Hello and welcome to the latest blog about my gardening exploits during these strange times. Think of this is as a Six on Saturday lite.

With being at home all day I have never spent so much time in the garden and with the extra time I have spent ahead I am way ahead of my list of things to do and the gardening has never looked so organised. To organised I mess a bit out for the sake of it.

This weeks midweek blog is gong to be about some of the semi hardy succulents I have that are easy to propagate and always lift my mood when I look at them.

1. Sedum Pachyphllum Nejedly

This plant is actually classed as a small succulent shrub. It produces new branches freely from stems as well as from the root system and fallen leaves. It has has long green juicy leaves which turns red when exposed to increase sun. It’s nickname is pork and beans and you can see why from the above photo. This plant is native to areas of Mexico and is surprising hardy. It can with stand temperatures of down -7 C. However if the roots get wet for a sustained period in winter they will die so it is important to plant the plant in a gritty and sandy soil for plenty of drainage. I keep this plant outside during the winter in a sheltered place. To propagate simply take a cutting and stick direct in the soil.

2. Sedum Rubrotincum

3. Sederveria Letiza.

Sedum Rubrotinctum is also known as the Jelly Bean plant and it is easy to see why. This is a hybrid between S. Pachyphyllum and S. Stahlii both native of Mexico. There is some hardiness to this plant as it can actually with stand temperatures of up to -7 C but like must semi hardy succulents it does not like getting wet winter so I usually store this is a shelters area of the garden on an old bookcase. If it does get really cold then I will move them in side. It has vibrant green leaves which turn red when exposed to the sun and it will produce small green flowers in the Spring although I have never managed to get it to flower. Propagating this plant is easy and can be done by taking cutting and sticking them direct in the soil or it will grow from a leaf cutting. When you touch a plant leaves always tend to drop off but this is ok as the leaf will probably start to produce a new plant. Plant in a relatively sandy/gritty mix and water when dry.

3. Sederveria Letiza

This plant is a hybrid between Sedum Cuspidatum and Echeveria Setosa var Ciliata. It has many similarities with the previous 2 plants. It’s leaves become red at the edges in summer and it is deceptively hardy and can withstand temperatures of -7 c. I have included this because I thought I had killed this last year but as you can it has bounced back . I especially like the colours of this plant they are very vivid and remind me of Opal Fruits. You probably can’t see it but there is a flower bud on the top of it so hopefully it will flower.

So that’s it for this week. I am off to out to the garden to do a rain dance as it must be about 5 weeks since we have had any rain. Until next week goodbye.