Miniatures

Crassula capitella ssp thyrsiflora 1 inch pot

Euphorbia cremersii var rakotozafy 1 inch pot

Sedum furfuraceum 2in pot

Euphorbia cremersii 2.5in pot

Euphorbia suzannae-marnierae 2.5in pot

Aloinopsis schooneesii needs help

The poor thing has been looking sad the couple of months. Today I submerged the pot in water...no air bubbles. That means she is root bound! 

Unpotted to find I was right

After teasing out the root mass and removing mealies

Show ready once again!

Not all my creations are cracked

Got this request for a soft cornered rectangle with studs.Told the guy I've never done one but would give it a try and if you like the finished product you can purchase, no obligation. One thing I found out about this style of pottery takes a long time! Not to make but drying. Since it is altered from its round shape it has to be dried extremely slow so pieces do not pull apart. All in all I happy with it and have learned from the process and some things I'll change for the next, the customer wants a square to match. Anyway, this is heading to Texas by the end of the week.

Euphorbia stellata

Rummaging around I found this 15yo Euphorbia stellata among the weeds (this is what happens when you have too many plants) that needs some attention. 1gal nursery pot is getting pushed out of round from the tuberous roots.

Terracotta

Excited how these turned out!

Chop 101

First you have to decide if the plant you just paid good money for is worth the sacrifice, because some times this procedure will kill it. This Pachypodium saundersii in a 10in pot was $75 from Nick Wilkinson of 

Grow while at the Intercity show last year

Remove the soil to see what you are working with (looks like there was some rot recently)

Remove topgrowth to balance

Determine where you want the base to be

and cut!

Slice through with a sharp knife (hope she doesn't go looking for the Pampered Chef ). 

As a rule of thumb, for every inch of diameter cut the plant should dry at least one week. This plant having a diameter of 5in needs to callus for a minimum of 5wks, possibly longer depending on your conditions. Place in an area with good air circulation and out of direct sun during this time.

 This was cut 4wks ago and is drying nicely. Once completely callused place in a deep pot (drains thoroughly compared to shallow) with pure pumice, perlite or 1/4" red lava. Place in a warm area with air movement and bright light, no direct sun. Water, let substraight dry thoroughly before adding more moisture. This is the most vulnerable time, watch the caudex. If it starts to plump you've had success, if it wrinkles check the base. Could be rotting. If the latter remove decayed material and start the process over. Rooting should take place within 3-6wks, some times longer.

If all goes well it will have abundant new roots, this 3yrs post chop

Occasionally the old base can be saved, depends on the species and size. The piece from this project will probably not make it due it being small but I will tray all the same

 Demonstration purposes only!

The result, impressive! Anyone can stage in a deep pot, but takes some skill and patients to do it a 1.25in shallow container.

3yrs post chop

Also works great with Fockea. I been working on this beginning in 2002

2005

2010

Low fire tester

Now to find the right plants to fill it