Agave ornithobroma, Yucca faxoniana, and Yucca thompsoniana Germination!

It seems like almost every morning I wake up I find a new species has germinated! I really need to get some pot trays so that I can divide out my seedlings. The Agave victoriae-reginae alone has around 15 seedlings, which will take up a lot of space. I'm not done until every last inch is covered in plant!

Its interesting to compare the way the Agave victoriae-reginae seedlings look versus the Agave ornithobroma. The A. ornithobroma are much skinnier, looking almost like a succulent blade of grass. While the A. victoriae-reginae are sort of bulbous towards the base. Really interesting.

Agave ornithobroma seedlings

Yucca faxoniana shows its first signs of germination. A white root, around an inch long, can be seen through the side of the cup.

The root emerges! (Yucca faxoniana)

Lastly, Yucca thompsoniana has begun to emerge. This Yucca tree produces bluish leaves, shorter than Yucca rostrata, and retains dead leaves on the trunk as it grows, making it look nice and shaggy.

Yucca thompsoniana sprout

Germination of Cacti and Aloe

Today I noticed germination from Epithelantha bokei and Eulychnia breviflora (Mesa Garden)! I am really excited to some day see the amazing golden woolly fruit from the Eulychnia.

Epithelantha on left, Eulychnia on the right

 Also, there are some tiny sprouts popping up in the Aloe helenae container (Le Jardin Naturel). This is one of my favorite Aloes and it is really hard to find. I got tons of seeds, so hopefully this entire container will be full of tiny little seedlings in the next few weeks.

Aloe helenae seedlings!

The Yucca elata var. verdiensis seedlings seem to be coming a long great with really long tap roots. After I see the first true leaf, I will separate out the seedlings into individual containers.

Yucca elata var. verdiensis seedlings

The Agave victoria-reginae seedlings REALLY took off in the past week. I count over 15 little seedlings in the container now.

Agave victoria-reginae seedlings after a week

Puya Germination

So last night I noticed that there were a bunch of little sprouts in 2 of my Puya pots! That means it took about 2 weeks for germination. Not too bad!

Puya alpestris babies

Puya ferruginea

Aristolochia and Fatsia Sowing

4 days ago I got some seeds from Brazil Plants. Most were Aristolochia (one of my favorite vine genera). All in all I got Aristolochia arcuata, Aristolochia chamissonensis, Aristolochia eriantha, and Aristolochia veracruzana. I put them in cups to soak for 24 hours and found the water had changed colors. Hopefully that is the seeds releasing any germination inhibitors.

Soaking the Aristolochia seeds

After the 24 hour soak, I decided to use the ziploc bag method so I could watch germination. Haven't seen anything yet, but hopefully soon!

Aristolochia in ziploc bags

I decided to collect some seeds from a Fatsia japonica which I had passed by a few times. There were tons of seeds and the berries made quite a mess below the plant. While I was cleaning the berries, I could see the juice change in color from a reddish-purple to a gray-blue. It was pretty interesting. I then rinsed the seeds and they are currently soaking. I will sow them tomorrow.

The mother Fatsia plant

Soaking the seeds

Lastly, the next plant to germinate from the Phoenix Desert Nursery seed order was Yucca elata! Completely unexpected. I would have guesses one of the Puyas would have been next. I imagine it has more to do with freshness of the seeds versus the particular genus the plant belongs. Can't wait to see what is next.

Germination, Mesa Garden, and Some Updates

Surprisingly enough, the first of my seeds from Phoenix Desert Nursery to germinate was Agave victoriae-reginae! I have at least 5 little seedlings sticking up from the soil!

Germination in less than a week!

I also noticed my first sign of germination by Lomatophyllum macrum from Le Jardin Naturel. Only one little root tip is poking out, but hopefully its the first of many.

Seedling of Lomatophyllum macrum

About 3 weeks ago, I transplanted my Dendrosenecio keniensis seedlings. They get more light where they are now and I think as a result they have gotten hairier. The stems have also turned slightly purple.

Slowly getting bigger!

Getting some good growth from my 5 Ceropegia haygarthii seedlings. One has lost its leaves, which isn't unusual for Ceropegias in my collection. As long as there is growth and the stem looks healthy, I have never been to concerned by it.

Some cute Ceropegia haygarthii seedlings

Today I sowed some seeds I got from Mesa Garden. I planed the mesemb seeds I got in the black tray and the Furcraea quicheensis in the tupperware container. The cacti seeds are in a container under the table (not shown).

My germination table

The green tree collard cuttings are really taking off!

Green tree collards!

