I started writing when I was 8. My mom got me a journal where I could rant (prob so I won't be an annoying brat). I stopped writing for 8 years until the pen and then later on the keyboard called on me again. I blog because I like writing and that's just about it. Hope you get inspired though... Bite the apple!
I got very busy with other plants and it's been almost a year since I properly tended to my cacti. It started with just a few pieces Ate Rose gave me back in July 2022. They looked like this by August 2023 -
And how they looked in November 2024 -
I re-pot them once a year. I moved them to a sunnier spot almost a year ago and water them once a week. One thing about cacti and succulents is they're very low maintenance. They're best left alone. Just top it up with some perlite once a quarter and they'll be fine.
I was so busy re-potting Mom's other plants, so this is what happened in a year -
My thighs are so sore after 3 hours of gardening. I sat on bangkito (the plastic kind) for a few hours to re-pot my cacti and succulents. We heard something crash outside my sewing room the other night. I told Sweetie it was likely the cacti. We paused the video we were watching and Sweetie investigated what happened.
We think Grogu was chasing after Anakin. The kitten probably went up the planter and hit the pots. It came tumbling down, hitting the pots below. It was a huge mess. I didn't expect it would happen since we just covered the sides of the plant stand last week to keep the cats away.
Oh well, I've been meaning to re-pot the cacti and succulents since some have outgrown their pots. It took me awhile to finish re-potting since there were a lot of pups and some had to be separated. Since I re-potted some of them in bigger pots, I asked for help from Sweetie to add support. That way they won't topple down easily if ever a cat goes up again.
Added bamboo to support the pots
It was a good workout and I enjoy working quietly while gardening. The cats kept me company. Anakin was quite naughty. He even tried biting the cacti. So kulet. I had to separate him and Grogu to avoid having another accident.
It was my Mama Lola who liked collecting cacti and succulents. I remember she had her collection in a corner of my Mom's garden. Since then I had been curious about having my own.
I started buying but for many years I always failed. I eventually stopped since it seemed like a waste of money because I couldn't care for them properly. A friend though gave me some. I still killed about half of what she gave but in time I improved. I researched and asked the nursery about the right soil to use.
Now I get to enjoy re-potting my cacti and succulents every few months when they outgrow their pot. What's great about taking care of cacti and succulents is they're pretty low maintenance as long as your soul mixture is good.
I spent about 3 and a half hours re-potting the other day. I use gloves, of course, but one cacti bit me through my glove. Ouchie! I continued working on them though since the prick is no different from my sewing pin bites. Haha.
Now I just need to remember what day I should water my cacti and succulents. Summer usually changes the schedule because it's too hot!
I used to buy special succulents potting mix from an online shop. I found it a bit expensive. While buying some materials at the nursery, I asked the manong assisting me if they had potting mix for succulents. He said they didn't and told me I could just make my own.
So since then I've just been making my own potting mix for succulents. I just mix regular loam soil with pebbles and perlite. That's it, that's all you need for your succulents. I noticed also that the succulents and cacti I've been re-potting grow quickly.
Ate Rose gave me several pots of succulents in June 2022. I've since re-potted them three times. It's either they outgrew their small pot or produced pups. To be honest, I used to buy succulents, but more often than not I end up overwatering them and they die. I learned from trial and error and this is what worked for me:
If you are a beginner, use store bought succulent potting mix. Using regular soil doesn't work since the soil mix has to have good drainage.
Best way to water is from the bottom. I use cake trays (the ones from Goldilocks/Red Ribbon) and place water in the bottom. I let the succulents sip in water for about 15 minutes, then I discard any leftover water. Sometimes I forget to remove the excess water, but if you put only about 1/4 inch of water the plant would be fine.
If it's a rainy week (or when the weather is cool), I water only every 10 days. I normally water them weekly on Fridays, except when it's rainy. They are very forgiving, so it's not an issue if you water them after two weeks.
Place in a sunny spot. Succulents love the sun. I put them on a table in the garage where it gets direct sunlight in the afternoons (I don't have great sun spots in my house).
You can add a bit of perlite every few months so that the plant can get enough nutrients. So far though, I end up re-potting them every six months because they soon outgrow their pots.
It was my Mama Lola who liked collecting succulents and cacti. Mom preferred flowering plants. I honestly thought I'd never get the hang of taking care of succulents, but I eventually did. Best way to take care of them is to have good potting mix and then water sparingly. Just make sure to check if they've outgrown the pot so you can re-pot them.
