At one time this season I had about 24 copies of Plectranthus 'Velveteen Aromatic,' which is what I call the semi-succulent commonly (and incorrectly) known as Cuban Oregano. I sold some and gave some away, but still have 13 live plants, 11 in pots and two in greenhouse window boxes. The latter two aren't going to get dug up, so they are doomed, but I need to figure out which of the remaining 11 get to come in from the cold. 'Velveteen' is not the least bit hardy and will turn to mush when the thermometer hits 32 degrees.
I narrowed it down to three. On the left is the plant that overwintered in our bedroom last year. Its stems became became etoliated (stretched out) in the dark of winter, which actually was good for providing most of the cuttings for this year's crop. It was pruned June 21 and has bushed out again. In the middle is a plant that overwintered under grow lights and is the bushiest one I have. On the right is the most successful cutting of the year.
I did some pruning and this was the result. From left, the pruning was light, heavy and none. This is how they will go into the heated garage. Sometime next spring I will take cuttings and make some new ones. This is a very easy plant to propagate from cuttings as I was 18-for-18 this year.
When I have a chance, I water succulents behind the garage on a mesh table, for drainage. I assembled all seven Aloe Vera pots today for a good rinsing. If I was motivated, I would separate out some of the pups and make some better-looking pots. Or I could just let them go to do whatever until spring and repot them then. I choose Option B.
