Howard

Thank you for the complimet.
I like E. Perle v.N. - leaves are such nice color.

Julie

I am not sure about proper ID's, I may have to wait until they grow enough to flower...
Outlined in red is - I think - Pachyphytum oviferum: the leaves are very chubby/plump and rounded.
Outlined in blue may be Grapto-something...leaves are plump but not as much as P.oviferum, just slightly longer & have very slight point.
The new growth looks very same to me righ now, I am thinking that they are just too small to see the difference.
Rosemarie & Howard tried to help with ID on this thread:

see here

I should keep better record of what I am doing!
At lower right is gollum growing really nice.
These were all started very end of July 2012.
On top left is small arm broken off Huernia zebrina.
Rina

I love starting plants from leaves. It's a great way to clone a plant (especially rare ones) for back-up or to share. It's lots of fun to watch them develop. I've gone through lots of trials with them and I have a method I like now.
A few years ago I saw a local cactus man growing them in shallow trays and I've been doing that since then. The main problem I had was keeping the trays outside; when it would rain many leaves would rot. Now I keep them in the greenhouse but since I don't want them to occupy table space, I found a nice place for them on top of my dirt bucket. It's already getting too bright again and by April the trays will need some kind of shade apparatus.


When plants are ready I just pull them out and group them in small pots. I do this about every 4-5 weeks.

I am sure there are many I should have named - could not think of the names at the moment. I am member of GW since Feb. 2012 and started 'hoarding' succulents then. I read everything & hope to retain as much as possible.

You have so many different leaves in those trays, how do you remember their names?
I think they grow faster for you too (must be your location). I just recently potted-up most of them (that would be about 4-41/2 mo after starting) thinking they may be big enough for their own pots - here are few approx. month ago still in their original container.

Rina

Another thing, it's not hoarding unless it becomes unhealthy. Handling plants is very zen for me and caring for them feeds my nurturing side. All of it feeds and invigorates my mind and gives me an outlet with which to express myself since art and music are usually too time consuming and self-engrossing for balancing with family duties. Plants provide all of this for me daily. I consider myself a grower, not a collector and while they are my babies, they are also my troops. The difference between a troop and a hoard, IMO, is purpose and organization. That's probably debatable.
Anyway, that's just my perspective but I'm a huge enabler!

Another thing to add, Haworthia and Gasteria leaves need a shadier place to start; they take more time and care. I have a few Haworthia emelyae clones that I was able to start from one leaf but it took about 1 year.

Looking at the above pics, succulents could be planted in a straight gravel substrate? Would it be even better with a bit of orchid bark and perhaps some bone meal/other nutritious material mixed in with it?

Sorry to be off topic but its repotting season and I have read sooooooo many different accounts on the subject.

Here are the two rules, or three if you count correctly.

1) It's what works for you - you have to cater to your environment
2) It's what's available to you
3) Succulents need water at some times, they don't at others. Contrary to popular supposition, very few are 'desert' plants - they're xeric or mesic. Yes, they can be started in a straight gravel substrate, but a little more attention needs to be paid to them there, as there's nothing to nurture them.

And Rina, I meant to add, it's a great job you're doing there. I should send you some leaves of some rarer plants for you to make thousands of!

In case you are looking at pics I posted, most of my plants are in mix known here as gritty mix. Some are in 5-1-1. I use small gravel (the white is chicken grit, but I have some with aquarium gravel, and some with pea gravel) as top dressing. It helps me to keep newly planted cutting/leves/repotted plants firmly in the pot (sometimes I use rocks-if plant needs more support).

You can see soil mix much better in Ryan's (hanzrobo) photos.

Jeff

Thank you for the compliment - I am learning, thanks to all of you here willing to share your knowledge; and anything rarer (seeds-leaves-cuttings) - just send my way...(you recognize the little "chubbies", and the photo-right?)
Rina

I am not sure about ID (maybe somebody will chime in); here it is potted after received by mail in June 2012:

Rina

Jeff,
I did have it marked as B/ balsamiferum, but could not remember if that was the ID included (on yellow stickie), or I was dreaming - after misplacing/mixing up few name tags.
When I was checking on web, I found it on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and described as
"Very rare & almost extinct in its native habitat" - I didn't think I had it right.
Me bad, paying more attention now. Rina

The scent is quite nice, particularly on a warm summer day when the rosette's contracted a bit and its balsam wafts into your face as you snort it up. It's an odd plant - in the same pot I have one plant that goes mostly dormant and another that stays in non-contracted rosette shape, as green as ever.

Rina,

I can send another package this year, but you'll have to remind me what you got the last time. I should have some other things then. I didn't know about its rarity - in San Diego I saw it in flower only once (at Balboa Park).