Dendroseris marginata, Kniphofia caulescens, Aloe seedlings, and Aloe seeds

Today was a busy day working with my plants! First I wanted to give a quick update on the Dendroseris marginata seedlings because they went from barely sprouting to multiple cotelydons in a couple days of leaving the Zip-lock bag.

Cute little Dendroseris marginata sprouts!

I also noticed that the Kniphofia caulescens seeds from Plant World Seeds have begun to sprout. This is one of my favorite Kniphofias, I would say second to Kniphofia northiae.

Kniphofia caulescens sprouting

I decided to go ahead and transplant the seeds into a pot so they have space to grow for a while. I lay them on the surface then covered them lightly with wet seed starting mix and gave them a misting from the hose.

Mature Kniphofia caulescens clump (image from bornagainredneck.blogspot.co.uk)

The Aloe helenae seedlings had sprouted in a plastic vegetable container which had holes on the bottom of it. Unfortunately, my propagation area has developed a gnat problem which has eaten away a lot of the roots of the seedlings. I decided to go ahead and transplant them together into a pot and work on finding a solution to my gnat problem.

Half of the Aloe helenae seedlings which still had any roots

The Aloe alooides I bought from Rancho Soledad a few months ago has begun to drop its seed. There were already a bunch on the ground beneath the spike but I decided to stick a plastic bag over the entire spike and give it a good shake to collect as many as I could. I got quite a bunch!

Aloe alooides seed spike

Aloe alooides seeds in the bag

Probably tomorrow I will go ahead and sow the Aloe bainesii seeds I collected the other day from downtown and the Aloe alooides seeds. Should be fun to start having generations of plants.

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