The spendthrift wife who grows succulents says outright that she wants a dozen husbands like this

Preface

Follow the Encyclopedia · Meet the Beautiful (WeChat ID: duoroubaike)

The main text begins:

Thanks to the author [Qingrou] for theoriginal submissionsharing

Submission date: 2018-06-10

Edited and compiled by: Encyclopedia Jun

Location: Puyang City, Henan Province

My history of growing succulents is fairly long. Our home had a Pachyphytum oviferum for a long time, though at the time I did not know it was a succulent. In the spring of 2011, I was drawn to a pot of Sedum rubrotinctum at a stall by the bridge. The seller called it "horse-milk grapes" (later I learned it was a name the seller made up himself), and for 5 yuan I carried it home joyfully.

After getting home, I held the pot up in front of my husband and asked hopefully: Isn't it pretty? He did not even lift his head: Pretty. From then on, this pot of Sedum rubrotinctum started my succulent-growing journey.

Later, I bought some more on the street, all 3 yuan or 5 yuan, and potted several mixed containers, even recording them in my QQ album

Now when I dig out these old photos, they were all planted in pure yellow mud, and I feel a bit ashamed. No wonder my husband would not even look at them back then.

At that time there was not a single local succulent greenhouse, and online knowledge about succulents was very scarce, so I just enjoyed myself, using a beat-up phone (not a smartphone) to take photos every day, thinking they were extremely beautiful. One day I happened to see Ermu's blog, and when I saw Ermu's succulent photos and articles, I practically worshipped him as a god. Then I looked at the succulents I had photographed, and could not bear to look directly at them. So first I acted cute with my husband, then showed him Ermu's succulent photos, and finally revealed my real aim: buy a camera. After comparing my succulent photos with Ermu's, my husband hesitated for a long time and said: Buy it. So a point-and-shoot camera came into my hands (only later did I learn that what he used to photograph succulents was a DSLR). Treasuring it like a treasure, I took photos every day.

These were all taken with the camera

After growing succulents for a long time, I began frantically searching for them online, discovered several succulent forums and succulent lovers' blogs, imitated what they did, posted my own succulents to a blog, and for a while was even obsessed with photo editing.

Everyone starts growing succulents at different times, but the inner journey is basically the same. Inevitably, I also became obsessed with picking up junk. When I went out for walks with my husband and saw a garbage pile, Old Sun's sharp eyes would immediately possess me, sweeping rapidly, and I could always find something good.

This was the first piece of junk I picked up - a yogurt container. As soon as I got home, I dug in 2 stems of Sedum rubrotinctum and admired it beautifully for half the evening.

At first, whenever I picked up junk, my husband would flee, wishing he could stick a label on himself: I do not know her, I do not know her. Gradually, he began giving me information: there is a fruit basket by the square roadside, go pick it up tonight; someone downstairs threw out a pickle jar, do you want... Later still, when he saw bottles and jars that could be used to plant succulents, he would quietly bring them home.

Echeveria 'Dancing Red Dress'

Echeveria 'Red Leaf Festival'

Gradually, I was no longer satisfied with the cheap common varieties that cost a few yuan, and started buying slightly more expensive ones online. Later, I discovered a local succulent greenhouse. The first time I went, it was like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, and I practically wanted to linger and never leave. When I left, I dug up a bunch. Seeing me bring back so many, my husband said: How much did these cost? I laughed: Not much, 5 yuan each. I turned my head and stuck out my tongue. If he knew each one was several dozen yuan, I do not know what he would have thought.

To keep my husband from crying out in shock when he heard the prices, I deceived him: for single-headed ones I always said 5 yuan, and for multi-headed ones I said 10 yuan.

One day my husband pointed at the Echeveria 'Afterglow' and said: How much is this one?

It turned out that the Echeveria 'Afterglow' by the window had quietly put on rouge.

"10 yuan"

"Then that is really worth it, so beautiful and only 10 yuan"

One day when I came home from work, I found 2 pots of succulents missing. My husband came over and said: "A friend came today, liked 2 pots, so I gave them to him"

"Who told you to give them away?" I flew into a rage.

