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PLANT ID PLEASE

Fran IOMFran IOM Posts: 2,872
in Plants
My daughter gave me this plant which she has had in her garden for some time and decided it was time to donate it to me for some tic. Don't know what it's name is and whether it should remain in a decent pot or whether it can go in the ground. It's only ever been in the glass dish and seems to be struggling. Not the prettiest of plants in my opinion. 

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I think it’s an echeveria  but I might be wrong (probably am). 🙄 

    Where’s @wild edges?  He knows about succulents…. 😃 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Fran IOMFran IOM Posts: 2,872
    Many thanks for responding @Dovefromabove. You could well be right so we can wait and see if @wild edges is in agreement.  :)
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    I would say Echeveria species.  It needs a gritty free draining compost, so the glass vase could be a problem as it has no drainage.
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Dovefromabove said:
    I think it’s an echeveria  but I might be wrong (probably am). 🙄 

    Where’s @wild edges?  He knows about succulents…. 😃 
    Look like echeveria or something close to my untrained eye. Unless you like the shape then I would behead it and start again. Probably best to remove the flowers if you do so it isn't wasting energy on those. Clear off all those dead leaves and leave it in the sun for a few days to heal any wounds. Pot up the main head in a fairly small terracotta pot with gritty John Innes No2 or similar, then you could pot the rest of the plant similarly and let those other heads grow on. If you're feeling creative you could pot it up as it is and make a feature of the stem shape as a sort of bonsai arrangement.

    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • Fran IOMFran IOM Posts: 2,872
    @wild edges Thank you very much for all the above info! Following your instructions I'm not quite sure I would be doing the right thing mainly because I'm not sure what each part it is you are referring to. Would I keep the part with roots that is hanging over the edge? Would make sense I suppose. I may just try and be creative as you say and pot it up to make a feature. I feel otherwise I am going to finish the poor thing off. Please excuse my ignorance. 

    @fidgetbones  Thanks for your input. I don't know how it has survived in the glass vase for so long.   :)
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    Most echeverias will not survive  a hard frost outside, but what I do is plant them out for the summer where I have sandy soil. In Autumn I lift them and they go inside but I keep them pretty dry during the winter. They usually throw lots of babys off the main stem. You can detach these, they often have a few roots coming out at the side.  They can be potted on separately and grown to form a new plant, in small pots of gritty compost.   Very often the old bit is in a poor way after flowering and I discard that and just keep the babys going.
  • Fran IOMFran IOM Posts: 2,872
    @fidgetbones Whatever I do with it I shall remember to bring it in during the winter.
    That's all very interesting and maybe I won't kill it off after all. Will look forward to deciding what to do. It's just that I have never seen one quite like that before.  :)
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    I have some languishing under the bench in the greenhouse. When I get round to it, I pot up babies, some go outside, sometimes I forget to bring them in and they survive a mild winter, usually they dissolve into mush if I forget about them. They are very forgiving of neglect but not freezing.  I mix about 50% grit into MPC or use sandy garden soil.
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