Tom

What a beauty!
You said it first...can't wait until spring (In similar zone-I have been thinking it too).
Rina

Thanks, Rina...

Funny how it seems like November through March takes twice as long as May through September! Why is that?

Nice aloe! Looks very happy!

I have not seen one like this before and I did not realize there were aloes that look like a bonsai. Cool beans! I will have to add that to my list.

AWESOME Plant. Impressive indeed.

I have some questions and you look like the right person to ask.

May I ask how many hours of light you have your lights on during the winter months? How much area will a 1000 watt light cover and how far away from the plants do you hang your light?

I am building a room downstairs. I have a 600 watt Metal halide and a 600 watt Sodium light to house tender succulents this winter. My area is about 6 feet by 8 feet and I have will have tiers for the plants alongside the walls with the lights hanging in the middle. Would you recommend one or the other or both for this space?

Evie

My sunroom is slightly larger than the room you describe. It also has three skylights and windows, but it is north facing so I don't get tons of sun shining in there in the winter.

I am running two 1000w, one 400w and one 175w fixture in there. All MH. I have run HPS in there before, but I prefer MH...whiter spectrum (5000 Kelvin or higher). I think it is most like natural sunlight.

Bottom line - I don't think you could ever have too much light, IMO. I would run both of your fixtures if you can. I run my lights for about 11.5 hours per day, all season. I don't use them at all during the growing season. Everything is outside then.

I will try to post a pic when I get home tonight.

Tom

I'm still marching mine out in the morning and in when the sun goes down. It's between 40-60 during the day. Dipping down too cold at night for everyone but the jades. I'm just trying to squeeze in a little more sunshine for the succulents before the winter. My husband thinks I'm a nut.

T,

That ramo looks grrrrrrreeeeaaatttt. It's got so many branches, I ran out of fingers counting them. My A. plicatilis looks like it's stopped sulking and is finally growing.

Our first hard freeze last night (only got to -4C). I'm sure glad I had them in weeks ago, though.

Your ramo looks fantastic, Tom!! My hat is off to you (& others) who go to all this trouble to care for their plants. I think if I had to, I would not. But then, it would probably have to be before I got hooked on sux!

I can only dream about how my plants might look if I took HALF the care of them as you do yours! Maybe when I finally PIG them in the front yard project...I might realize the dream.

Here's wishing your winter months go by quickly for you!

Laura - you are much tougher than I am. I gave up on the moving plants shuffle...too many now. I need to set it and forget it.

Mr. Harris - very happy to hear about your plicatilis! Mine is officially garaged...

Ro - I think if you had to do what we do to grow these plants...you would! Once you have the bug...well you know. Thanks for the good thoughts on a short winter. Snow for Christmas, then 80 and sunny from there out would be perfect!

Evie - pics, as promised:

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Phew.

Thank you so MUCH! for your reply and these photos which have blowed me away. In awe and envy, I have looked at these over and over again. I see a huge amount of time, money and passion in your collection.

I am new to succulent growing. I can see how addictive this is gonna be. Your reply and pic's have offered me confidence in my project and a goal to create such a lovely presentation myself.

Bonus to know I need not concern self with too much light. I have found a conversion metal halide bulb (claps) so I am feeling all set. We have a shortish basement. I think to increase the light in the room I will remove the shades and put up some mylar foil reflective stuff on the walls and possibly the ceiling.

One more question - How much do your lovelies grow while under the lights? Would giving the plants more time keep them in summer growing mode ?

Thanx so much
Evie

Great setup! I've seen myself looking for better light now for my plants - even asked my husband if I could make a temporary tent on the deck for my plants with a space heater for it. He quickly replied, "No!, that is the only way I can control you from adding more plants because you'll add more in the house." Boo!

Evie

How much they grow depends on the plant. Cool weather growers like tylecodon, A. ramosissima, and my othonnas grow well. That said, there is no stopping the warm weather growers from going dormant, and I do not try to. If anything, it may extend the season briefly, but then I let them go on the dry side to rest. This include my adansonia, adeniums, pachypodiums, burs era, and commiphora.

I don't grow my cacti under lights usually. I garage them in the dark. Kinda sad, but no room. I do keep a small saguaro in the window...can't get myself to stick him out there. I keep yucca rostrata and an aloe plicatilis out there in the garage, too.