My husband did not take it seriously: "It is only 20 yuan, tomorrow I will buy you 2 pots"

Wanting to cry but with no tears left, I decided to confess: Do you know how much the Echeveria 'Afterglow' cost? 85. Do you know how much the Echeveria 'Original Beauty' cost? More than 100, and the key thing is it is still hard to buy. You should know that at the time, Echeveria 'Original Beauty' was a hot variety, and experts in the forums often discussed its characteristics and verified the identity of newcomers' Echeveria 'Original Beauty'. This controversial variety, I snatched at auction from a certain QQ group.

Seeing my husband's surprised expression, I regretted it so much my guts turned green. I really should not have hidden it from him. To avoid another similar accident (with my love for succulents, at the time I treated it as an accident), I told my husband the price of every single succulent one by one.

Sedum lydium

After my husband learned the prices of the succulents, whenever I bought more he would beg: Let us buy a little less, okay, there is no room at home. I said: Okay. But in action I still did as I pleased. When begging failed, he threatened: If you buy more I will throw them downstairs for you. Me: You throw away one, I will buy two. From then on my husband never spoke of throwing away the succulents again. Of course, massaging my husband's back and legs every day was the price I paid.

Echeveria 'Big Cabbage'

After taking photos of the succulents with the camera, I still had to upload them to the computer, and normally when I wanted to look at them there were no photos on my phone. To make photographing the succulents more convenient, my husband bought me a smartphone. After that, all the photos were taken with the phone

Sedum multiceps

Graptopetalum paraguayense 'White'

Echeveria 'Indica'

There were more and more succulents, and there was no room for them at home. The key issue was that indoors they had no color. The roof of our residential building has stairs leading up to it, and the roof is shared. In the spring of 2015, I moved several pots of succulents up there, and they indeed became gorgeous. The neighbors were also quite well-mannered. Apart from one branch of the Firecracker plant being pinched off, the succulents were safe and sound.

Firecracker plant, I like this trailing shape.

Someone pinched off the longest branch

In the spring of 2016, I moved most of the succulents up to the roof. Watching them grow more beautiful day by day, I was overjoyed.

Echeveria 'Lemon Prince'

Echeveria 'Silver Moon'

Echeveria 'Qingdian no Tsukasa'

Echeveria 'Purple Delight'

Extreme joy brings sorrow. One day, I went out on an errand, and the first thing I did when I returned was go up to the roof to see the succulents

As soon as I reached the stairway entrance, I saw soil on the ground and thought something was wrong. Sure enough, it was a total mess, and twenty or thirty succulents had been dug up and taken. From then on, whenever there was any noise outside at night, I feared someone was stealing succulents. I would pull open the curtain and listen, and then lie awake all night...

In the spring of 2017, looking at the succulents indoors that had turned green as a lightning bolt, I felt restless and wanted to move them to the roof again, but remembering last year's experience, I still felt lingering fear. Seeing this, my husband quietly took action

The ladder my husband made for me at the construction site. Although rough, it is extremely sturdy. Along the ladder one can climb to the roof of the stairwell. My husband and I carried the succulents up pot by pot. The succulents had a safe place to stay, and there were no more nightmares night after night.

Echeveria 'Purple Butterfly'

Echeveria 'First Kiss'

This picture even once stirred up a wave of group buying fever in a certain WeChat group.

Echeveria 'Chihuahua', even after becoming a common variety, I still love it

The only dark-toned succulent

Echeveria 'Swan Lake'

Echeveria 'Purple Dream'

Echeveria 'Christmas'

The succulents were safe, but watering became a big problem. My home is on the 5th floor, the roof is on the 7th floor, and there was no hose long enough. So my husband showed his skills.

Every time we watered, my husband first carried water from home up to the roof in a big red bucket, going up and down 4 floors each time. A thorough watering took 10 buckets, which was equal to climbing 40 floors. Once the water was carried to the roof, it was poured into a small blue bucket. I carried the small blue bucket, climbed along the ladder to the stairwell roof to water (there is a solar water heater on the small roof, so my husband could not get up there). 10 big buckets of water poured into the small bucket became 30 buckets. To finish watering everything, one had to go up and down the ladder 30 times. Please imagine the scene... Just thinking about it now makes my old back ache.

