Venti size Succulents.

You know, I've seen these before and kick myself for not picking one up. Love your "design"!

Planto

Nice planting.

Your Aeonium is going to keep getting taller unless you truncate it. If/when you do, you can easily start the cuttings. Seal the wound on the stem (which stays in the cup) with waterproof wood glue after the cut stops weeping, and your plant will respond by growing like this:
{{gwi:3246}}

Use a very sharp single blade tool (new utility knife blade, single edge razor blade ...... to truncate the main stem.

{{gwi:3244}}

Al

Tapla, I like your plants look and I was wondering are you saying it won't happen without the glue 0r are you sharing a technic you use?
Also the second picture looks interesting is that a pot or what came out of a pot ready to replant? Thanks for sharing.

Greg

Let me say first that I agree with the findings of Dr Alex Shigo, who discovered that woody plants compartmentalize their wounds and that wound dressings are unnecessary and often counterproductive when used on woody in the landscape. Wounds in succulents, however, are different than wounds in trees. Succulents often die back a considerable distance from the wound due to desiccation of the tissues proximal to the site of wounding - especially on large truncating cuts. Bonsai growers also commonly used various techniques to minimize the scarring associated with the large pruning cuts required to produce bonsai that are realistic representations of their counterparts growing in nature. Wound dressings are among those techniques.

The arborist's concerns about wound dressings involve trapping rot organisms behind the cut and the subsequent mechanical failure of the organism many years down the road. Those are not valid concerns for rigid plants in pots.

Applying wood glue to pruning cuts and truncations of rigid or semi-rigid plants seals the wound and stops the desiccation of the tissues in the immediate vicinity of the cuts. It's unlikely the Aeonium in the picture I showed could have grown like that if I hadn't sealed the wound. Instead, the evenly spaced branching (radially) around the wound site would have bee arranged in a radial/vertical pattern (some high on the stem, some low) due to unpredictable dieback after the truncation.

The second picture is a piece of lava from a lava field in Hawaii. There are 2 small hollowed out areas in the piece that hold a little soil. There are 6 different plants growing on the stone - some in the soil, some not. There is even a small ivy to the far right in the picture.

Al

Al, thank you, good info. this pic is & aeonium I cut last year that rotted down to the roots, this glue would of been nice to of known about then, So were do we find this stuff or do u make it?

Greg

Almost any big box store or hardware will have it. "Elmer's" and "Titebond III" come to mind as brands you'll probably find easily. Make sure it's waterproof.

Al

Got it! Thanks Al, water proof. This should help with my propagating this year I'm looking forward to trying it out, again thanks for the tip.

Greg

Ok - just want to be sure you know you use it on the part that already has roots - not on the proximal end of the cutting.

Good luck.

Al

Al, Lol.. I'm sure glad you reminded me of that I was thinking you added glue to the part that just got wacked off where it was severed.

Greg

No - for Aeonium, after you sever the cutting, you should leave the cutting set for a day or two before sticking (planting) it in your airy rooting medium. It's critical that, if your medium supports perched water, that the proximal end of the cutting isn't planted deep enough that it's below the perched water level. If you don't quite understand what those terms mean or what I'm getting at, ask, and I'll explain.

Whenever you take cuttings use a very sharp cutting tool with a single blade - not a pair of scissors or pruning shears - no matter how sharp they seem to be. Bypass tools (scissors & bypass pruners) and anvil type cutters crush tissue, making it much easier for rot to set in. Cutting are a race between organisms that cause rot and the cutting. Cuttings strike when a successful connection is made between new roots and the stem vasculature that feeds the top of the plant. Cuttings fail when rot organisms make the connection impossible. You want no hanging pieces or rough cuts on the proximal end of the cutting because they invite rot. After I take cuttings, I use a high quality grafting knife that is stropped to scalpel sharpness - much sharper than razor blades - to clean up the edges of any cuttings I think are important before going forward with the rooting process. Attention to detail is often the difference between success & failure - especially in species difficult to root or those species that take a long time to strike.

Al

Al, this is good inFo. Im getting however I do have a question, are the ligjter shade of Aeoiniums more sensitive than the black Aeoniums Z. the reason I ask is, these in the picture Ive cut & practically butchered it and No problems But on the other hand the Sunburst Aeionium has proven to be very different ( sensitive.)

