Potting New Succulents for My Greenhouse
Among my favorite plants are the exotic forms of succulents. I have many potted up in my greenhouse - they make excellent container specimens.
In my last blog, I shared photos from The Tropics, Inc., a large family-owned botanical gallery of tropical plants, trees, orchids, and other vintage and decorative accessories for residential and corporate use, real estate staging, and television and film projects. While I visited the shop, I admired the beautiful Abromeitiella brevifolia mounds - terrestrial bromeliads with small rosettes of fleshy triangular leaves. I hope you saw some of the stunning plants in the current issue of "Living." As the plant matures, it will grow in diameter. And when the plant produces flowers, they will emerge from the center of the small grayish green rosettes. I am always searching for rare and interesting plants and decided to add a few Abromeitiella brevifolia mounds to my collection.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Abromeitiella brevifolia plants are mat-forming succulents with spined leaves arranged in numerous rosettes. They grow slowly and sometimes form cushion-shaped colonies. In their natural environment, they almost never get water, and have developed the capacity to absorb water from the humidity in the air. Here, Ryan is preparing to repot these beautiful new plants.
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- The Abromeitiella brevifolia, also known as Deuterocohnia brevifolia, is a beautiful, rustic, and resistant plant in the Bromeliaceae family. The genus Deuterocohnia consists of about 18 species of bromeliads native to Brazil, Bolivia, and Chile in South America.
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- The Abromeitiella brevifolia is a small succulent with short stems. In this close-up, one can see the rosettes. And its leaves are triangular, about an inch long, and gray-green in color.
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- I’ve been using Guy Wolff pots for many years. Every few years, I add to my stock and Guy delivers the gray pots to Bedford, New York – he makes every one of them by hand. On the side of each one, Guy stamps the name of my farm, Cantitoe, and the year the pot was made. He also stamps his name and the wet-weight of the clay used. They all look so great in my house during special occasions.
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- Each pot has a drainage hole. A clay shard is placed over the hole to help prevent any soil from falling out and to aid with drainage. I also like to use clay pots because they allow proper aeration and moisture to penetrate through the sides and to the plant.
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- Abromeitiella brevifolia can thrive in any well-drained soil, whether it’s rocky, poor, or dry. The important thing is that it drains properly. This will prevent the plant from getting sick with fungi and the roots from rotting. Notice the mix of materials in this root ball – soil, gravel, sand, etc.
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- Ryan removes each plant from the pot very carefully, avoiding mistreating any of the roots.
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- Before placing it into its new container, Ryan loosens the root ball with his hands just a bit to stimulate new root growth. Then, he pots it to the same height it was in its original vessel.
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- The waterings need to be moderate since they resist drought very well. They will be watered regularly when the substrate has completely dried. And they do not like to have water on their leaves.
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- After potting the smaller specimens, Ryan moves onto the larger ones. Notice, the pots he is using are wider than they are tall. This is important because of the growth habit of the plant – it grows in diameter and has shallow roots.
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- For succulents, we use a mix of equal parts sand, perlite, and vermiculite for best drainage. The right soil mix will also help to promote faster root growth, and gives quick anchorage to young roots. Here, there are also tiny pebbles and hardwood bark to ensure good drainage.
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- Ryan scoops the proper soil mix into the bottom of the pot.
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- He works in assembly line fashion, which we have found to be most efficient and least time consuming. He fills all the larger pots with the soil medium and then proceeds with planting.
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- Next, Ryan loosens the root ball of the plant.
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- I also like to top-dress my succulents with pea gravel, or in this case, sand stone. It can be found at most garden centers.
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- Ryan rinses the sand stone and drains it through a colander.
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- Once planted, Ryan tops the pot with small scoops of sand stone.
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- These plants will do well in my greenhouse where the temperature and humidity levels can be monitored.
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- First, I will enjoy them in my Winter House. Not only do houseplants enhance the overall appearance of a space, but they’ve also been known to increase creativity, reduce stress, and eliminate air pollutants. I always have some plants in my home when I am there. All my guests love to learn about the container plants they see.
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- Here are three sitting on the large able in my entrance hall. Whenever I decorate with plants, I use silver, copper, or glass plates, purchased from tag sales or antiques fairs, under the pots to catch any water. I find them more decorative than the clay saucers that come with the pots.
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- There are more on this plant stand on my enclosed porch. Abromeitiella brevifolia can be kept in a sunny window or one with partial shade.
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- Succulents are so easy to maintain and are able to survive prolonged drought because they store moisture in their fleshy stems, roots, and leaves. They make such wonderful container plants. What are your favorite succulents? Share your comments with me in the section below.
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