Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Mark and Gaz
And Aeoniums! I nearly lost all of my aeoniums this winter, not that they were left out nor exposed to freezing temperatures (far from it, they were inside a heated greenhouse) but they suffered from fungus due to the damp conditions in our small greenhouse.
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| Pining for plants on a winter's evening, can't wait to go plant shopping again in the spring! |
Usually during milder times I leave a little gap on the door to allow some air circulation, which in turn keeps keeps the moisture levels down and prevents condensation (it is supposed to be an 'arid' house after all). But this time I had to keep it closed all the time as our cats seems to have developed fondness for playing in there (and wrecking havoc and mess). And if I leave a small gap squirrels still manage to get in and can do as much damage.
Sigh! Even the option of leaving it closed still did some damage, by trapping more moisture in there than it should have which made it conducive for fungus to take hold of some sensitive plants. We really ought to install a ventilation fan there, something to add to our list of things that needs to get done this year. (On a brighter note, do check out Gerhard of Bamboo, Succulents, and More, whose Aeoniums are doing just fine)
Never mind, plant losses also mean opportunities to do more plant shopping! And because I really like aeoniums (and intent to replace all of the ones I lost) the first place I thought of was Hayle Plants, one of the nurseries we visited whilst in Cornwall May of last year. This nursery actually caters for the trade but they have a site that does retail and it is a treasure trove of plants, including my beloved aeoniums!
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| A sea of Aeonium 'Sunburst', lovely! Can I have all of them please.....I wish! |
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| Aeoniums galore! |
Hayle Plants is a sister company to Cornwall Plantaholics which we featured January of last year, and it was nice to catch up with Jane again and she showed us around their new site. A huge place, much larger than their old site but is much better for them so they'll have more space to propagate plants to cater for big orders (and big orders are a great thing!). No big orders from us I'm afraid but we did pick up a few beauties whilst there. With such lovely plants how could we resist taking some home with us?
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| They don't just sell aeoniums though, lots of other plants too... |
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| Fabulous prices as well! |
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| Beesia babies! |
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| A good spiky selection! |
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| How many pots of Restios can you count in this photo?? |
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| Any guesses what these could be? |
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| Zany for Zantedeschias! |
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| Plant lust! |
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| We left the nursery with several plants, and on our drive out this was the scenery, sublime! |
Looks like we will be back again this year, to check out what new plants they have this time around, as well as stock up once again on aeoniums!
Mark :-)
This gardening blog follows our journey as we create our Tropical and Exotic themed garden. We hope you'll enjoy the journey as much as we do. We started our Exotic Garden in 2005 and this site will show its development, as well as our travels, both abroad and within the UK to gardens, nurseries and friends.
OMG, this is aeonium heaven! That seemingly endless expanse of 'Sunburst' is jaw-dropping. I have two 'Sunburst' but I will add more if mine don't form a dense cluster soon. It's my favorite aeonium cultivar. Well, maybe 'Zwartkop' is but 'Sunburst' is a close second. It's hard to pick favorites!
ReplyDeleteWould love to know what those weird plants 2/3rd of the way down are. They do look a bit revolting, which makes them even more interesting.
Hi Gerhard, wouldn't it be nice to have masses of 'Sunburst' like that in the garden? If only space and resource permits! That's my favourite aeonium too and will definitely get several more of that.
DeleteThe weird plants are germinating coffee beans, it does look strange seeing it like that :)
Mark, sorry to read that you lost many aeoniums this winter! You are truly a "the glass is half full"- person, when you instead of complaining much about it see this as an opportunity to buy new plants :-). Again, another nursery I can envy you guys about ;-). Hope you find replacements for the aeoniums that lost. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteChristina
Thanks Christina :) we always look on the bright side of things. Fortunately the aeoniums we lost are easy enough to replace (and easy to prop too, we just need to sort out the ventilation in our greenhouse). So looking forward to plant shopping now, can't wait!!
DeleteWell you certainly know whee to get more aeoniums come Spring. It must be like being trapped in a vegan household and craving steak - gardening withdrawal pangs.
ReplyDeleteYou've reminded me I must check and move some of my succulents while we are having all this rain. They can take and amount of heat but hot damp and humid is fatal.
Hi Missy, I like the way you've put, perfect comparison!! :) Yes, gardening withdrawal pangs indeed, so looking forward to doing more nursery visits in the coming months, not long now!
DeleteHumidity can be a problem indeed, not much of an issue during the warmer months here (which aren't actually that warm, lol!) but in the winter it can be fatal, as what happened to our aeoniums. Never mind, we'll just have to get more :)
Hmm think it would have been difficult not to walk out with a lot of plants. Early season is difficult for me anyway. I want most everything. :)
ReplyDeleteCher Sunray Gardens
Hi Cher, same here, we tend to want everything! :) Yes it was difficult to walk out there without getting lots of plants. We were a bit more disciplined then (but come to think of it our haul was still relatively big...)
