Isnt this just the coolest succulent?

Question

Outside City Hall Rockaway Beach , Oregon
I have not seen one like this...I  would certanly have more than one if I find them.

Douglas Hunt · Answer

Cool find, Bernice. As more and more of us are concerned with water-wise gardening, I predict there will be an explosion of interest in, and availability of, succulents.

Angela A · Answer

very pretty! what is it called? do you know?

Acorn Ponds & Waterfalls · Answer

Lovely

Z · Answer

All those plantings are lovely Bernice. Unusual to the succulents I've seen.

Bernice H · Answer

I dont know what they are...where is Walter ..or Doug? Do you know?

Z · Answer

I have no clue Bernice.

Angela A · Answer

Yes, where are they???? They will know!! lol

Douglas Hunt · Answer

I assume you mean the reddish one in the center. I believe that is Kalanchoe luciae, which goes by the common names 'paddle plant' or 'red pancakes.'

Angela A · Answer

Ahhhhh.....of course it is!!! LOL....thanks Douglas!! you never disappoint! I am going to have to look for one of these for my little succulent garden....

360 Sod (Donna Dixson) · Answer

It may not be hardy in Washington. You probably will need to move it indoors for the winter. Hardiness zones are listed as 9-11.

Bernice H · Answer

Thanks Doug...It is more appealing when it  has a name..I am real slow at research, how would I have started looking and narrowing it down?  4S..I think I am in 6, Seattle is different, we are in the middle of the state on the East side of the cascades, but my hens and chicks survive. However I would hate to lose one of these cuties anyway, so into the shed it would go. hmm It is just a metal shed..is that ok? I bring my other pots in there in winter.  Other wise under the 'trailer' (mobile home) skirts.
Oh , just a side note, we are apple country here in Washington, Monday we took a ride here in our area;  hours of just driving through and around apple orchards, up and down hills and valleys, they are getting ready to pick now. but I have lived here so many years, and have never seen the extent of the orchards right in my back yard.Now I know , and it is not just here,Spokane and Wenatchee area also. Immense area.Yet we cant get a decent apple unless we actually go to an orchard in the fall , because everything is picked too early so they can ship and store. I remember as a young person in Connecticut we took long drives and went to orchards for apples in the fall and the fragrance of ripe apples was so rich and strong, it was awesome!

Z · Answer

Yay Douglas saved the day! The only Kalanchoe I've ever seen was a flowering on that was more branchy. I bought it when I was pregnant with our daughter. I 
'knew' she was a girl, but when I looked up this plant in my plant book it said the common name was Wispering Katie. Since we planned on naming her Katie, after my childhood cat, I knew it was a sign I was right.

Bernice, that's crazy living surrounded by all those apples and not being able to get them in your own grocery stores!

Bernice H · Answer

sigh, yes, Becky, we can get them in our stores, but they are picked so early, they taste like cardboard to me, and they run from 1.29 to 1 .49 a pound! At the fruit stands you can get them riper and for less, but how many can you buy and keep?

Z · Answer

Oh I do remember you saying that. Sorry, I've had too much on my mind lately. I can't imagine why they'd pick them so early. Do they ripen some after they are picked?

Bernice H · Answer

I havent found them to ripen after picking ..., they pick them early for storage in cold storage, and for shipping overseas and stateside. W e have huge warehouses for cold storage  all over the place. Some individual growers wait for them to develop sugar and flavor, then mostly sell locally.

Z · Answer

I guess I don't see the sense in picking them before they taste good. Maybe some folks don't know the difference not having had a really good apple before, huh?

Bernice H · Answer

Well for marketing etc, most vegs and fruits are picked before they ripen because they would spoil too quickly  to mass market.   they do the same with  cherries here too, if left to ripen on the tree, you woud be in cherry heaven, otherwise there is almost no taste. such a shame.  So Farmer's markets are the places to go , or residential fruit stands, to get ripe produce.A huge amount of our produce here in the Northwest is sent to china, japan etc. Has to be abe to not spoil on the trip!

