Friday, June 29, 2012

Frithia diva blooms!

OK, that's not the real name, it's a Frithia pulchra. But she's such a diva! She likes to have all conditions just so....Sometimes she gets pale and limp, then perks up and blooms right when I think she's a goner. She likes LOTS of morning sun, but not much afternoon sun or she limps out again. She prefers a nice glass of Viognier in the afternoon, to sip in the shade. (OK, I made that up, but it wouldn't surprise me....)

I read on Steve Hammer's website that Frithia really need an acidic environment with quartz in the mix. So she's got her quartz gravel in her soil now, and I'm adding vinegar to her water to make our very alkaline tap water (which I filter first) a pH of 6. That seems to be her perfect pH, at least for now...but maybe she would like me to move the house a little to the left??

8 comments:

  1. Beautiful flower! Congratulations! She's a diva but you've managed to please her ;)

    Acidic environment with quartz is what I'm going to provide my seedlings with, too. Keeping Frithia alive (I'm not even speaking of thriving) seems to be difficult enough..

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  2. Thanks, Rika, you know, I was thinking it through, and remembering the trouble I had with some of my succulents when I lived in the Alps. The German Alps are very gloomy with not much light for much of the winter. Frithia seems to be really greedy for sun- I am in Zone 9 now and it still needs to sit outside several hours a day in full morning sun to be happy. I am wondering if an artificial light might help during dark days for Europeans who grow them? What do you think?

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    1. Yes, it can be gloomy here but I don't ever use artificial light. In winter all of my lithops are in their winter state and don't care for the weather. The old leaves stop growing or doing anything but getting wrinkly when there's no water, and the new leaves grow in the dark inside the plant anyway. The important thing is not to water too early in the spring, that's the critical point.
      Can't say anything about Frithias ;)

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    2. That's interesting, Rika, I don't like artificial lights, either. I've always wondered if it's really OK for the plants. Humans can't live in completely artificial light, nor can most animals. I should have been growing Lithops in Germany! I wish Frithias could speak, so we could interview them on their needs. ;-)

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  3. Very nice - whaat?? - ok, ok, "Splendid Show Madam!" that better? Good job Marla.LOL!

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  4. Hey, if I got to name all the plants, we'd all have an easier time remembering their names! ;-)

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  5. Great shot, plant, flower and pot! :-)

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  6. Gorgeous flower - and a very amusing personality :-)

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