Hello, world!

I've decided to start a blog and shout words into the great abyss that is the internet. This is partly an exercise in record-keeping for my own sake, and partly an attempt to see whether anyone else will find my ramblings of value.

Who am I?

My name is Al (that's A-L, I'm not an AI chatbot). My interests range from video games to knitting to quilting to watercolors to my most recent fascination and the reason for this blog: growing succulents. Prior to this botanical adventure, which started about 3 months ago because I saw a picture of a lithops on Reddit, I've had no experience with keeping plants alive for more than a few weeks. 

The plants in question

My modest collection, as of 2024-06-24

My main botanical interests lie in members of the Aizoaceae family, specifically those that tend towards the small and clump-forming. Most of my plants are lithops, but I certainly won't turn up my nose at other mesembs. On my wishlist right now: more conophytum, titanopsis, and Monilaria moniliformis.

But I do occasionally find cacti endearing as well -- the smaller and rounder the better. I currently have a Tephrocactus geometricus and an Astrophytum myriostigma. Maybe this fall I'll get myself a Lophophora williamsi to keep them company. 

Future plans

As I live in a small, north-facing apartment in southwestern Germany, I've had to keep my plants under grow lights. I recently ordered a small lean-to greenhouse so that I can move my plants outside. Unfortunately, it'll have to be north-facing, but according to my light meter, the brightly-lit outdoor shade provides the same amount of light as my tiny cheapo grow lights. I'm curious to see how this works out in the long run for my plants. 

Once I get the greenhouse up and running, I'll be focusing on ensuring the plants get through the summer. The early part of this summer hasn't looked too promising, with a few days of high heat alternating with weeks of cold, damp, and storms.

After the weather cools down in the fall, I have some lithops seeds to sow. I collected some from my plants; the more interesting seeds will be arriving by post later this summer, courtesy of the Mesemb Study Group. Looking forward to seeing what sprouts, and here's hoping I don't kill them all!