My little apartment garden! Feel free to identify, give any tips and did my aloe sprout a baby?
imgur.com/a/pnh7S
imgur.comPosted May 8, 2014, 4:12 PM UTC
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imgur.comThose are some nice looking plants!
The cactus in the back is a moon cactus, which means it's an unsustainable orange/red variety grafted to a green stem for chlorophyll. The left-most plant in the top picture is some variety of sedum (see: jellybean plant). It could also maybe be a Pachyphytym 'Green Beans'.
The plant in the second photo is a graptopetalum or graptopetalum hybrid.
You'll want to be careful with those containers...
They don't appear to have drainage holes. Succulents need fast draining substrate. I've noticed you have a layer of rock at the bottom, which I'm assuming is to aid in drainage. That technique is a myth.
There's this misconception that because succulents are from arid conditions they're adapted to get small amounts of water. Most are actually adapted to get infrequent water. Rain doesn't become a light mist in the desert, it's still rain. It just happens infrequently. Many, many succulents thrive with a good soak followed by a week or two of 'neglect' while the soil dries out. In the meantime, you don't want the excess water pooled on the bottom of the pot or collected in a saucer.
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It seems now that I've had them in these containers for a few weeks with only one watering that they are starting to wither a the bases. Looks like I'm going to have to switch them to some less attractive looking containers to keep them healthy. I don't have any tools to drill holes in glass for drainage, do you have any plant suggestions that would do well in glass containers like these?
Thank you so much for all the info! I just recently started with the succulents, mostly what I have in the house is spider plants, wondering jews and hostas, which are doing quite well. I'm going to go out this weekend to get some new pots for the succulents because I don't want my new(ish) babies dying on me! Thanks again!
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I don't really know anything that does well in non-draining glass. Plants rely on drainage to flush salt and mineral buildup from their roots.
I've also heard glass can have the unfortunate side effect of being too hot for roots.
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It's probably not too hot right now because it so early in spring in Ohio right now but I'll be switching them over this weekend! I'm sure I'll find something else to do with the glass.
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To be a little more clear about the aloe.. I'm speaking of the sprout in the lower left corner. I spotted it today while checking up on my plants. I'm not sure what an aloe sprout looks like so I thought i may have accidentally dropped a seed in the soil. If that's not the case, does this look like an aloe sprout? Also any tip for separating the larger one on the right side of the pot would be appreciated!
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The aloe has quite a few 'pups' as they're called and they are the larger plants alongside the main aloe. If you are referring to the very tiny plant in the lower bottom left hand corner of the picture that looks like a simple weed to me so I'd pull it out before it gets going.
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Can I ask how a weed would end up in a pot that has never been outside with soil that came in a air tight and sealed bag? Sorry if that sounds like a dumb question but I'm genuinely curious!
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I love your potting! Are those fish tank stones? Such a great idea!
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Apparently not such a great idea! (see above comments) Now that they've been in these for a few weeks they're starting to wither because rocks on the bottom of the container for drainage is a myth!
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It's not a great idea at all.
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Those should not be in glass like that.
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Do the pots have drainage holes? Drainage is very important for succulents. Cute garden!
Looks like I'm going to have to repot them! They're starting to wither at the base. It's a sad day in the feng shui of my house :
I put my first succulents in the exact same round glass container. (WalMart, right?) It's terrible for succulents, I also learned the hard way. Get some terra cotta pots and plant them in those with some cactus mix potting soil mixed with some perlite. The soil is $5 at Lowe's at the perlite is about the same. The plants will do much better. These are the lessons I've learned over the last couple months with my first succulent garden also.
Hobby Lobby, actually! They were having a sale so I guess I didn't waste too much money. You see all these beautiful little gardens in glass pots on pinterest and it's all a lie. They're in organic cactus soil which I most likely won't be able to salvage so I'm going to pick some more up this weekend. If they're starting to shrivel, I can save them by just clipping off the dead parts, right?