Most of my agave and aloes are in a south facing window. They are growing a little now, but they too will slow down. You can't really fool Mother Nature.

February rolls around and they start to stir again.

Hope that helps.

Camellia - good luck finding approved light space ;-)

Tom

Omg awesome collection. It's good to see I'm not the only one with this addiction.

TT

Has anything 'migrated' outdoors yet?

Still some cold nights around here (N of Toronto, Canada). We had couple of weekend nights dropping down to 30*F)

Hi Rina!

Migration is slooooowwww...

Most of my C&S have shifted to my little heated greenhouse...though my A. ramosissima and A. Plicatilis are outside. Staying mostly above 40 at night now...but I see a dip into the upper thirties coming this weekend. It was a promising late winter that turned into a difficult, late arriving spring...

Tom

TT - If you're still around, that's an awesome Ramosissima specimen! My Grandmother really loved Aloes. Me, not so much. At least not until recently; when I found my new favorite nursery. They have sections of their greenhouse floor cut out w/ some plant's growing in the ground, and one of them is a 6' tall Aloe dichotoma. After looking at it every time I went there for a few months, I was hooked, had to have one. Found a place online & bought one (just a baby).

And maybe some day (I wish).

Rob

Hi Rob

That's a really nice baby dichotoma! If it gets as big as the one pictured, you will start having as much fun as I do moving my plicatilis and marlothii around!

Best of luck with yours...

T

Tom! You must update us on your superbly inspiring pachycauls.

I'll be 80 soon, how do I move those around where I to get one today!

Pagan

Hi Pagan..

All my pachys are pretty dormant and sad right now, but my T. paniculatus is thinking about flowering...

See? Sad and dormant...

Is that your B. faragoides still in leaf? I had wondered if I would dare leave mine outside for the winter. But the weather got too erratic, rising to spring-like one day and plummeting deep below freezing the next.

I can't tell very well from the photo but if that on the left is your O. decaryi, it seems to have grown taller.

In that picture...from left to right...Adansonia digitata, Commiphora humbertii (strangely still in leaf, though very little water in months), and another Adansonia digitata (behind which is a barely visible Commiphora africana.

Even snoring she looks good. And no wonder I couldn't recognize what I thought was your O. decaryi. Is it that one in the foreground? I have a twig.

O. pachypus in that pic...good eye!

Hi tom,

That's a very impressive collection you have there. In the last pic in your post after mine, what's the Bonsai(?) in the upper left behind the subject plant? And what are all the subject aloes?

Rob

Hi Rob

if you're referring to the pic with the A. marlothii, that is probably my Portulacaria afra? Is that the picture you're asking about?

TT - Yep. I guess it does look like a Port afra, a nice big one.

I had just started growing Bonsai when I found The GardenWeb, and had built my collection up to about 22 I think, then I started exploring different forums on the GW. I met a girl named Laura on the Plumeria forum, and one day she posted this pic in one of her comments...

(Loveplants2)

From the moment I saw that plant I was hooked; even though I didn't know what it was. So for the past couple of years I've turned my attention to Adeniums.

The only other caudiciform I have is a Pachy L., but I'm beginning to explore other somewhat rare, & unusual plants. Like the Giant Tree Aloes.

Makes me wish I lived somewhere with more than a 3-4 month growing season.

I'm going to attempt to grow my Port afra as a cascade.

(Bonsai Show 2016)

That's a nice cascade, Rob! How long in training?

ez

No, no. That's a tree in a Bonsai show, not mine. I only wish mine looked that good!

I'm going to wire my branch structure like that one.

Rob

Ohh got it. I thought that might be a little advanced for'going to attempt'. Haha thx for clearing that up!

ez

I just found a very cool page w/ pics of Aloe dichotoma. (Quiver Tree)

You can search for any plant.

https://www.dreamstime.com/search.php?securitycheck=1001f252b0b3892e695633edcefefd23&srh_field=aloe+dichotoma&firstvalue=enter+keyword+or+file+ID&lastsearchvalue=&s_catid=0&s_cliid=2727240&s_colid=&s_ph=y&s_video=y&s_audio=y&s_il=y

Rob