DeleteI'm so bummed to hear about your Aeonium issues! I guess these is an advantage to my make shift green house not being airtight.
ReplyDeleteI understand the shopping bug taking hold, I'm feeling it too! Can't wait to see what you end up with when you go back. I noticed a lot of twine grids tied above the plants. Do you know what purpose they serve?
Hi Loree, it was annoying to lose most of the aeoniums (especially I propped loads and thought we'll have lots to use this year) but fortunately they're easy enough to replace especially we go to Cornwall every spring. On the bright side I'm glad all of the agaves and the few aloes we have are fine, they would have been more difficult to replace.
DeleteNot having an airtight greenhouse certainly does have its advantages, air circulation is unlikely to be a problem. A lot of succulents can actually take lower temps as long as they're kept dry and with good air circulation (which wasn't the case this year in that little greenhouse of ours). Sometimes rain shelter is even enough to do the trick.
The shopping bug is there and we're feeling the fever, lol! :) The twine grids supports some of the plants, keeping them upright especially the taller growing ones that are grown in tiny pots making them top heavy.
Oh dear, and yet, what an opportunity. That nursery looks deadly to the wallet...
ReplyDeleteNot that deadly Janet, their prices are really good (which also encourages you to pick up more...) :)
DeleteWow! What an amazing place. Restios, aeoniums and your plant lust picture make me envious! The drive out is stunning! I lost a couple of aeoniums to a mold thing too but some of mine are still o.k. It's always sad to loose plants but the thought of plant shopping usually makes us feel much better yes?
ReplyDeleteYes indeed :) nothing like retail therapy to spice up spring!
DeleteOh how tempting - wish we had a better climate up here so that I could have a bit of aeoniums lust as well. I just don't have the room indoors for them.
ReplyDeleteGasp I've just seen their prices - absolutely amazing!!!!
Hi Rosie, their plant prices are fab, ones budget can go further there :)
DeleteMy Aeoniums have done fine although the flower leaves/petals seem greener than brown on the Schwarzkopf. My echivera have suffered a bit due to the damp greenhouse but I am hoping to have rescued them now - only time will tell
ReplyDeleteLooks like they will be fine Helen. The purple Aeonium will darken up again once we get more sun in the coming weeks ahead :)
DeleteWe are down to St Ives in a couple of weeks so I may look up this nursery as I'm also a big fan of Aeoniums. We dont have a car which is just as well as I could spend a fortune in a place like that! So looking forward to my Cornwall fix.
ReplyDeletePerfect opportunity to check out this place Richard! Have a lovely time, St. Ives is such a beautiful town :)
DeleteSince you just lost some Aeoniums, this might seem like an odd request, but could you do a little tutorial on their care? I'm sure you know way more about them than I do. I give them plenty of love, but they shun me all the same.
ReplyDeleteHi ricki, I'll try to, on a future post hopefully soon :) but generally none are hardy and best overwintered inside a heated greenhouse if you live in colder region that goes below freezing at times during winter. Give them good drainage and keep them on the dry side in the winter and water well in the summer. It appreciates full sun and site them in as sunny a spot as possible during the winter. The problems I had we're the dampness inside our greenhouse which encouraged fungal growth that lead to rot.
DeleteYour loss turned into a plant shopping heavenly day! I'd say that might be a gain! Although I am really sorry that you lost some plants. It must have been especially frustrating since you did everything you could to make them live through the winter. There are several plants in the 'plant lust' picture that I want. Perfect name for that picture!
ReplyDeleteThanks Holley :) winter does make you feel more fonder for more plants and seeing these photos we took last May was a reminder of the goodies out there once spring had arrived. Exciting times ahead!
DeleteOh that's a lot of plants, and beautiful. I want to have that Aeounium 'sunburst', do you think it will thrive here Mark? And i think the germinating seedlings in your 'guessing part' are coffee! But most of all i love that view on your way home!
ReplyDeleteYou got that right Andrea, well done! The Aeonium 'Sunburst' is worth a try there, it's possible that it could do well there. Just give it plenty of drainage too as when it's wet there it's very wet :)
DeleteSorry to read about your aeoniums. I only have one and it lives on the bathroom windowsill for 3/4 of the year because of the rain!
ReplyDeleteWhat amazing pictures of the nursery - I could feel my credit card jiggling in my wallet - but I have promised myself that I wont buy any new plants this year (Haha wonder how long that will last?) But those restios quite lovely.
K
You wouldn't be able to resist Karen :) there's always some nice new plant out there that you'll just have to have!
DeleteI love aeoniums and have been eyeing them up for a few years. Now you have made me feel rather cautious. Perhaps restios instead? Like the look of your nursery.
ReplyDeleteHi Catharine, usually we don't have problems with Aeoniums, just this winter. Both that and restios are worth trying :)
DeleteHave you considered putting a screen door inside the greenhouse to block out invaders? Lovely pics as always.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea! Thanks and will give a screen door a big consideration :)
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