I have 2 Nepenthes: Nepenthes peltata and Nepenthes talangensis x macfarlenei, both were purchased about a year ago from Native Exotics. They are grown inside a dish with water and they rest on small upturned pots inside the dish. I had them on my windowsill for a while but they didn't want to pitcher. I moved them into the dish about a month ago, hopefully the increased humidity will encourage them to pitcher.

Also inside the dish is a recently purchased (eBay) Bulbophyllum jolandae, my 2nd favorite orchid. I have been searching for one of these for years but have never found a reliable source. The plant has no leaves but about 7 healthy looking bulbils. There is a tiny new growth coming up too.

Nepenthes and Bulbophyllum jolandae

A few months ago I purchased a small Cyathea tomentosissima off of eBay. It has put out a few new tiny fronds, so I thought I would include a picture of it. It has such beautiful, dainty fronds! I want to really expand my tree fern collection, as they are easily one of my favorite groups of plants.

Cyathea tomentosissima

Yesterday I purchased an Ixoplexis canariensis from Sunset Nursery, just down the street from my house. I love the orange flowers and the interesting shrubby growth habit. Its just a small guy at the moment though.

Isoplexis canariensis

Lastly, the Aloe penduliflora I got from Arid Lands Wholesale a few weeks ago is starting to put out some green leaves. The weird shape of the plant is what made me want one so bad. It has an erect stem but the new leaves sort of hang down. Very weird.

Aloe penduliflora

A New Aloe!

Today I picked up a 3' tall Aloe from Sunset Nursery. I'm feeling good about the purchase as it only cost me $35. It is labeled as Aloe speciosa but I am suspicious it might be either some hybrid or Aloe africana. The leaves are much more recurved and are significantly wider than any Aloe speciosa I have seen. Hopefully someone from the Succulent Fanatics Facebook group can identify what it is!

My new Aloe!

Sowing Seeds from Phoenix Desert Nursery

After the 24 hours of soaking, I spent an hour and a half sowing all of the seeds. I bought plastic cups, poked holes in the bottom for drainage, then filled them with sterile soil, and covered them with plastic wrap. It was a lot of work! Hopefully it will pay off with good germination rates. Many of the plants are not particularly rare but at around $1.50 for ~25 seeds, it is much more cost effective than getting a plant. And there is some potential for some interesting varieties.

The Sowing Station

I finished!

Seeds and Annie's Annuals

Last night I got a bunch of packages! I got seeds from Phoenix Desert Nursery (cactusstore.com), seeds from Le Jardin Naturel (baobabs.com), and a few plants from Annie's Annuals (anniesannuals.com).

Today I planted the seeds from Le Jardin Naturel, repotted the plants from Annie's, and began soaking the seeds from Phoenix Desert Nursery except the Puya which were sown in small pots with a ziploc bag over each pot. Normally I use the ziplock bag method to germinate seeds but have decided to germinate directly into soil, since I had had issues with transplanting seedlings after they have germinated. I have also had issues with mold when germinating into soil. Today I first microwaved my germination medium for 3 minutes on high before sowing the seeds. Hope this fixes the problem!

Seeds!

Seeds from Phoenix Desert Nursery

• Agave bracteosa
• Agave ornithobroma
• Agave utahensis
• Agave victoria-reginae
• Nolina parryi ssp. wolfii
• Nolina siberica
• Puya alpestris
• Puya ferruginea
• Puya mirabilis
• Yucca australis
• Yucca carnerosana

• Yucca constricta
• Yucca elata
• Yucca elata var. veriensis
• Yucca faxoniana
• Yucca filifera
• Yucca rupicola
• Yucca schidigera
• Yucca schottii
• Yucca thompsoniana
• Yucca torreyi

Seeds from Le Jardin Naturel

• Aloe helenae
• Aloe mayottensis
• Lomatophyllum macrum

Soaking the seeds for 24 hours

Seeds from Le Jardin Naturel!

Plants from Annie's Annuals

• Beschorneria albiflora
• Echium wildpretii
• Purple Tree Collard

• Lobelia excelsa
• Lobelia fistulosa
• Lobostemon belliformis

Plants from Annie's Annuals

This Annie's Annuals order was originally marked as delivered by the shipping company, even though I had never received the plants. When I called Annie's, they quickly sent replacement plants. I called the shipping company and was informed they were going to investigate what happened to the original packages but I have not heard anything from them yet. Thank you Annie's for great customer service!

Switching to Blogger

My first post using blogger. I was using wordpress.com previously but I decided I like the options on blogger more. Please refer to My Old Blog for previous posts on my plants.