Succulents....cultivation

Ah thanks for the info @andrews. I'll be interested to see your pics.

So shall I be keeping the baby sempervivums outside or in my greenhouse? I assume echivera and aeoniums should be kept in the greenhouse (particularly whilst it is pouring down!)

As for how many to do, I have no idea. I thought i'd remove all of the new sempervivums growing from the big pot. I've got quite a few how those mini plant pot trays with about 80 (?) mini pots in so I will use those instead of buying anything for now.

 

Sempervivums are fine outside all year round. We bought two trays of semps earlier in the year and they are multiplying nicely now.

Aeoniums and echeveria need winter shelter and need to be kept dry (occasional light watering). If they are in well draining soil (we add a lot of perlite, grit and sand) they are fine outside in summer.

 

Just taken a couple of pics

Top two pots show the leaf on the surface. Top right has a plant growing and the mother leaf withering away. You can also see the type of medium they will grow in.
Middle two are burros tail which is a sedum. These were broken off and left to callous for a few days, then potted in the gritty mix. These have been 'planted' since autumn last yea so its slow progress.



Another succulent showing the new plant and the mother leaf shrivelling up

 

Interesting to see that @andrews . So as they are slow growing, do you think it is worth giving them a slightly more nutritious compost first to get them going and then transferring them into bigger pots with a less nutritious compost mix?

 

I'm fairly new to this but when Ive tried to cosset the leaf with extra water or feed they have rotted off. We've over-watered other established succulents which has led to leaf swelling / splitting (were still fairly new to a lot of succulents).

Ive been told (and don't take this as gospel) that the mother leaf has all of the nutrition needed to support the new plant. With semps (I know that these are not) we were told not to feed them although they do get fed with miracle grow when I feed the rest of the pots / borders.

The natural environment for a lot of succulents is not nutrient rich so I'd say hang off the feeding. That said, it would be an interesting experiment to see fed vs unfed growth.

Some succulents will grow quicker. Our Graptopetalum paraguayense or ghost plant leaf cuttings grew much quicker and were planted out this month, only to be eaten by birds or slugs.

Edit : Apologies - re-read the question and it was more about the compost type. Id say not to have a richer compost. Will post the recipe I was given

 

Compost mix :

4 parts John innes #2
1 part silver sand
2 parts flint chick grit
1 part hen flint gravel
1 part large flint or pebbles
1 part perlite
add 10% lime for plants from America or Mexico

I don't follow this to the letter but I follow the quantities of compost to sand to gravel

The mix will not clump when squeezed together and is really free draining

 

Very interesting topic and excellent advise from the Gurus

I have grown both Semprevivums and indoors succulents (cacti, Lithops etc) from seed, it's great fun but very, very slow. Depending on type, germination can take from days to 6 months or more, and the seedlings are tiny. But definitely worth a try just for fun

I recently bought 12 Semps from this eBay seller , they are all happily growing offshoots now. The seller apparently grows them in seed cells, and then plops them out, wraps the rootball in clingfilm and the whole plant in paper towel. A good idea for mass propagation and sending in post. Here are some of them just after planting.



Regarding pots, you can either go for cheap solution meant for people who want to plant them out straight away, cut off milk cartons would do just fine (with drainage holes). Or, if you aim for more upmarket display, or want to try also houseplants, terracotta looks super.

If you are that way inclined, it's dead easy to make small clay pots and you can make them quite low and with plenty of drainage holes to fit the plants' needs perfectly. Ideally you should get them dried in a professional kiln if you have any around. My home made ones are air dry clay and treated with ModPodge, they are fine for personal use but I wouldn't sell them as they are weaker than what you would expect. A 12kg bag of air dry clay costs about a tenner and makes maybe 100 small pots. More if you go miniature







Pest-wise the Big Threat is Vine Weevil. Please treat any plants before selling them, Nemasys nematodes are great but expensive. Vine Weevil poison is hard stuff but might be better option just to make sure you don't accidentally spread the pests.

Great project, please keep us posted

 

Wow that’s great @Selleri Funnily enough I did think about making my own pots! My mum used to have a pottery kiln but I’m not sure whether she still has it?! Hmm.

 

Just spotted this post.

Another succulent to try are Lewisia cotyledons. They'd be dead easy to sell when they're flowering.

Hates water and loves shade.

 

Ooh thanks, I’ve got two of those. No idea how to propgate though?

 

Pull off the little plantlets at the side and plant.

 

Ah, not got any side plants as yet

 

Probably the best place to put this.

After a failed collection from a pet store, having first checked if they had it in stock, I have bought chick flint grit direct from the suppliers. I use this in my cactus and succulent mix for drainage.

I was paying about £7 a sack previously when I could find the flint chick grit. Called Jondo to find alternate suppliers and they are more than happy to sell to the public at £3 a sack.

Loaded up the truck with 5 sacks of this and 2 sacks of poultry grit, all the same price.

If youre needing fine grit (they do a coarser one too) and are near to Lincoln its worth calling them and buying direct.

 

Hi i'm growing succulents from pieces that have fallen off and I am wondering how much I should water them

 

Until the leaf has grown roots don't water at all. The mother leaf has all that the new plant needs. When you have roots, put the leaf on a gritty mix of compost and water sparingly - the mother leaf will still be feeding the plant