Aloinopsis schooneesii watering

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cjbaker
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Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2013 6:41 pm
Location: Washington, DC

Aloinopsis schooneesii watering

Post by cjbaker »

I started some Aloinopsis schooneesii from seed in December, and now I'm trying to learn how to care for them as they turn into adults. I've been watering them every time their primarily mineral-based soil gets dry, and they've been responding with new leaves, and show no signs of stopping (or branching). They're getting lots of sun (full sun from sunrise to sunset up on my roof since March) and generally hot daytime temperatures. Can I keep watering them this way to promote growth, or will it cause unhealthy "leaf stacking" like Lithops or splitting like Fenestraria? I would be grateful for any other growing tips as well.

Here's a picture from a couple of weeks ago, the white diatomaceous earth you see is their soil (the larger grey chips are on the surface to help stop the white stuff from blowing away):

Image
Craig [my pictures]
iann
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Re: Aloinopsis schooneesii watering

Post by iann »

You'll have to slow up on the watering sooner or later or you'll grow a tree. Two or three leaf pairs per head is plenty.

Once the dog days arrive, it would be best just to leave it dry anyway. It is more tolerant of water in warm weather than most Aloinopsis, and seedlings are also more tolerant of water at any time, but no sense pushing it. Adults can go months without water so don't panic about them. They should grow rapidly in your spring and late autumn and then can be watered deeply whenever they dry out. They'll do better with good ventilation and cool nights. Adults will go dormant when nights are too warm, say above about 60F.
--ian
cjbaker
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Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2013 6:41 pm
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Re: Aloinopsis schooneesii watering

Post by cjbaker »

Good to know, thank you. I'll start their diet as soon as this rain is over, looks like we'll have another string of beautiful days in the high 70s (around 25°C) starting tomorrow.
Craig [my pictures]
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1bigfruit
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Re: Aloinopsis schooneesii watering

Post by 1bigfruit »

On your roof? They grow quite slowly compared to other species..
A Moth is Lighter than the Sea, but Dimmer than the Light it Sees.
cjbaker
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Re: Aloinopsis schooneesii watering

Post by cjbaker »

1bigfruit wrote:On your roof? They grow quite slowly compared to other species..
Yep, they're in full sun pretty much from sunrise to sunset up there, compared to other places around my house that can offer maybe 4 hours of full sun at most in autumn. Perhaps they are slow compared to some plants, but the genus Aloinopsis seems to be the fastest growing of all my mesembs (A. rosulata is the fastest so far). My A. schooneesii seedlings can put out a new leaf pair every 2 weeks or so if I give them lots of water.
Craig [my pictures]
iann
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Re: Aloinopsis schooneesii watering

Post by iann »

Hmmmm ... a new leaf pair every two weeks is perhaps not a good idea. Maybe two leaf pairs a *year* is a good target, maybe just one. Getting new leaves is easy, but getting rid of the old ones is difficult, and one without the other only has two outcomes: a tree; or a dead Aloinopsis.
--ian
cjbaker
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Re: Aloinopsis schooneesii watering

Post by cjbaker »

iann wrote:Hmmmm ... a new leaf pair every two weeks is perhaps not a good idea. Maybe two leaf pairs a *year* is a good target, maybe just one. Getting new leaves is easy, but getting rid of the old ones is difficult, and one without the other only has two outcomes: a tree; or a dead Aloinopsis.
Don't worry, I stopped watering them like that in May after your message, since then they have been on a strict diet and all currently have between two and three pairs (with maybe one new pair since May). As seedlings they grew fast, but if two leaf pairs per year is normal as adults, then that's what they'll get. I have found it difficult to get rid of the old pairs, though as you said they have been shriveling faster since cool nights have arrived, and several plants have started to show a second branch (two leaf pairs peeking out) over the past few weeks.
Craig [my pictures]
iann
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Re: Aloinopsis schooneesii watering

Post by iann »

Although getting rid of old mesemb leaves is a bit of an artform, it can be helpful to remember that they will do it most readily when they are actively growing, but they will hang on like grim death when they are dormant. So while you should usually give them some water during the best growth periods, it is important not to overdo it. This is why Lithops stay dry in winter. They are growing perhaps more strongly than at any other time of year, producing a whole new leaf pair in a few months, but this is the time when you need to get rid of the old leaves. Trying to dry out old Lithops leaves in the middle of summer is much harder than you'd expect.
--ian
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