in the fridge for now. No idea if it'll work. 

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Aloinopsis flowers (3 pics)

June 15, 2014, 1:12 am
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Both flowers have opened this weekend and I'm especially glad to see that the Aloinopsis rubrolineata has found the strength to develop its flower on the first try this year. 


The Aloinopsis rosulata is relatively new on the windowsill but seems to have accepted the new conditions. It needs more light but since it is so big I can not put it in the middle of the windowsill. It has to make do with the morning sun only. Seems to be enough for flowering though.

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Lithops dorotheae (3 pics)

June 15, 2014, 12:48 pm
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I wanted to take many more Lithops pictures today but in the bright sun most of the photos looked sort of overexposed. The best ones were those of Lithops dorotheae so here are this year's portraits. The one on the first pic has grown quite fat, which is rare for my plants, but has regenerated just fine. A strong plant. I have the others since 4 years already and I hope to be growing them for many more years.

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Anacampseros seeds give-away!

June 20, 2014, 10:56 pm
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UPDATE: All seeds are gone! I will let you know when I have more (probably on twitter) :)

Dear readers and plants enthusiasts, are you interested in getting Anacampseros filamentosa ssp. namaquensisfor free from me? My plant is still flowering like crazy and several of the flowers developed seeds. I've already sown some and the germination rate is 9 out of 10 at the moment with the seedlings looking really strong. I know that it's like this because the seeds are very fresh so if you'd like to sow them right away I can send you some. Just drop me a line. You will find my email address in my user profile :)

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Rabiea and Frithia seedlings (2 pics)

June 23, 2014, 6:58 am
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Time to update you on some of the seedlings. Rabiea albipuncta are now 6 months old and look much more mature than only 2 months ago. Glad to see that a couple of them still show the distinct red leaf tips.


They are currently having seven-month-old Frithia pulchra kids as neighbors. It is supposed to be a red (or redder) flowering variety but since Frithias never flower for me it's only theoretically different from the other Frithia pulchra plants I own.


PS: I really need to take some lithops pictures. I can't seem to be able to take any good ones lately...
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Glottiphyllum pygmaeum question mark

June 26, 2014, 9:51 pm
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I got the seeds as Glottiphyllum pygmaeum (actually some fancy red-leaf form but whatever). Now they are 7 months old and I really don't know whether they are really what they were supposed to be. Do they look like Glottiphyllum pygmaeum to you? Shouldn't they have more rounded, sideways growing leaves? Are they supposed to be this poisonous green? I can't even take a proper picture because of the floppiness amd glossiness. Also, they've been growing huge long leaves before but now they're growing these short round blobs :D


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Kakteen- und Sukkulentenmarkt in Essen 5.7-6.7

June 29, 2014, 2:12 am
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I think I have some readers from Germany here so this is basically for you! If you live near Essen make sure you don't miss this!

Sa 5.7. bis So 6.7.2014
Kakteen- und Sukkulentenmarkt 
Ausstellung, Beratung, Verkauf
rund um die Orangerie im Grugapark, 10 bis 18 Uhr

I'm seriously thinking of going there on Saturday, July 5th, even though it's a long trip for me ;)

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Anacampseros seedlings (2 pics)

June 29, 2014, 9:54 am
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I've sent out all the envelops with fresh Anacampseros seeds to you guys. Make sure to sow them soon :)

The bunch of seeds I've hatched myself have turned into 9 tough seedlings and now, as they are one whole month old, they are showing their first hairs. Cute, huh? At first I thought those were mealy bugs, which is far less cute XD

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Avonia: this year's flower

July 4, 2014, 12:33 pm
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It's Avonia time again!
When I came home from work the flower was already open a bit too wide but at least I could catch a glow of the evening sun on the petals :)

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Stomatium alboroseum first flower

July 10, 2014, 12:55 pm
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I'm still editing the photos from the succulent market and will try to post a report this weekend. But for now I need to share my joy over the Stomatium alboroseum seedling with you. This little guy is 11 months old and has only 6 leaves but it already could develop and open its very first flower! I'm very proud of it.
Funny thing, even though the flower opens at night and seemingly doesn't rely on sunlight for that, it opened just a little bit over the last few days when it was raining the whole time. Today it was sunny and hot and as soon as it was dark the flower opened fully. As if it got charged by the sun during the day to have enough energy to open at night :)

My Stomatium trifarium kids are several months older and really huge but not even a sign of a flower there.
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Cactus & Succulent Market in Essen (33 pics)

