Brrrr... it's cold outside but never mind, it's warm inside and I have some small plants to sort out...
One of the things I've been doing recently to keep the gardening bug ticking over during this relatively quiet period is I've been buying small succulents. I've been buying them gradually over the past few weeks and it's always nice to find a little package every so often by the front door every time I get back home from work.
Mangave 'Bloodspot' - can't get enough of this pretty Agave macroacantha x Manfreda maculosa (?) hybrid
I call them my tiny treats and teeny treasures, and yet none of them were dear, making very little dent in my pocket.and another one that I can't get enough of - Agave schidigera 'Shira Ito no Ohi' - I'd have ten of these please! (if I could!)
Agave schidigera 'Black Widow'
and another Agave schidigera 'Shira Ito no Ohi'
As they are so small they are what I also call 'investment plants'. I'll take care of them and let them grow on and once they get big enough they will be displayed in the garden. I'm not a fervent agave and aloe collector as such, opting to only buy the ones that appeal to me rather than buy everything just to tick a box. But if I do like something I'd much prefer to have several of the same thing rather than just have one (if it's possible). I find that having several of the same thing makes it easier to be creative with them (especially with succulents), ties in areas of the garden better if used as a linking plant, and generally gives a better impact if together in the same area. Not to mention having the sense of security that if you do lose one, you have several back ups to make up for it.Ohhh so what's in the box??
Another Mangave 'Bloodspot' (this is my third one already, with the first being in the greenhouse)
And another Agave schidigera 'Shira Ito no Ohi' - I did say I'd have ten of these if I could (seven more to go...)
Aloe nobilis 'Variegata' - just to throw in some variety
And I finally have one, yay! Agave 'Blue Glow' - a cross between Agave ocahui and Agave attenuata. If I do spot a bigger one in the spring I'd definitely get one. But for now I'm content having one, even if it's just tiny
Speaking of being displayed in the garden, it will be awhile before any of them will be big enough to make an impact, either solitary in containers or mixed planting on a pot (they will just disappear/get swamped due to their tiny size) but with a bit of extra pampering these succulents do size up fairly quickly. And boy am I looking forward to that!Mark :-)