Devonian Gardens Calgary

The Devonian Gardens in Calgary have been undergoing a facelift for some time.  They just reopened last week and are located downtown in The CORE shopping centre (essentially a big mall).  They are on the fourth level right beside the food court and will provide a much needed oasis during Calgary's cold winters.  I took a bunch of photos, so I hope you enjoy the virtual tour below.

My Lil' Lithops

For a true test of patience, something everyone should try is growing Lithops from seed.  It's quite the process.  These seedlings are now two years old and it's hard to believe that used to be nothing but tiny green dots.  They've survived two moves across the country.  I'm really hoping they'll flower this year.  They've had less than ideal conditions so they're small for their age, but nothing would delight me more than to see some blooms.

Some of the plants are in the process of splitting, revealing much more vibrant colouration.  It will be interesting to see how they continue to change with time.  Does anyone have recommendations for watering/fertilizing Lithops?  I've found it hard to get the levels quite right.

Aaahhhhhdenium!!!

I dropped by the UWO greenhouses yesterday and was shocked to discover that one of the Desert Rose (Adenium arabicum) plants I donated had a rotten caudex.  These plants are relatively sensitive to over-watering.  Clearly.  Broken-heartedly sensitive.  Fortunately the rest of the plants are alright.  This includes my plants that I brought there for the winter.  This plant probably dropped it's leaves for no reason (which happens frequently with my plants at least), then a combination of several cloudy days and over-watering resulted in disaster!  I literally gasped out loud.  MY BABY!

I moved the plant to a different section of the greenhouse where things are watered about once per week.  These plants are really resilient and I've seen photos of some that recovered from similar damage.  It's a matter of cleaning them up, letting them dry out, and then being VERY careful with watering.  Hopefully this one survives but I'll just have to wait and see.

I have yet to actually see flowers from these plants.  I see buds every time I go, but I constantly miss the flowers!  These plants were grown from seed which results in a large caudex.  You can take cuttings, but generally they won't develop an enlarged stem.  I thought about taking one from the living stem on the left, but I really have enough plants.  If I want this one to survive, butchering it more won't help.

Lithops Update

Hey everyone! I'm still alive, I've just been pretty busy the last few weeks. I recently had to bring my Lithops in because it's been raining just about every day. I figured I'd take the opportunity to post some pictures. It's pretty bright so the colours are a bit bleached out but I have about 4 different varieties.

At least eight have survived; I've noticed some pull beneath the substrate but return later when really stressed. I had twice as many planted after I moved back to Ontario. Unfortunately I shipped ahead of time and the person I sent them too wasn't a plant expert. Needless to say, about half of them died (the post sat upside down in a centimeter of water for a few days). They're still a bit small (averaging about 1cm) but I'm hoping by next summer I'll have some flowers. Then I can start some new seedlings!

Lithops Update

My poor lithops have been through a lot of abuse in their short lives. I'm down to only about six healthy plants, one of which was nibbled on recently. There are a few more but they're currently pretty shriveled and barely visible in the gravel.

These little plants are now just a few months shy of two years old. I was hoping for some blooms this summer but I don't really expect any until next year. A few months ago I actually had over a dozen healthy plants. Unfortunately, I shipped them during a moved to someone with little horticultural knowledge. They ended up laying in water for several days and many of them are gone. At least these ones made it!

Adenium arabicum Update

After moving back across the country, the Adenium arabicum experienced a little bare root shock. They ended up dropping all of their leaves and going dormant for a few months. New growth started just in time for me to move them outside for the summer. Of course after moving them once again they stopped growing for about 3 weeks but fortunately there was no leaf drop.

After about a month I moved them into full sun against a nice warm rock. Guess what happened. They stopped growing again for about 2 weeks. So if my experience with this species of Adenium has taught me anything, it's that they like to be put in one spot and stay there! About 3/4 of the leaf growth is actually from within the last month. They really do grow quickly when not being moved around.

