I like plants

lichter

1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts

October 26 2016 02:07 GMT

Warning: possible pictures of freaky ass plants

Around 8 or so years ago, I became interested in bonsai. I was fascinated by the tiny trees and wanted to learn how to grow and cultivate my own. For a while I invested a lot of time and energy into the hobby, but then I became busy with real life stuff like work, and eventually StarCraft and Team Liquid (which also eventually became a job). Bonsai as a real hobby can be very time consuming, since you have to water, wire, adjust, and do all sorts of daily maintenance. Especially since I became fond of high maintenance species, such as pemphis acidula. Of course you can leave things to grow out too, but I felt like I wouldn't be able to enjoy the hobby if I could only dedicate an hour to it every day. So I eventually stopped around 3 years into the hobby.

+ Show Spoiler [Examples of Pemphis acidula bonsai] +

A lot of people consider pemphis acidula one of the best and most amazing species that can be used in bonsai. Their natural shari can be dramatic and otherworldly, and their bark, even in very young and sheltered specimens, can be extremely coarse and detailed.

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While I did not have anything close to as beautiful as these, I did have around ~5 pre-bonsai that I was developing and shaping. Unfortunately I did not take any pictures, but most of them were in states similar to this picture:

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I was already trying to ramify them and they were all growing really well. One of the peculiarities of pemphis acidula is that you have to spray or water them with salt water once in a while. Not every day, mind you, but a few times a week. These plants are found in coastal cliffs and mangroves, so exposure to salt water ensures they stay compact and have short fleshy leaves.

Aside from pemphis acidula, I also had desmodium, Ficus microcarpa, Serissa foetida, boxwood, and even a crabapple.

Recently, I've started becoming interested in plants again, but I gravitated towards a kind that requires a little less attention: succulents. Now, that might not sound as interesting as bonsai at first, but after a lot of looking around and research, I became enamored by these little weirdos as well.

They are a lot easier to take care of. They only need watering once or twice a week, depending on the season, and don't really require much pruning, unless you want them to branch out, thicken at the base, or propagate. Fertilizers are largely unnecessary since they are used to living in nutrient poor soil, and not using fertilizers ensures they stay compact and look like how they would in nature. So basically you only need to pay attention to them a handful of times a week, if that.

So over the past few months I've been growing my collection and learning more about them. Turns out there is a lot more to succulents than what you probably imagine.

You're probably thinking something like this:

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..or something in the Aloe family. I think those are the most common kinds of succulents that people are exposed to, and that's the kind you see in supermarkets and gardening stores most often. Their thick squishy leaves pretty much define a succulent for most people, but the definition is actually somewhat broader.

From wikipedia:

In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents or sometimes fat plants, are plants that have some parts that are more than normally thickened and fleshy, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions.

While most people think of leaves being thick and fleshy, roots and stems can also retain water. And this is where things really get interesting. My favorite succulents are called caudiciform, because they possess a caudex. A caudex is basically an enlarged rootstock, where plants can hold water.

Here is a small example of a caudex, from my Monadenium montanum var. rubellum:

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Yep, that weird thing in the middle is called a caudex. Here are other examples from the internet:

+ Show Spoiler [Caudiciform examples] +

Euphorbia stellata

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Adenium obesum, most commonly known as desert rose

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Pachypodium saundersii

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Discorea elephantipes, commonly known as Elephant's foot

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And of course a much older example of Monadenium montanum var. rubellum

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Those are just some of the interesting forms that succulents can take. Also I should note that most cacti are also considered succulents, but not all succulents are cacti. Here are a few more random examples of fascinating species:

+ Show Spoiler [More pics] +

Euphorbia platyclada, which basically looks like a dead shrub

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Astrophytum cv. Fukuryu Dinosaur

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Echinopsis aurea subs. shaferi f. monstruosa cristata hort.

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Gymnocalycium ragonesei f. cristatum hort.

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Mammillaria crinita subs. painteri f. monstruosa hort.

