Falling in love with succulents, I want to become a succulent-growing master in this succulent forest

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Thanks to the author [Wang Xiaokang] for theoriginal submissionsharing

Submission date: April 20, 2018

Edited and compiled by: Encyclopedia Jun

Location: Qingdao, Shandong

Growing succulents starts with my mother-in-law. Actually, I did not fall in love with succulents at first sight, and at the very beginning I did not even understand why some people were so obsessed with them. It was not until I was at home waiting to give birth to my daughter that my somewhat spendthrift mother-in-law spent 80 yuan to buy 3 succulents (only later did I learn the names of those three: Sedum 'Burrito', Echeveria 'Tae-Wang' or rather Crassula 'Ivory Pagoda', and Echeveria 'Shin-Ou' or rather Echeveria pulvinata 'Frosty' - specifically Sedum 'Burrito', Crassula 'Ivory Pagoda', and Echeveria 'Setosa' - more precisely the three were Sedum 'Burrito', Crassula 'Ivory Pagoda', and Echeveria 'Shin-Ou'), and only then did I begin to develop a bit of interest in succulents.

Afterward, I started the online shopping mode, not for anything else, just for cheapness. Even so, bit by bit, all sorts of things, succulents and pots alike, still ended up costing several thousand yuan. But fortunately, they have grown quite well. Although there were losses, most of them survived, so let them show their faces.

Let's start with Echeveria 'Allen'. This is one that makes me very proud. I raised it from a young plant, and its looks are no worse than Echeveria 'Peach Egg'; it is breathtakingly beautiful. If you do not believe me, take a look.

Some succulents do not look like much at first, but as you raise them, you gradually fall for them, such as my Firecracker Plant. One photo shows how it looked last winter, and one shows how it looks now. Look at how delicate and gorgeous she is. How could you not be smitten...

When shopping online, there are always some sellers who include tiny little freebies. They are very inconspicuous, but if raised well they can still be beautiful, such as my little Sedum 'Little Beauty'. When she arrived, she was really just a tiny bit, but now...

Among all my succulents, there is one that has always remained in my heart. It is called Echeveria 'Red Pedilanthus' - actually Graptosedum 'Red Push' or rather Echeveria 'Hongzhilian' - more precisely Graptosedum 'Hongzhilian'. If I were to describe her as a woman, I think she belongs to the seductive type, with the potential to be a fox spirit. When she turns sultry, she can steal your soul...

Looking around at these people still tossing about in the sea of succulents, whose windowsill does not have one or two pots of Echeveria 'Peach Egg'? Who does not long for a whole grove of peach trees stretching ten li? I long for it too, but alas, the space is too small and Echeveria 'Peach Egg' grows too slowly, so I only have those two small pots...

I am especially fond of Kalanchoe thyrsiflora 'Flapjacks'. My mother-in-law, who loves succulents, cannot remember the name, so she gave it the name "duck's paw". It was originally quite an elegant name, yet she insisted on changing it to this, a bit like an educated youth sent from the city down to the countryside. The pictures below are not of Kalanchoe thyrsiflora 'Flapjacks' at its most beautiful, but the before-and-after change is still quite big. This is how it looked before beheading and after beheading...

I have always thought Echeveria 'Wax Peony' - actually Echeveria 'Wax Rose' or rather Pachyphytum 'Wax Peony' - more precisely Echeveria 'Wax Peony' is an oddball. It is different from other succulents. It has no neat leaf shape and a bad temper, and it does not like to show you color. But last winter it still let me appreciate a bit of its allure...

What also must be mentioned here is Echeveria 'Xiuyan'. It is a variety that every succulent grower has one of. In summer it turns as green as a vegetable, so green that even your own mother would not recognize it, while in spring, autumn, and winter it astonishes everyone, absolutely stunning beyond compare...

Speaking of the queen, how could she be left out? Absolutely prolific, a peerless beauty, the outstanding one among the Echeveria elegans line...

In Yunnan there is a Su Jun, and his succulent garden is the dream of every succulent grower. Su Jun's garden made Aeonium popular, so I also took in two small Aeonium seedlings. At first they were both small single heads. Now one has already become a small bouquet, and the other is working hard to become a small bouquet: my Aeonium 'Shao Xiu' and Aeonium 'Ziyangrong' - more precisely Aeonium 'Shao Xiu' and Aeonium 'Purple Velvet'.

Spring in Qingdao is very short, and the wind is also very strong. My Bear's Paw placed outside has already become so dirty that I cannot bear to look at it, but it is worth mentioning that its claws have already started to turn red...

Some people especially like Haworthia, while I am not very into them, but I still raised two Haworthia cooperi. I found that Haworthia are still quite easy to keep alive. It does not matter if there is a bit more water, and it does not matter if there is a bit less sunlight. I suggest that friends who water rather frequently can get two pots and try raising them...

There are some common cheap varieties with beautiful prices, and when they become beautiful they are not at all inferior to those so-called expensive ones. Do not underestimate them. Do not judge worth by price. Succulents have no distinction of noble and lowly. As long as you give them time, you need not worry that they will not return to beauty...

For example, these are all common cheap varieties...

This spring I saw Haworthia cooperi bloom for the first time, small and very fresh flowers, no more and no less, just one stalk...

There is another one that is too hard to bring into color, but it grows quite well. When it first arrived, it looked so dried out that I thought it would not survive. Masters, all of you take a look, how can this fellow be brought into color...

Besides Echeveria 'Peach Egg' and Echeveria 'Allen', the "egg" type beauties are also indispensable. Pachyphytum 'Peach Beauty' is dignified and grand, plump and lustrous, grows quickly, colors up quickly, and its color is no worse than Echeveria 'Peach Egg'. Getting through summer is not a problem either, so I leaf-propagated quite a few all at once. If I do not have a grove of Echeveria 'Peach Egg', having a grove of Pachyphytum 'Peach Beauty' is also quite nice...

This is my first time submitting to the Encyclopedia, and I have rambled on incoherently this much. I do not know whether I will be lucky enough to be featured. If I am fortunate enough for everyone to see this article, I still ask the masters for lots of guidance. Finally, I want to say that succulent growers are not afraid of hardship. The 15 cm gap between the window and the security grille, the outdoor air conditioner unit, and the gaps in the security grille are all good places for growing succulents. Last of all, I present to everyone a small group photo of the 15 cm gap. Thank you all for reading...

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