July 13, 2014, 11:43 am
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Last Saturday I went to the Cactus & Succulent Market in Essen. I'd take any chance to see with my own eyes what I would normally only see on pictures online. And since there obviously was an opportunity to purchase something - how could you say no to such a trip? The only problem was the rain but, for me, it didn't matter much - I was running around and taking pictures anyway. There were a lot of cacti and caudex plants but in terms of mesembs there was only one grower presenting his. And actually it way enough - I stopped there and couldn't walk away untill I've seen his plants from all sides. Those were the tiniest mesembs you could possibly imagine. I didn't even know you can grow them that compactly - a dreamlike scenery and a goal to pursue. Who knew you could grow a Cheiridopsis species of the size of the smallest Conophytum! He had a beautifully grown selection of Conophytums there so, totally impressed, I bought 6 plants. You probably can't see it from the pictures but they are really really tiny.
(please click on the pictures for full size)


Lots and lots of cacti (and some lithops)




A really small Trichodiadema bonsai!


There was an Adenium grafted onto a .... coconut?


Delospermas: regular and extra cute.


Aaaand more cacti!

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Lithops portraits 2014 - part 2 (9 pics)

July 18, 2014, 3:08 am
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For a blog called Lithops Stories I sure don't show many Lithops pictures lately. It doesn't mean I've forgotten about them! There's just too much to discover among Mesembs that gets my attention between the two times in a year when Lithops "do stuff" - flowering and changing leaves. Still, summer is more or less the time to show off the plants themselves, without the distraction of old leaves or flowers. Since I do post seedlings pictures regularely the adult plants have barely been represented this year. That's why I'll be making a couple of posts to show you my grown-ups.

Firstly, there's a new plant I got at the C&S market 2 weeks ago. The seller didn't know the name but I knew very well what it was so I just grabbed it as soon as I saw it. I didn't have much luck with L. verruculosa so far but let's hope I've become wiser over the years and can give it a good new home.

Secondly, the surprise I got this morning! One of the L. bromfieldii v. insularis 'Sulphurea' has unexpectedly grown a flower. Hopefully others will bloom in the fall.


Others are pretty much doing what they are supposed to do this time of the year - soaking up the sun.



I'm still calling these seedlings because they haven't flowered yet but they were sown 2008 and 2009 and are pretty much adults now. Maybe they will flower this year?



More photos soon~
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Fenestraria seedlings

July 18, 2014, 9:32 am
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Here are some of my youngest Mesemb kids - three-month-old Fenestraria rhopalophylla ssp. aurantiaca 'Fireworth'. I tried it with adult plants but lost them within a month or so. In my experience, even if you fail at growing a particular plant you should try growing it from seed. The seedlings will be stronger, healthier and accustomed to your growing conditions from the start. These Fenestraria seedlings look very well so far, stable growth, meaty short leaves. I'm optimistic :)

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Lithops portraits 2014 - part 3 (12 pics)

July 19, 2014, 1:17 am
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Here is the rest of the adult lithops, all enjoying the sunny days.

L. gesinae come in different sizes.


I have a whole lot of greenie L. fulviceps. Since the pictures were taken, I actually discovered two of them are going to flower. Let's hope the flowers will develop and open synchronously to get some "pure" seeds.

The L. julii below is the only julii I was able to keep alive and happy for several years now. L. julii don't grow well here.

The white L. fulviceps are just flat pancakes.

This plant you might remember as that strange kid with weird shapes. This year it looks normal.

L. hallii v. ochracea is not very ocher but well-patterned and shaped.

These two are relatively new to the windowsill.

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Avonia day 2014 (4 pics)

July 19, 2014, 10:51 am
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It's that magical time of the year again when Avonia quinaria ssp. alstonii opens its flowers ♥
It has been flowering for a while now but today I finally could catch it for a photo shooting :)


Btw, Anacampseros filamentosa ssp. namaquensis is still flowering, too. Less spectacular but still very pretty!

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Plant looks vs. flowering (3 pics)

July 21, 2014, 10:02 pm
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I'm always preaching about how much you can tell about a plant's health and well being from its looks if you observe carefully but sometimes I really can't figure it out.
I have two Prepodesma orpenii plants of an approximately same age (both initially from Kakteen-Haage nursery). One is, even though a healthy plant, not particularly strong looking. It likes to dry off leaves and leaf tips and is sort of smallish. But it had the strength and willingness to develop and open three beautiful flowers in a row this year! (I'm so proud of it)
The other one looks strong and big and healthy with its perfect juicy leaves but it has dropped its two flowers at an early stage this year and didn't even try to repeat. I guess the meaning of this story is "don't judge by the looks" but that's not true because with plants you kinda have to anyway. Let's better call it "let yourself be surprised" :)

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First Lithops flower 2014 (2 pics)

July 23, 2014, 9:38 pm
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This was quick. Lithops seem to react well to the heat. Now I have a little yellow sun of my own even after sunset. And there are more flowers coming. The next one will be white :)


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