There are a bunch of little branches forming all along the trunks and most of the caudices are swelling up quite nicely. I ended up with a good mix overall: Some dwarf, some not, some with fuzzy leaves, some with smooth, some with a pronounced caudex, others with next to none, some with lightly coloured bark, and others dark. All are unique in one way or another.

I have yet to get any flowers. One bud formed last summer but after an aphid attack fell off. I have had absolutely no problem with insects so far this summer. Hopefully I'll finally see my first flower! The plants are now about 2 years old, grown from seeds provided by a supplier in Thailand.

Lithops Update (10 Months)

Although they grow slowly, I've really enjoyed watching my Lithops develop from seed. It's been about ten months since I sowed the seeds and the first little sprouts started to pop up. You can see just how tiny they were nine days after sowing here. Although there were a few set-back along the way I've manged to keep 15 happy and alive. They haven't gone through a dormancy cycle or flowered yet. They are however starting to differentiate into different colours.

Does anyone think these look too crowded? I was wondering if I should repot or or wait a bit longer. I was also wondering if these Anthurium seeds might be fertile. I've never had any develop this far before. I think my current fluorescent lights are a bit too heavy on the red spectrum because many of my plants have started to flower.

Adenium & Lithops Update

I was recently emailed by someone who was starting some Adenium and hoping to sprout some Lithops. He was interested in seeing how they were doing and it's about time I update so here they are! The Lithops are still growing slowly. I haven't lost any recently and I think the few that look a little odd will be alright.

The Adenium have been slowly coming back to life after their last dormancy (actually a leaf hopper attack but dormancy makes me feel better about not catching it in time). It's cooling down so I've brought them inside until next year. I have one under artificial light to see how it does. I'll probably have to move them all there eventually because winters here don't see very much sun.

Fortunei My Lithops are Alright

Get it? What a great blog post name! I guess someone would have to be really creative to fuse two seemingly unrelated things into such a seamless title. That or just desperate for a post - erhum...


I was worried about my Lithopses because I forgot to take them in during a rainy weekend. Now I didn't think this would really be a problem but when I checked on them some had swelled to nearly twice their size! Like any concerned parent, I immediately brought my children inside to let them dry out a bit. Almost all of them ended up 'shedding' a skin and I only lost one. I had no idea they were so sensitive to moisture. You can see in the picture above what's left of their old skin.


The Trachycarpus fortunei palm seedlings have also done very well. They're about a month old now and kind of look like little green fan shaped sails. I thought they'd look much more grass-like. I think I'll repot them relatively soon and might even drop half into my community plot. I have about 25 sprouts so if I loose a few I should be able to make it through (eventually).

Adenium Update X (12 months)

I think my Adenium are my favourite plants. They are just so interesting and all around fun. It's been about a year since I sowed the seeds and they're still going strong. I've noticed they seem to put up with a lot of abuse. They are relatively resistant to insects but I have had some aphid problems. I ended up spraying with a garlic/onion solution and the pests have for the most part disappeared.


It's much cooler in Vancouver in the summer than in London, Ontario. Even though there has been a tonne of sunshine (over a month straight) the growth rate seems to be a bit slower probably due to the lower temperatures.


One plant has also produced a plethora (what a great word) of blooms at the tip of the stem. I've been waiting weeks but none of them have opened yet. As soon as the one below pops I'll be sure to grab a picture.


I also LOVE all the different forms that this batch of seeds have grown into. Some are short and stout, some have a highly developed caudex and others are relatively tall and narrow. All are beginning to develop a large number of side branches. After growing these plants for a year, I would highly recommend them to anyone that enjoys succulents with somewhat unusual forms.

A Beaucarnea of a Dilema

This is just a short post to ask your opinions on something. I love ponytail palms and would like to start my own from seeds. Obviously I couldn't just do things the easy way and decide to go with the common variety.

After scouring through six possible species I've narrowed it down to either Beaucarnea recurvata (common variety) or Beaucarnea guatemalensis. So what one do you think is best? For kicks here's another crazy one that looks like a cross with a yucca called Beaucarnea stricta. I think I have a favourite, but I won't go through my reasoning until after I get a few responses so I don't influence anyone.