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Othonna herrei Pillans

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Cotyledon wallichii

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Delosperma tuberosum

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Monsonia multifida

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Dorstenia foetida

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As you can see, succulents can take all sorts of weird shapes and sizes. I think one of the most fascinating things about them is how wildly different each species has adapted to very harsh climates with limited nutrients such as water and sunlight. The weirder it is, the more I probably want one.

Here are some of the species I currently have which I have pictures of:

Split rock plant or Pleiospilos nelii

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Euphorbia cv. Cocklebur

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Euphorbia ambovombensis

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Some mystery Euphorbia, probably brachyphylla

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Of all genera, my favorite is probably Euphorbia, since they are mostly caudiciforms with the most interesting shapes, and often very bonsai-like appearances. However, I was surprised to learn that Euphorbias actually have toxic sap. Like, actually poisonous. Some species can actually kill you if you ingest the sap, and at the very least it's an irritant when it makes contact with your skin. So yeah, gotta wear gloves when I prune them. Part of their charm, I guess.

From the pictures I showed earlier, I also have Pachypodium saundersii, Dorstenia foetida, Euphorbia platyclada and Astrophytum Fukuryu.

Aside from those, I also have two more: Euphorbia ritchiei and Alluaudia procera, respectively:
+ Show Spoiler +

Right now, I've already begun to take cuttings from my plants in order to try to propagate. I've made cuttings of my E. brachyphylla and M. montanum var. rubellum, and so far I've only succeeded rooting about half of them. So I kinda suck at it, but I'm sure I'll get better as I understand each plants' needs and requirements more. I've also bought some seeds and a seed box, so hopefully I find some success in germination once I start. Of course, it's going to take a few years before any of those seeds end up taking their more adult forms, so this will probably be a long-term hobby.

Well, at least I hope it will be. I really like plants and I feel like I've found something that I can do even with my busy schedule. Though I guess since I was able to write this blog I must not have been that busy. Actually I should probably get back to work.

Updates probably soonish?

CosmicSpiral

United States15275 Posts

October 26 2016 03:05 GMT

Can you make a power rank comparing writers to your household plants? And soon?

lichter

1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts

October 26 2016 03:32 GMT

I'm gonna do this after blizzcon like 100%

Saechiis

Netherlands4989 Posts

October 26 2016 03:51 GMT

Haha plant nerd, nice! This made me realise I want this as well. I used to be obsessed with cacti as a kid and I just kind of forgot about it as I ventured on to other things.

lichter

1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts

October 26 2016 04:02 GMT

You should get back into it, it's a really satisfying hobby especially when you start propagating

Jett.Jack.Alvir

Canada2250 Posts

October 26 2016 05:29 GMT

There is only one plant I like, and I smoke it when I get a chance. Can you grow that plant lichter?

AbouSV

Germany1278 Posts

October 26 2016 07:33 GMT

No lichter shoutout?

lichter

1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts

October 26 2016 08:21 GMT

i don't shoutout to myself, i'm not that vain

YokoKano

United States612 Posts

October 26 2016 08:38 GMT

lol. there is a need for shoutouts, I guess.

Otolia

France5805 Posts

October 26 2016 08:58 GMT

#10

I thought you said you like pants, and I thought, wow, finally, I can be like lichter too, but then ...

lichter

1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts

October 26 2016 09:54 GMT

#11

i also like pants

do you wanna talk about pants

i need a pair of grey denim and i am pussyfooting on dark grey d01's because i dunno if it'll fit the rest of my wardrobe

backup plan is just buy our legacy again, though i've never actually tried on any of their denim. but the zero cut looks nice.

opisska

Poland8852 Posts

October 26 2016 10:03 GMT

#12

I have a cactus. It could as well be plastic, because it looks exactly the same as it looked ten years ago ... or so I think but my wife tells me that it grew like twice as big. It's just changing so slowly that I do not recognize it.