Sedum rubrotinctum 'Red Berry'

Growing succulents under such conditions is bitter yet happy. A succulent friend once visited my growing environment and said with emotion: Your love for succulents is true love!

Echeveria 'Afterglow', bought later

Dudleya

Dudleya

Echeveria 'Red'

Winter went and spring came, and 2018 arrived again. My husband said: Growing succulents like this is too tiring, I have to think of a way for you. So my husband hired workers and put up an iron net on the roof. This year there was no need to climb the ladder again.

A few days ago, the temperature suddenly soared to 35 degrees. My husband braved the strong sun to install the shade net. Please ignore his grimacing expression from being sunburned...

As I grow succulents, my husband went from initially not taking it seriously, to later opposing it, then tacitly allowing it, and now strongly supporting it, all because of the beauty of succulents and the joy they bring us. My husband discovered that as long as there are succulents to keep me occupied, everything is easy to discuss. Now, whenever I have something troubling me, my husband basically has the following expression:

So after a stroll around the greenhouse, I forget all my troubles when I come back.

As a spendthrift wife who grows succulents, with a husband like this at home, what more could I ask for. I only want to say one thing: A husband like this, I want a dozen. One responsible for watering, one responsible for spraying pesticides, one responsible for picking off dry leaves, one responsible for putting up the shade net, one responsible for building the rain shelter... You ask what I am responsible for? Of course I am responsible for... Oh mom, I have woken from the dream...!!!

Echeveria 'Laui'

Graptopetalum amethystinum

I have never been good at growing Graptopetalum amethystinum. This pot was a gift from a succulent friend, and it has always been beautiful. Perhaps it is watered by friendship.

Echeveria 'Dahongpao'

Echeveria 'Dark Ice'

Echeveria 'Little Round Leaf'

Finally, let me talk about my experience getting through summer. Watering, ventilation, shading and so on have been discussed countless times by the experts, and many succulent friends know them by heart, so this little novice will not repeat them. I will emphasize only one point: In summer, never move succulents around.

Some succulent lovers, out of deep love for their plants, fear the succulents will be damaged by sun, fear they will not get ventilation, fear they will be rained on... they fear this and that, so they move them around every day, putting them in an air-conditioned room during the day and moving them outside at night. Toiling like this body and mind, the succulents still melt into water at the slightest disagreement, and the poor baby feels so wronged. I only want to say: Stop it, please let the succulents sleep quietly for a while.

Many people may have had this feeling: whenever you arrive at a new place, lying in bed at night, you just cannot fall asleep. This phenomenon is commonly called "bed recognition" where we are. In fact, succulents also recognize their bed. As everyone knows, most succulents go dormant in summer. Just as the succulent falls asleep, you change its location, and it cannot sleep. It finally adapts and just starts feeling sleepy, and you change its location again. Just like this, under the tossing of a clumsy-handed owner, the succulent suffers insomnia... Put yourself in its place. If you were made to suffer insomnia every day, you would surely lose your beauty and become haggard. If you make the succulent suffer insomnia every day, it will stop playing with you and fly away to become an immortal.

Do not say succulents are delicate in summer. The succulent wants to say: You are delicate, your whole family is delicate. As long as you do not have itchy hands and do not toss them around, and maintain ventilation, ventilation, ventilation, and let the succulents sleep quietly for a beauty sleep, when they wake in autumn, I guarantee they will be as lovely as flowers.

Succulent culture needs you and me to spread it! Remember to share good articles more, so more people fall in love with succulents!

Reward explanation

This article is purely a share. The author has not enabled rewards. After reading, do not forget to give the author a little like at the bottom right corner of the end of the article to encourage them!

Advertisement ADVERTISEMENT

This article has beenexclusively authorizedby the author to WeChat public account: Succulent Plant Encyclopedia (ID: duoroubaike). The content of the article does not represent the views or stance of the public account! The Encyclopedia has signed with a third-party internet copyright protection company and opened whole-network rights protection. Unauthorized reproduction by other platforms is strictly prohibited! If pirated reproduction is found, infringement liability will be pursued! Netizens are welcome to report it!