Update: State of the Succulents

 It's been awhile since I've done a State of the Succulents update, so I thought I'd bring everyone up to speed on what's going well...and what is not.

First, the violets. Violets are obviously not succulents, but I'm shamelessly including them here to pad my resume. :) Both violets are doing very well, including the purple one at left that started as a small SNIP from one of Bailey's Texas violets!

 During the holiday season, I had a Christmas tree sitting in this particular window so had to move the violets to the kitchen for a few weeks. It's true what they say about violets needing a window on a certain side of the house (this one is sort of a northeast exposure) in order to bloom. The blooms withered and never came back while they were in the kitchen. Shortly after I moved them back to this window, buds formed and now I have these beautiful flowers! I water them about once a week by placing the pot in a small bowl. I feed them whenever I think of it. I'm hoping that Bailey will give me another snip the next time we drive to Texas!

 

Now for the succulents. First, the good news: 

The Christmas cactus and aloe vera plant are doing very well. The cactus bloomed during the holiday season and again recently. The aloe vera will need to be re-potted one of these days as it's getting a bit top-heavy for that container.

 The rosemary plant #notasucculent #yesiamtryingtodistractyou  is also doing great after spending the winter inside. Don't believe all those naysayers who would tell you that rosemary can't be grown indoors. I'm doing it, and we know I have very little skill in this department! 

 My little container of mixed succulents is also doing well...at least from what I can tell. I haven't seen a lot of growth, but nothing has dried up and fallen over. That's a good sign for succulents...and people, I think.

These two dudes are also doing well. Look at the guy on the left!

He's 12" tall! I had to move him to my craft room because, let's face it, he's a bit weird-looking. Then I felt guilty about ostracizing him, so I also moved his more normal-looking cousin so he'd have company. One of these days I do think he needs to have a trim. Or an amputation of some sort.

The jade plant is still doing well, but like I said in a previous post, it might actually be plastic. :)

Here's a new succulent which has a lovely purple color. It's very low-maintenance...because it's fake!

And so is this one! I'm thinking eventually I might have to get more of these fake succulents. You definitely cannot kill them!

And now for the bad news:

I'm not quite sure what happened here. These two dudes got the same level of care as my other succulents but they recently broke off at the dirt level. Were they too dry? Or too wet? I'm not at all sure. But these pots will soon be ready to fill with new victims. Here's hoping they fare a bit better than their predecessors!

So after a few months with succulents, my feedback is this: They are not foolproof, by any means. People will tell you they require very little care, but that's not exactly true. Too much -- or not enough -- water will kill them. Too much sun (ahem) will also kill them, as will too little. For me, it's been a bit of a guessing game, but the optimistic "gardener" in me will forge ahead and keep trying! :)

jp