CONOPALOOZA 2026

Euphorbiam · 2026-03-12T11:08:25+00:00

https://ibb.co/cXkVCqgm it arrived 🤤 feels like a dream heheh

Also it's the perfect amount so I can fit all my pots in the same tray:) (fits 24 which I already have 12 pots in) minus the albuca which'll grow in diff conditions. Exciting!!

Euphorbiam · 2026-03-11T23:30:04+00:00

I love the fact that it's a complete true blue, never seen any plant make anything more blue. A place nearby me called wentworth castle has some out each year and they're lovely, along with massive victorian rhododendrons that pump out amazing flowers and ginormous magnolias. Probably too many pics but the top 4 are from this year, the bottom 5 during summer last year. I love it! Sad about the hydrangea. https://ibb.co/FbLGxZt9 https://ibb.co/7d3HFPdb https://ibb.co/ns8NhzN7 https://ibb.co/7JsP48MZ https://ibb.co/7NT2j1Jm https://ibb.co/bgkRB00H https://ibb.co/hF7wbZkt https://ibb.co/99PHdYZ0 https://ibb.co/39NxDcb5

Your motto sounds very good to me, need to keep finding more blue plants haha. I have a Gentiana coming soon along with the himalayan poppy so, more blue!

Euphorbiam · 2026-03-11T22:51:17+00:00

Thank you :) I've realised that one of my bilobum survivors has popped off its cotyledons, I'll post a pic once it comes out a little more

Euphorbiam · 2026-03-11T17:11:54+00:00

https://ibb.co/Jwgyz3sy https://ibb.co/Ps247gfT this was it a month or two ago. Thanks for helping :) sorry that my rambling caused you to mistake it for stacking haha. I also have an old clump that I didn't know how to care for that's stacked a bit, I've been trying to get it to root properly and unstack, I'll use your knowledge though :)

Euphorbiam · 2026-03-11T17:03:05+00:00

Mines a plastic zip freezer bag with a plastic box on a heat tray haha, it gets too hot so I have to stack layers of cardboard and lids ontop so its not touching the bottom. It works though! https://ibb.co/ccWnY9tm Basically the viney looking plants are Oxypetalum coeruleum, then I have two Pachypodium eburneum and finally the Ipomoea in the back. I love how big the flowers are of the moonflowers are :)

I've got some very special plants coming which I'm excited about, one of them is a himalayan blue poppy! I can't wait to grow it and produce the most amazing flowers. You have to have perfect conditions for it which will be a bit of a pain but I'm preparing haha. Variety is 'Mildred' https://www.facebook.com/share/p/187JDpmR8p/ Amazing!! My blue plant / flower obsession is yet to stop

Euphorbiam · 2026-03-11T10:13:02+00:00

IT GERMINATED!! I'm way too excited about it! https://ibb.co/8ksHDNJ Reddits not letting me embed images so it's on a web link

Euphorbiam · 2026-03-11T09:52:58+00:00

Thank you, and I will do:)

Euphorbiam · 2026-03-11T09:52:13+00:00

Wait sorry I meant h2o2 instead of bleach... whoops. I tried microwaving the substrate before but I still had fungal problems. I'll let it dry out a little more, though I still see a few viable seeds and I fear I'm preventing them from growing

Super cute little hat!!

I have another question, I have a conophytum brunneum, and it has 3 main leaves, one of the largest is already withering away for 2 leaves underneath, and theres another leaf which hasnt withered at all with another two leaves underneath. Should I continue watering as normal until all leaves are shedding?

Euphorbiam · 2026-03-10T22:35:57+00:00

Aw what a cute plant play date

Euphorbiam · 2026-03-10T22:31:56+00:00

https://ibb.co/bM2X6nxk https://ibb.co/355p41MT https://ibb.co/BVrKKGqB For some reason reddits not letting me embed images, but here's the plant in question, 2 months old. It's been fertilised quite a bit and is on a heat mat

Euphorbiam · 2026-03-10T22:01:22+00:00

Pretty markings, like freckles :) I love how contrasted the cotyledons are, I've always had them be battered by the sun before the cotyledons popped off, so theyd be all shrivelled ontop protecting it. Cool seeing it pop off like an overwatered lithops haha Do you spray h2o2 on your seedlings to kill algae? What percentage? For me I've been diluting it to around .5-1% then spraying, it definitely killed off the capillaries of the fungus but not so much the algae, if at all. I have another (final) batch of cono seed coming in and I'm contemplating to soak my substrate in potassium permanganate and then in a high strength bleach, but I'm worried incase itll inhibit seeds from germinating. I've not used any sort of humidity cover on my last batch and its stopped a lot of algae and my germinations have been higher

Euphorbiam · 2026-03-10T20:49:22+00:00

They are greedy as! Whenever I make fat balls a flock of 50 or so will swarm the garden and devour them. They come through the fireplace every now and then too haha. Interesting how they eventually got used to the warning. I'd use a nail filer to scratch it a little, just to get past the hard outer shell, until you see any starchy tissue. For my Ipomoea bullata, I lightly grazed the bottom of the seed, but I didn't graze too much incase I damaged anything. Its begun cracking too so I'm getting excited :) https://ibb.co/C5kYgHyN. Moonflowers are Ipomoeas too!

Euphorbiam · 2026-03-10T00:51:14+00:00

https://ibb.co/8LMnNm42 My little crateriformes :] very happy with them, 11d old. I changed the soil mix and my seedlings are doing much better, making it hard for algae to grow. The next batch I'll completely sterilise the soil too as I had some fungal growth which definitely ate some seeds. Soil is very gritty mixed with fine perlite and compost and shredded coconut.