Marg C · Answer

that really IS cool.  I love it.

Z · Answer

I guess I'd know these things if I ate fruit. I'm one of those folks that has a texture thing and so I like my fruit in juice form. Pure 100% no sugar added, but no pulp or other yucky feely stuff. 8^{

Angela A · Answer

So sad Bernice! You live around all those yummy fruits and its so hard to get fresh ones! what a shame! I am looking now for a place to get a good price on my own fruit trees, and some muscadine and scuppernong vines because I make jellies, jams, preserves, etc.... and I want my OWN supply! I usually go here, yonder, and there to get them from, friends, family, and even have to buy some.....I've been checking out local nurseries that specialize in fruit trees, bushes, vines and what-not...but oh to smell the fresh fruit when you drive down the road!!! mmm..mmmm...MMMMMM!!!!

Douglas Hunt · Answer

Bernice, the best way to determine your horticultural zone is to plug your Zip Code in on this site: http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/ They revised the zones earlier this year, and many changed. Plants don't always pay attention to zones, but it's a good starting point.

Z · Answer

Thanks Douglas. I found out earlier this year, but had forgotten for sure what we were. We've 5b.

Angela A · Answer

Wow....I didn't know zones had changed....I'm in 8a now myself...(10-15 F)....learn something new everyday....thanks again Douglas!

Marg C · Answer

well I guess they have changed because now I'm in 6b.  Thanks Douglas.

360 Sod (Donna Dixson) · Answer

I am not going to wade into the whole global warming thing Marg, et all, take a look at this if you are interested in one of the factors that played a part in the zone changes. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/090209-trees-migrating-north.html The Yellow Birch of the USA is on track to migrate north of the border by 2100. This seems incredibly slow to us, but think of the effect on less hardy plants that are not long lived and cannot sustain a migration. Sorry off my soap box now.

Bernice H · Answer

Well this is interesting, I dont remember what we were before, maybe 6? but now it is 6b, -5 to 0...and Spokane is 6a, -10-5...However 5 degrees is not a big difference I think. What happened to our lows especially in Spokane of - 14 or more? I remember early 80's we had unusual minus 20 in Spokane for a few days ,   when it went up to zero, we just about celebrated a heat wave! Now THAT made a difference! haha  Thanks Doug,as you say, maybe the plants dont know the difference. I did notice some areas like Spokane and the Yakima valley had both 6's..must be in relation to the mountains or valleys?   Interesting. Because of our location East of the mountains we do not get a lot of snow, minimum actually,we are surrounded by  the mountain passes which get socked in and we cant really plan on going anywhere in the winter for fear of getting stuck somewhere. Spokane gets lots of snow. Lots of snow. A couple of years ago my friend sent me a picture of 5 ft within just a very short time..and their driveway was piled high where they plowed and plowed and plowed..nowhere to put it all.  We got very little!!  I kept her emails!! Funny!

Z · Answer

I don't think weather has been tracked long enough for anyone to know for sure if there's a global warming that we need to be concerned about. If you look back at the history that has been tracked there's always been fluctuations. Summer of 2011 here was way cooler than any I remember in my lifetime and last winter was colder. Then there was this summer with record highs starting early in the summer and the awful drought to go with the heat.

Certainly not my field of expertise, but personally I'm not going to worry about it. I've always been a naturalist trying to avoid using chemicals when at all possible. It just makes sense to care for the earth that good Lord gave us to keep it healthy for for those that come after us.

Marg C · Answer

very interesting Four Seasons....thank you for that info.

360 Sod (Donna Dixson) · Answer

Your welcome Marg :)

Elizabeth Wright · Answer

Don't know, but we were just there! What a beautiful place!!! I was sorry to come home to my desert Eastern Idaho!

Isnt this just the coolest succulent?

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Isnt this just the coolest succulent?

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