Well. Shit.

Echevaria setosa, under T5HOs for winter. This was acquired in 2017; I don't know how this is still alive.

Here's the thing: I can't find the charger for my Nikon batteries. So, for the two of you reading this, we are going to regale you with top-quality blurred photos taken with our cellphones (are they even still called that? Smartphones?).


Let's not fuck around--the reason for this stunning blog revival that absolutely no one has been waiting/asking for is because Kirkwall just slithered into Act III. Yes, I know it is unlikely that a statement like that will make sense to anyone but it is otherwise impossible to explain the depth and breadth of the low, ground-trembling vibration of slow-mo toilet flushing before...well. Spoilers.

Be that as it may---Hello, Blank and Empty Ether! We are back. When I find my battery charger, the photos will marginally improve. For now, the opening salvo is this random collection of things still growing indoors or growing on Knitty Kitty's veranda.

It's been peace and generally growing merrily without comment since the Weeping Angels in 2018 but today, shockingly, all of us are indoors. It's a stark reunion. Oh, hello, plants. Look at you, still alive. I imagine a collective derisive snort from the shelves.

"How do you like being stuck indoors now, bitch," they grumble succulently.

We will ignore that drama because this Rik Ni Ran naturally stood out, blooming out of season as usual. This is one adenium variety that just doesn't give a shit what time of year it is, as long as it is warm and vigorously-lit.

In this case, even a T5HO will do. The Rik Ni Ran will retain its shape and, if fed regularly, will continue to bloom in winter. Twelve to fourteen hours of light, just fyi. Also, I have all my adeniums growing in 50-50 soil and pumice now. It's just easier to keep up with their water requirement that way. In pure gritty mix, I'd have to water them very often while they are growing. 

That echevaria above is pretty cool, but it's been a boring plant for years now; surprising only because it hasn't died. Apparently, it's a low-maintenance plant. So is this...um..cactus-thing; something I grabbed near the cashier at a produce market years ago. It doesn't even have its own folder in my database so it's that important. It blooms almost non-stop, however.

Knitty Kitty has this one, if significantly more breath-taking:

No clue about the ID.  

Finally, behold the Tylecodon buchholzianus. This plant was acquired in July last year, for reasons that escape me at the moment. It is spending the winter under an LED light panel--those horrific things I call blurples. Most tylecodons are winter growers but will not tolerate even a slight frost so this one has been on the floor, right against the French doors where it was kept sufficiently cold by whatever draft managed to escape the door seal. This particular tylecodon species can photosynthesize through those stem nodules so if it is getting enough light, it will stop growing leaves. Hence all the dry bits you can see here.

This is as far as we will go for now. I'm going to hunt down the plants that should be dead by now (just based on rapid drop-deading these species have done in the past) but are still strangely alive. There is a surprising number of them lurking in the shelves. The not-shocking common denominator seems to be neglect. Hmp. 

Shut up and wash your hands, Blank and Empty Ether.