Yes I am intetested in hearing more thx you, and more on proximal, thank you in advance.

Greg

Nice chops, Greg!
In the picture of the cuttings you've just taken, the cut end is the proximal end, I believe. Do not put glue on those cuts....just let them form a callus before potting in loose mix.

The headless stump - the trunk still in the container - that's the cut you will treat with waterproof woodglue.

Josh

Sensitive insofar as how well they do/don't tolerate being cut back hard?

I always remember distal and proximal by associating distal with distant and proximal with 'in the near proximity of'. On your body, your wrist is distal to your elbow because the wrist is farther from the center of the body. Your shoulder is proximal to your elbow because its nearer to the body than the elbow. Fingers are distal to your wrist and the knee proximal to the ankle .....

Did you understand the part about the soil and being careful about how deep you stick cuttings?

Al

Thanks Josh, SIMPLE, I get that clearly much appreciated, I can see how by placing glue on the beheaded one I could have avoided the rot. the other ones that were laying down those sat there for a couple days then I popped them in the ground and they have since grown and continue to do well.

Al, thanks again about the glue trix, That I will practice next time I pull out my blade in the garden, I'd really hate to loose another Aeionium Sunburst again and watching 4 0r 5 new plants right at the tip would be a nice addition to my collection for sure.

Sure hope you guy's are enjoying your garden this nice sunday afternoon, we are in the low 90's over here, Yeah! 90 degrees right now.

Greg

Oh yeah - I enjoyed the heck out of mine up here in Michigan. The frogs were out singing ....... ;-)
{{gwi:1685}}

Al

very cool cup greg. where did you get it? i've been looking for teacups also. haven't found any locally. :/

Hi Chicagardens, Thxz for the look, I found this one at Ross Dept Store or TJ Max one of those stores, They always have a nice supply of pots & other nice things. It even has a hole on the bottom for drainage.

Greg

how lucky. was it recently? i must visit them often, i bet they have lots of stuff around this time...since everyone is gearing up for spring/summer gardening.

Chicagardens, The day I posted it was the day I bought it, i did'nt waste any time, They always have cool stuff like that there and the prices are very good compared to Nurserie's.

If I can ask where do you live? Not your address or anything like that but what part of zone 10 are you in? I'm in Riverside Cty in the city of Corona, not del Mar either, I wish.

Greg

Thx Greg- I will have to visit my local stores to see if I see anything interesting. I live on the other side of the planet, San Fernando Valley, its about 75 miles away. I'm glad you asked though because I'd been looking for a segue to invite myself to visit your garden and steal some plants...I mean admire them ;)

Chicagardens, Come by any day, I love walking @ the garden showing off my plants, lol.. can u tell :) Wow San Fernando, So that makes you a Valley girl right?

So how long have you been collecting cacti & succulents? Alot of Q. right, ok one more, what is segue? or is it a typo?

Greg

Greg- so not a valley girl. :) But yes, a valley girl by association...my address. Haha. It's been a couple years now that I've been into "gardening". Trying to turn my black thumb brown...hopefully one day, a green thumb. Segue (pronounced segway) is a smooth transition. In other words- I wanted to smoothly transition our conversation into a field trip to your garden conversation. Haha.

Chicagardens, Ok, sounds like we need to set up a field trip of some sort, I'll pick you up in the Valley then will cruise down the coast and then head to my place for the day and maybe even to Tj Max for a cup or a pot, Then to STARBUCKS for coffee then back to the Valley. Ok get ready for a smooth transition to the garden :)

Greg

greg- that sure is nice, but not required. you'd be driving pretty much the whole day...you'd easily clock 300 miles. i can totally make the drive there, gives me a chance to hit every TjMaxx on the way. Haha!

Chicagardens, Wow 3 hours thanks for doing the math for me 1 more hour and I could be relaxing in Pismo Beach. I've been to some nice nurseries out there too but I really enjoy that place. Ever been there?

Greg

Greg- maybe we can plan for something in may...I'm afraid my weekends are booked for April. What do you think?