New Huerrnia - Huernia Procumbens

While it's only been a few months since I have been on a succulent hunt, it has felt like forever.  A few weekends ago, my friend and I stayed home from the coast and went on a hunt.  As usual, Shades of Green had several things that we couldn't go home without.  One of them was this cool little Huernia.  I was really excited that she had a bloom on her so I didn't have to think about the possibility of me having it already. 

Is this not darling!!

She has the raised middle like the Huernia Zebrina/Confusa 'Lifesaver', but her petals go straight back.  Below is the entire plant.  She's also a much lighter shade of green than my others. 

 

 

Of course, the piece with the bloom on it fell off on the ride home, so Amy's got it rooting across the street.  I'm looking forward to many more cool little blooms from her. 

I'm off to search out her name...  That didn't take long.  I no sooner posted this that I found it, Huernia Procumbens.

Mandy

Kalanchoe Mortagei Crenata

 

My plant has a real, bonified name!!  Meet Kalanchoe Mortagei Crenata, with much thanks to my Florida blogger friend, Julie at A Succulent Life for her tenacious researching skills!!  She found it on this really cool website that I somehow had forgotten about Glasshouse Works, let's just be clear that I've now added this to my favorite list so I don't lose it again!  They have it with the fun name of 'Mother of Hundreds', but I much prefer my nickname of 'Big Mama Donkey Ears'.  These leaves are so much larger than my regular 'Donkey Ear' has ever gotten.  Of course, I lost my original plant after she bloomed.  Once they bloom, they begin to die, so I'm on year one of babies trying to get big and beautiful.  Thankfully my neighbor friend, Amy, has a ton of them as well in case there's an emergency and I need more. 

 

I'll have to take pictures of the plantlets on this one, they are very different as well.  They seem to have a ball that connects to the leaf with bigger roots.  It makes them a little odd to put in the dirt, but we're working on that. 

 

Thank you again, Julie!  I believe you should go by the title of Succulent Rock Star from this point forward! 

 

Make it a great day!

Mandy

Phone Test

Playing around with my new phone to see if I like it or want time switch it out with the iPhone5...looks like I can blog much easier.  Let's  see how this comes out.

Kalanchoe Gastronis Gonnierfi 'Donkey Ears'

One of my absolute favorite Kalanchoes is the Kalanchoe Gastronis Gonnierfi 'Donkey Ears'.  In one of our weekend coast trips, Amy and I spent the day visiting local nurseries.  At a new one to us, I found what looked like a Donkey Ear, but without the mottled leaves.  I saw it from two rows over and knew that if it was less than $25 that it was coming home with me.  At our nurseries in San Antonio, this baby would have been that at a minimum just based on sheer size alone.  That being said, I cautioulsy slid through recently watered muddy ailses and hit pay dirt!

 

This baby was $12.50 and it was huge!  It was tagged 'Donkey Ear' and the little plantlets grow on it's leaves the same as the one I already have, but the leaves are much longer, fatter and not have spots like the one below.   I bought a few other things and ended up getting her for $9.00!!!  Talk about making Mandy a happy girl! We pulled off a number of babies and still had a bunch left on the plant.  If anyone knows anything about this different variety of the Donkey Ear, please share.  I've Googled until I gave up because I can only get the one below to show up.

 

Mandy

Front Yard Succlents Update

It's been so long since I've posted, and since one of the last comments was asking how my front yard succulents were doing, I thought I'd start there.  These were all taken at the beginning of August, so they'd had about five months to take root and get happy.  There is noticible growth in most since my first post Front Yard Succulents. 

 

View From Street

 

 

View from House

 

I was shocked that the majority of them held in there during the intense heat of the summer.  I have also come to face the sad fact that aeoniums and a number of the hen and chicks just aren't cut out for San Antonio summers. 

 

The purple 'Kalachoe' is crazy!  I'm not sure this was a good choice to put in the ground since she's so lanky, but she's very happy.

 

These are all happy.

 

The Senecio fulgens in the middle is doing good, as is the purple echeveria and the 'Wooly Rose' Echeveria in the back. 

 

The Echeveria in the front corner is getting huge and is the Golden Sedum and Senecio that are to it's right and left.  This corner gets the most sun, so my choice was a good one with these.

 

The Echeveria in the middle and far right corner are still doing really good.  The red Hen & Chicks, not so much.

 

 

Aeonium 'Kiwi' is not real hardy right now, but she's still trying.  The Kalanchoe 'Panda Plant' is hanging in, I expect to see more growth in the cooler months out of both of them. I believe it's a Senecio in the top left corner, and she's really spreading out.

 

The Echeveria in the right corner is still going strong.

 

The large one at the top got attacked and is no longer in the bed.  The Hen & Chick in the front corner tried to hang in there, but the heat won. 

 

 

 

Mandy