The more fun things are those we grow from random seeds. My wife picked up some palm fruits somewhere, I think Tenerife, and after a couple of years she has a 2-meter high palm "tree" - well the stem is still much shorter, it's just the leaves that take an innordinate amount of space. We had to give to the faculty as we were moving and now it nicely decorates a staircase.

Then we bought some passionfruit - from just one fruit, dozens of seeds can be obtained, we planted them and a lot of them grew, so we got this wonderful green wall of stems crawling up anything they could find around the window. Provided some nice shade in summer, but then it was quite tough to get rid of it before moving

YokoKano

United States612 Posts

October 26 2016 10:13 GMT

#13

Yes I am pretty close to the vest with my plants as well. It is a hallmark of intelligence, like having a high brow. I do not have a clue what Lichter so open in this case. Do you water your cacti?

Pandemona

Charlie Sheens House51430 Posts

October 26 2016 10:13 GMT

#14

So when we can't get hold of you licther your busy with your Bonsai plant like a Mr Miyagi? Good times

munch

Mute City2363 Posts

October 26 2016 10:58 GMT

#15

So this is why you left us :[

endy

Switzerland8970 Posts

October 26 2016 12:02 GMT

#16

Cool stuff, I love bonsais and succulents. You should try chili peppers, they make amazing bonsais http://fatalii.net/Bonsai_Chiles_Bonchi

Deleuze

United Kingdom2102 Posts

October 26 2016 12:50 GMT

#17

Looks really cool. I like succulents, want to learn more about them - went to a fruit and veg faire a month or so ago and there was a pair of old guys selling cacti and succulents for 50p each (one of them wasn't you was it?).

lichter

1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts

October 26 2016 13:12 GMT

#18

On October 26 2016 19:03 opisska wrote:
I have a cactus. It could as well be plastic, because it looks exactly the same as it looked ten years ago ... or so I think but my wife tells me that it grew like twice as big. It's just changing so slowly that I do not recognize it.

The more fun things are those we grow from random seeds. My wife picked up some palm fruits somewhere, I think Tenerife, and after a couple of years she has a 2-meter high palm "tree" - well the stem is still much shorter, it's just the leaves that take an innordinate amount of space. We had to give to the faculty as we were moving and now it nicely decorates a staircase.

Then we bought some passionfruit - from just one fruit, dozens of seeds can be obtained, we planted them and a lot of them grew, so we got this wonderful green wall of stems crawling up anything they could find around the window. Provided some nice shade in summer, but then it was quite tough to get rid of it before moving

growing something from a seed is surprisingly satisfying. i've tried it with some crops before, though nothing serious. i think it's something everyone should try once in their life. just you, the earth, the sun, and water.

On October 26 2016 19:13 YokoKano wrote:
Yes I am pretty close to the vest with my plants as well. It is a hallmark of intelligence, like having a high brow. I do not have a clue what Lichter so open in this case. Do you water your cacti?

yes

On October 26 2016 19:13 Pandemona wrote:
So when we can't get hold of you licther your busy with your Bonsai plant like a Mr Miyagi? Good times

get off my lawn

On October 26 2016 19:58 thecrazymunchkin wrote:
So this is why you left us :[

i'm still always around i'm just too busy with other things :[

On October 26 2016 21:02 endy wrote:
Cool stuff, I love bonsais and succulents. You should try chili peppers, they make amazing bonsais http://fatalii.net/Bonsai_Chiles_Bonchi

that looks amazing. one of the things i loved the most about my crabapple was the fact that the fruits were tiny because i never fertilized, so they looked like a believable size for a "tree" that size. fruiting bonsai—i've even seen mame bonsai with fruits—are really cool.

On October 26 2016 21:50 Deleuze wrote:
Looks really cool. I like succulents, want to learn more about them - went to a fruit and veg faire a month or so ago and there was a pair of old guys selling cacti and succulents for 50p each (one of them wasn't you was it?).

50p each sounds nice :[ the astrophytum fukuryu i got cost me like €50