Palm Sprouts & Lithops

Lithops Update VIII

I didn't end up bringing the Conophytum to Vancouver but I did bring my Lithops seedlings.  They have done extremely well and I started placing them outside during sunny weather and bringing them in for the night.  I think they would be fine to stay out all the time.  Unfortunately they're still really tiny and if they get knocked over or a bird decides to relieve itself, there may be a problem.  I figure it reduces the risk to only keep them out when necessary.  :)

About half of them have begun their first leaf renewal cycle.  The seed leaves have shriveled and a new pair of leaves baring adult colouration have appeared.  Hopefully I'll end up with a good variety of colours but I'll have to wait a few more months to find out for sure.  Still no luck on the job front, but I'm working on it.  Just takes some time!

Vancouver Desert Plant Society Show & Sale at VanDussen

Today was quite the day!  I met up with my uncle at the Vancouver Desert Plant Society Show & Sale at VanDussen Gardens.  I saw a tonne of really interesting plants and ended up touring the Gardens as well.  I also got pictures of some other community gardens along an abandoned track in the Kitsilano area.

Finally I spent three hours at Cottonwood Community gardens helping with raised beds.  A portion of the gardens has been designed with wheel chair access in mind.  The beds are elevated to the proper height, there is room to turn around and a small rock layer will be placed so the wheels don't sink down.

The plant show was awesome and I ended up with a plant that my uncle purchased for me.  I'm quite excited.  The gardens at VanDussen were gorgeous and really worth a look.  All my veggies but my tomatoes have also started sprouting!  I can already taste them.

My day is best summed up with pictures.  Please check the album link at the end of these few to see them all.  There are some really interesting succulents!



To See the Rest of My Amazing Pictures Click Here! Here are some other people's photos of VanDussen and the Desert Plant Show:The Dandelion Wrangler Garden Therapy 

Operation Relocation - Day 5 - Saskatoon to Edmonton to Jasper

The original plan for today was to go to Edmonton and stay there for the night.  You can see from our route today that we ended up in Jasper.  I think this may have been the most eventful day of my life!

Once again, we spent most of our journey under clouds.  As we continued driving we started to notice accumulated snow on the ground.

Finished University!

Last day was my final exam now and now I'm done university.  It's not official yet because none of my marks have been released, but barring doing something completely wrong and not realizing it, I'm finally finished.  I have been attending school for 18 years!  Junior kindergarten (1 year), kindergarten (1 year), elementary school (8 years), high school (4 years), and finally university (4 years).  It's almost unbelievable how lucky I was to be born in a country where this extensive education is not only available but common.  That being said I'm glad to be done!

We've found a rental place for the summer in Vancouver.  Nothing is formalized yet, but it's available on May 1st.  The price is really good and includes laundry, internet, cable, and energy.  It's located about 5km from downtown.  We probably won't go for May first but if we can get everything sorted out we could leave within less than a week.  We'll drive our way across the country.  I think I'll post every day when we stop in major cities and hopefully have access to internet (coffee shops).  Yeah!!  I'll have to figure this out and give more details later.

No job yet but we have enough money saved up to live off of for several months.  I'll probably find some part-time job while a search for a full-time position.  I heard from many people that they couldn't get interviews and as soon as they had a local address they had interviews within a week.  It's understandable as saying that you will relocate does not necessarily mean it will happen.  It's risky to invest so much time and money for an interview if the candidate won't end up moving.

Below may be the last set of UWO Greenhouse photos ever.  I'll be back Monday to drop off some plants and take some others.  It's suppose to rain but I might take some pictures anyway!  The Hippeastrum look awesome.  If anyone wants pictures of some specific plant just let me know!

Don't worry, there will be lots of more pictures in the future.  Vancouver is a beautiful city with a tonne of gardens and several large greenhouses.  Yeah!!