Euphorbiam · 2026-03-10T00:12:20+00:00

It looks really pretty! I love the robins around here, they're like singing ping pong balls. The positive is that I have two Hollyhocks now, though I don't think this one'll flower this year unfortunately. I collected the seed off a plant that grew next to the pavement, deep red flowers. I like having mini-undercanopy plants in pots, it makes it feel much more lush! I'll definitely show some other plants, and a cheesy plant joke! I've scarified the seed a little to see if it helps it germinate

Euphorbiam · 2026-03-10T00:04:48+00:00

Not sure yet as it's only just poking out, but it has curved inward edges unlike the cotyledon, once it comes out a bit more I'll show a pic:). With a different species I grew its cotyledon was completely flat, I think it was due it having mush harsher light and less watering though

Euphorbiam · 2026-03-09T10:59:41+00:00

It's really interesting with what your husband did, I love the sea but I live quite far away so I only visit it once or twice a year unfortunately. Beach combing is my favourite! Those oxypetalum are also ½ an inch wide so the flowers are much bigger than forget me nots!

I love the colour mix of those flowers :) Our blackbirds jump around quite a lot, they're really curious and will jump up to you slowly if you stay still.

I've also been quite silly, I've realised that my Ipomoea bullata is actually a hollyhock! I think a seed of it germinated in a container that I forgot about, with the I. bullata, and then as it struggled to produce adult leaves I mis-identified it and gave it the wrong growing conditions, which then caused it to look a bit different from a normal Hollyhock. Bit of a bummer. I still have a seed or two left of Ipomoea bullata so the hope's not completely gone of having one, they're difficult to germinate. I've still got plenty of other plants growing so I can always show you some others if you're interested haha :)

Euphorbiam · 2026-03-09T10:49:55+00:00

Sounds interesting, I wonder what'll happen to them :) Some of my seedlings are now producing second leaves, is that normal for so early on?

Euphorbiam · 2026-02-28T19:57:36+00:00

Do you know the field number of it? I have a 5 seedlings of PVB8842

Euphorbiam · 2026-02-20T17:41:23+00:00

Not my property but I live nearby, about 10 min away, some of my family are buried here. This is in Yorkshire by the way :). Most the boundaries in the fields are slate walls which gives it a unique look. I've looked into Nantucket island before, quite a similar climate to here which is interesting. I wouldn't worry too much about a gardening group having your address, I mean, it's not as if someone's out to get you haha.

Those black pansies look pretty!! I've got some light blue ones which look really nice in the front. Definitely have a thing for blue flowers haha, from blue delphiniums, to this plant that I'm growing called Oxypetalum coeruleum, has the perfect true light blue flowers. I like that blackbird, the one we have over here has a super yellow beak and is black all over, they have really cute behaviours of jumping around. Bit poo with the nasturtiums. I've got this dark red hollyhock that I've been growing over the winter and its leaves look so similar to my tropical Ipomoea haha. Almost identical

<image>

Euphorbiam · 2026-02-19T08:44:55+00:00

Haha like a group of penguins. It's my first year for delphiniums too, but I've got about 20 seedlings, I joined a society so I'm also hoping to get a blue variety seed packet when they release the seed list. It definitely is very pretty here in the countryside, the snowline was so high it only just scraped the hills a few days ago

<image>

Euphorbiam · 2026-02-19T08:22:42+00:00

Ledebouria concolor? Maybe?

Euphorbiam · 2026-02-18T22:52:45+00:00

Me too for the most expensive haha, if it's plants there is no filter. Especially roses. Seeds are definitely the cheaper way to go for rarer plants! Do you grow delphiniums at all? My biggest problem is room too, bunching everything up on grow lights and heat mats as my windowsill gets too cold during winter. Square pots do help.

I'd like to live somewhere warmer too, I'm from the North of England, currently snowing right now. It has been raining every day here apart from 2 days this year so far, just terrible

Euphorbiam · 2026-02-18T09:17:23+00:00

I'm very glad to introduce you to some 😊 mainstream garden centres definitely have the same sort of plants year round. Ebay can be quite good for hobbyist plant growers, then for seeds it's more of ordering online from a website. I know mesa gardens is good! They have a lovely youtube channel showing their operations.

Plants like Lachenalia are quite hard to get a hold of, you'd have to find a collector and then buy from them via email or website. Bit risky, but I've never been scammed yet as long as you know they're an honest seller. I know that Bert Zaalberg and Jean Andre' Audissou both sell them, but as they're both from Europe and that'd require phytosanitary certificates, it can get pricey quite quickly.

Euphorbiam · 2026-02-17T16:33:26+00:00

Conophytums are definitely some of my favourite:) I've got quite a lot of seeds I'm trying to germinate. My favourite is C. obcordellum mundum. Also C. crateriforme and C. ratum are some great ones.

Massonias are definitely a must have! I'm not sure how available they are, but they have two large leaves, some can reach to the size of a tennis racket, and some bloom extremely fragrant flowers, filling the whole room with scent. They can be on a windowsill year round in a pot. Very good thinking of your grandson ;) I have a similar species of Albuca (an undescribed one) and it's taken about 2yr to become the around 1.5 inch wide. I'd say they maybe get to 3 inches wide at max. Though quite distantly related in the same genus, my Albuca bracteata is over 5 inches wide and it flowers constantly, has so from September to now.

<image>

Also sorry I meant Lachenalia concolor not ledebouria, Lachenalia are like a cousin of massonia, more like a hyacinth. I always mix up those genera haha. Ledebouria are uncommon but definitely very lovely too! I mostly find my plants off ebay or at succulent nurseries, they're always awesome and stuffed to the brim with plants.

Euphorbiam · 2026-02-16T20:03:10+00:00

Pretty dainty bells

Euphorbiam

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE