Mesembs on a Windowsill

I've kept these plants now for more than four years. Some change, some just...stay pretty much the same. Mesembs evolved in some of the harshest real estate on Earth, much of which has sadly become actual real estate and no longer supports these exquisitely weird little plants.

From left to right, they are Gibbaeum (likely heathii), Titanopsis, Pleiospilos nelii, and Argyroderma. None of these grow well outdoors in tropical Zone 10, but inside a not-very-humid house, in quartz chipped soil in a sunny eastern window, they're fine. They get some water every 7-10 days.

Titanopsis calcarea Meets Aloinopsis

I've been hoping to find a Titanopsis to keep my Aloinopsis company for over a year, and finally, I found one!

Titanopsis calcarea, MR 2014

Both Titanopsis and Aloinopsis form small rosettes with spoon-shaped, (spatulate), often tubercled leaves. I call the tubercles "knobbles".

Aloinopsis malherbei with "Bill"_MR_2012

Titanopsis grows further north in southern Africa, from Namibia to the Great Karoo. T. calcarea is the best known of the group and was allegedly discovered by a not-so-alert naturalist who was walking over "limestone" only to discover the stones were really plants. Poor Titanopsis!

Titanopsis is very cold-hardy, but hates being damp and cold. So this one is definitely not going outside.... They can grow well outside in Southern California, I'm told. They should be grown in very porous soil, with lots of light, like all mesembs, but they only need water every two weeks or so.