x -

'winter' growers, but growing...correct? I.e., are any of these plant dormant and getting that much rain?

BTW, can you share you soil mix on the plants in question, please?

Thx.

T

And some pix too pls. X. You can't just make that kind of announcement & not share any pix, come on now ;>)

I'm in the same area, I live in what was just a mandatory evacuation area, directly in front of Sheepshead Bay, went to the Bronx the day before Hurricane Irene. I only grow indoors, so can't make any claims like X.

2 summers ago I had A. Ramosissima seedlings that were left out in the rain (very heavy for Missouri) all summer long and grew from a single branched specimen to a multi branched by October of the same year. So not all winter growers stop in the summer. I have great success with Ramosissima here in Missouri. My A. Pillansii seedlings rotted and I had to regrow their roots about 3 years ago from summer rain, but I was experimenting with soil mixtures at the time. Just some extra info.
Branden

Any Plant the came from So. of the Equator are Winter growers. I don't know about the tropicals. Gasteria, Crassulaceae Family of plants, Haworthia, not Sansevieria except in rare occasions. Mine stop flowering in October. Again I'm in So. Calif, some has tolerated temps down into the 20ty, Crassula ovata 'Jade' can take anything that you throw at it. Even flooding as long as it doesn't turn cold. It took freezing in England reported to me by Malcolm Hollaway.
All the leaves and most of the stem was gone, but it came back from the roots below the soil line, nothing is dead until it is dead. With the right mix water goes out of the pot quickly. I water many of my plants with luke warm water, and yes it cools off by the time it drains out so what, the plants roots only felt it while it was warm water. The soil didn't stay wet very long and that is the important information regarding growing succulents.

Any Plant the came from So. of the Equator are Winter growers.

Being a winter grower has nothing to do with which side of the equator a plant comes from. Winter growers come from areas that experience hot, dry summers. They go dormant during this period to conserve water, and begin growing again when rain and cooler weather return.

I think many winter growers will tolerate summer watering, but a summer dormancy may bring out more of their natural character. I have a Pachycormus discolor that would like to grow all summer, but I held off on the water this summer in order to try to fatten it up. I'm just beginning to water and fertilize again, so we'll see what happens.

Norma,

They may be winter-growers, but I'd say that most of them overcome that handicap and become opportunistic growers - really almost all of my Crassulaceae have been in active growth the last three months. Just when they're going well, that will be time for them to come inside and grow some more in winter (although nowhere near their summer plushness).

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And not too few to mention, too!

Here's Aeonium rubrolineatum the other day - this plant really is happiest growing in the winter, IME both here and San Diego (which has a similar climate to the Canary Islands). I've recently repotted it and will look forward to it getting a sip in a few days to start its growth cycle.

I personally don't know how X does it, though - he's got that New York mojo happening with Aloe pillansii being exposed to that much rain in the summer and doing fine....next it will be the sun rising in the West and no more Crassula Oh! questions on the Forum.

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T - I train the opportunistic plants that I want to, into summer growers. How is this done? Let's take Aloe dichotoma as an example. For a good 5 months of the year, it is too cold for its liking so it doesn't grow. By default then, it must adapt to growing during the hot rainy summer, otherwise it won't grow at all. I'm sure there is a slowdown at the height of summer but it isn't obvious.

The obligate summer dormant plants like some mesembs and other highly specialized plants cannot tolerate the same conditions. It only works for amenable species, like Aloes, Crassulas, etc...to a degree.

Lots of perlite in the potting mix, 50-80% depending on the plant. The rest is turface. I get both in bulk and cheap (about $2 per cu. ft for perlite, $6 for a 40-lb bag of turface), never have to worry about anything decomposing. Only downside, I suppose, is it is devoid of nutrition. To me that's a benefit, leaving me in full control.

Perlite keeps the pots light so I can move those big boys around. Perlite doesn't get wet either. It's just messy when it spills.

x