First Aloinopsis schooneesii blooms

[cjbaker]

Hello,

Some of my Aloinopsis schooneesii have finally bloomed for the first time, here are some pictures. I originally posted about sowing them back in 2013. Only one plant has actually bloomed, but the one next to it has a bud—hopefully it will open in time for cross-pollination! I've softened up on my usually stingy watering, hoping that it will make the flowers stick around for longer.

Some of those other seedlings are also doing well. The Sceletium were actually the first to bloom a few years ago. I still have lots of Aloinopsis rubrolineata which have survived in even greater numbers than A. shooneesii, but no blooms yet; and A. rosulata, which has not survived in great numbers but the 2 or 3 remaining are doing well. A single dry night just below freezing is what did in most of the A. rosulata, but the other species were not bothered.

Over the years, I've found that none of the oil-dry products I've tried are very suitable as a growth medium. Both calcined clay (shown here) and diatomaceous earth versions start out great, but maybe 25% of the granules turn to mush within a year. I've been unable to find Turface or pumice in my area, so the search continues.

[mmcavall]

Hello Craig, congrats for your Aloinopsis flowers. It is always exciting when a plant flower for the first time. I have sown the same species about two years ago. It is still very small but now seeing your post I have my hopes (to see it flowering) renewed. Thanks for sharing.
(I am following you on Flickr. Nice pictures).

[cjbaker]

Thanks mmcavall! I also enjoyed your Flickr pics and have been following your posts here on and off over the years, thanks for sharing.

Hopefully you'll also be able to get some A. schooneesii flowers some day, even in your unusual climate conditions. In my location, growing them in full sun on the roof of my house, the main problem is that the cool weather only lasts a couple months or so before freezing temps hit. I bring them in and out a few times as nighttime temperatures fluctuate around freezing, but by mid-November they end up on a windowsill with a tiny fraction of the sun they want--and so I stop watering, except maybe once in February or so. You can see the etiolation and excess leaves from my one or two extra waterings on the flowering plant. I know you have to get much more creative in Brazil!

[mmcavall]

Well, indeed most of the advices about Mesembs don't work well for me. Plant don't show me any clear pattern of growing/dormancy (except the Monilaria moniliformis, which clearly go dormant in summer).
Since about a year I am watering them very lightly and very frequently, say three times/week, at night, trying to simulate night fogs they receive in habitat. It seems to be working.
But I definitely do not know if they prefer more or less water in summer or in winter...so I keep going on with regular sprays.

[cjbaker]

It's interesting you're able to get them to grow at all with warm nights. I'll have to review the recent progress in your thread. On mine I don't really notice any growth over the summer from late June until September; as Ian on these forums has mentioned before, they really like nighttime temps below about 68F/25C. The real problem is that they refuse to shed old leaves, so I don't water them, despite abundant sun; maybe your light watering somehow encourages shedding?

[mmcavall]

Maybe it's too early to say anything?

IMG_20190106_190633154-768x1024.jpg (118.35 KiB) Viewed 4080 times

[mmcavall]

It's interesting you're able to get them to grow at all with warm nights. I'll have to review the recent progress in your thread.

My thread is not update. I have to take some pictures and write something there. I have some questions to ask, too. I will do it in the near future.

[cjbaker]

Maybe it's too early to say anything?

Ah yes, they're still pretty young. No branches yet, though I see you have a triplet. I think mine first started branching in the 3rd year. You're eventually going to need to convince them to shed old leaves, as their anatomy is not well suited to much more than 2-3 leaf pairs per branch. From what I've read and observed, I believe that cool nighttime temperatures are what trigger transfer of water and nutrients from old leaves to new. If you can't give them cool nights, you might just have to wait for them to dry out; that could be very difficult, as I've left mine in full sun for weeks on end over the summer without noticing any shrinkage! But maybe it will just be a slower process for yours. Or you could refrigerate them overnight, and put them in the sun during the day (I think I've heard of another member doing this). I don't think the daytime temperature really matters, but they need bright sun while growing to avoid etiolation and to give a nice shape and color (and probably flowers).

[mmcavall]

Thanks, Craig, all this is much of my interest. If they transfer the water from old leaves to new leaves when it is cold at night, so (my eternal doubt) should I stop / reduce watering in winter (I have some weeks of cold nights)?
They like to be watered when is cold? Or when is hot?

[cjbaker]

I think you should water them to maintain 2-3 leaf pairs per branch, no matter what the weather conditions. That's what Ian told me years ago, and I've heard it elsewhere as well. Once they've shed an old pair of leaves, which should happen during cold nights, you should water them again. When the nights are too hot there will be very little activity, so you won't water them. Don't water them when there is insufficient daytime sunlight for long periods. Don't let the last two pairs dry out, or the branch will die (or the whole plant, when they're small). The plants in my pictures have too many leaf pairs at the moment.

I leave my plants outdoors with no cover all summer, even though these Aloinopsis for example might be "dormant". A rainstorm every week or two doesn't seem to bother them. I have lost them to drought, but never to rot. My summer conditions are very hot and windy, as they're on my roof at the top of a hill with no cover or surrounding trees.

The plants in your picture look fairly healthy. They get much less sun then mine did at that age, but I also had several die from drought or heat at that age. I would continue with your current routine until a third leaf pair emerges, then stop watering until the lowest pair has withered to almost nothing. Maybe you can give them more sun when they get bigger, and then I think they'll also need less water than you're giving them now.

[mmcavall]

I think you should water them to maintain 2-3 leaf pairs per branch, no matter what the weather conditions. That's what Ian told me years ago, and I've heard it elsewhere as well. Once they've shed an old pair of leaves, which should happen during cold nights, you should water them again. When the nights are too hot there will be very little activity, so you won't water them. Don't water them when there is insufficient daytime sunlight for long periods. Don't let the last two pairs dry out, or the branch will die (or the whole plant, when they're small). The plants in my pictures have too many leaf pairs at the moment.

I leave my plants outdoors with no cover all summer, even though these Aloinopsis for example might be "dormant". A rainstorm every week or two doesn't seem to bother them. I have lost them to drought, but never to rot. My summer conditions are very hot and windy, as they're on my roof at the top of a hill with no cover or surrounding trees.

The plants in your picture look fairly healthy. They get much less sun then mine did at that age, but I also had several die from drought or heat at that age. I would continue with your current routine until a third leaf pair emerges, then stop watering until the lowest pair has withered to almost nothing. Maybe you can give them more sun when they get bigger, and then I think they'll also need less water than you're giving them now.

thank you very much for all these tips, Craig!