Here's the latest look at the 'Powdered Pastry' Semp, with the middle very purple and starting to wither. In the next week I will be transitioning the southwest planting bed in the greenhouse to a succulent soil mix and this is one of the Semps that I will try to get established there in the next few months before turning down the heat for the winter.
We were gone for about two weeks on a trip to Switzerland via Denver. One great thing about succulents is I don't have to set up irrigation for that period of time like I do with my coleus and other water-thirsty plants.
In Denver, I saw what my sister has done with hardy succulents in her yard. She has a number of plantings of Sempervivums and Sedums that have turned into clumps over the past couple of years. I have one little Semp in the rock garden at the house, and seeing what she has may give me impetus to plant a bunch more Semps (and Sedums) in various parts of the yard. But I'm also doing the greenhouse bed. When I got the greenhouse last year I found myself falling into the trap of trying to do everything. As I'm going along I'm becoming more focused. Although I will have some tomatoes and peppers in bags next year, I've decided it isn't worth using greenhouse space to grow relatively-cheap food items. This is what the interior of the greenhouse is for:
- Sempervivums and other hardy succulents, year-round.
- Tender succulents, April-October.
- Hardy herbs such as oregano and thyme over winter, plus soft herbs in summer.
- Strawberries, year-round (dormant/mulched during the winter).
- Petunias, April-October. Overwintered in garage.
- Coleus, May-October. Overwintered in garage.
- Sunflowers and other annual flowers, April-October.
- Allium, spring.
My sister gave me some sort of Paddle Plant, and cuttings of Blue Chalksticks and a spiky aloe. I also got something at Trader Joe's which I believe is a Rhipsalis Cactus. See next post.