We took down most of our Christmas decors last week. The only one left standing is our ginormous Christmas tree. I originally wanted to remove it in February, but I told Sweetie I'm fine to take it down earlier. I have a bit more energy now and I want our home to look a bit more presentable.
I spent a few hours last Thursday working on my succulents. Last time I cleaned them up was in August when Ate Rose gave me a couple of plants. Most of them survived and some had babies (pups). I guess I used the right soil mixture because I haven't had to do anything except water them every 7 to 10 days (depends on the weather).
I've been wanting to add plants indoors, so that's what I've been working on in the garden. I started with the philodendron and I'm letting the cuttings adjust to it's new home. I'll soon bring it inside after we take down the Christmas tree. I re-potted some of the succulent pups into tiny pots so I could put them around the house (I'm still experimenting to see if they'll survive indoors).
I completed the set of cute vases I had my eye on for awhile. The tiny pots fit the head perfectly. I wish though I had white tiny pots, but I'll do that next time if this batch survives and grows. I chose really small pups to give them room to grow in the tiny pot.
Placed them on the piano for now. They'll get some sun from there and I will hopefully remember to water them every so often (succulents are best left alone). I put the square vases on the piano too. I get the vases for PhP8 in Daiso and thought they'd be perfect for small succulents. I hope the succulents also grow. I'll move them eventually when I have a proper table for the sala.
My aim for our home is to decorate sparingly. I just want to have carefully curated pieces that are important to us or something we like. I started with the succulents since they're a gift. I will take awhile before I reach what I have in mind for our home. It's going to be epic!
I received a small pot of kalanchoe 14 months ago from Ate Rose. She told me to re-pot it since they were overflowing from the pot. I wasn't familiar back then about taking care of succulents and researched before I embarked on re-potting them. I previously overwatered the succulents I bought and just gave up, so I saw it as a chance to learn.
Here's the pot of kalanchoe Ate Rose gave me -
And how I re-potted it -
It seems I finally learned how to take care of succulents. They are best left "alone". I just watered them once a week and more during really hot weeks. I did well because they had gone wild!
I potted them in more than 12 pots. I intended to give them away for Christmas last year, but I forgot. We got busy with renovations and I was distracted with other plants I needed to take care of (Ate Rose gave another batch of cactus hehe). They were just there and didn't need much care, so I let them be.
Finally got around to re-potting the overgrown kalanchoe. The ones that curved out of their pots were harder to re-pot. I have to remember not to let them outgrow their pots. I'm making a new batch to give away. What I'll probably do is give away one everytime someone visits me, haha. They grow fast! I'll never not have kalanchoe with how prolific they are. They are after all also called the "mother of millions".
What I hope to happen is to see the kalanchoe produce flowers. I think I saw it in one video and the flowers are pretty! I hope the bigger ones I re-potted in larger pots would grow taller and produce flowers. Well, let's see!
My track record with succulents is really bad. The culprit has always been overwatering. I just can't ignore my plants! My doctor told me to keep hydrated, so I feel my plants also need to be hydrated! You can't imagine the torture I felt when I was away on vacation. Anyway, together with the pothos my friend gave me were succulents. Her bilin was to re-pot them so they can grow properly.
Kalanchoe pinnata also known as the mother of thousands/millions
I looked at the succulents and I honestly had no idea what they were called. I prioritized potting the pothos since I have experience taking care of pothos. I gave myself a few days before I sat down to re-pot the pots of succulents. First order of the day was to take their photo and use Google Lens to identify them. Then I did some research to understand what kind of soil they needed and how to take care of them.
Basically, the soil used for succulents is different from your regular plants. The soil has to drain well because succulent roots can rot easily if it's too wet. Rocks are usually put around the succulent to absorb more heat, prevent soil erosion and to stimulate root development. I didn't have these so I just ordered via Shopee. Good thing I ordered an extra set of small pots because I underestimated the number of kalanchoe pinnatas crammed in the pot. Here's how I re-potted them -
I must say the process of re-potting the succulents was both nerve-wracking and calming. The tiny plants looked so fragile and there were even tinier ones that the plant produced. I read that kalanchoe pinnatas are known also as the "mother of thousands". They grow babies at the edge of their leaves. These grow into new plants and they eventually fall and grow bigger. That's what I underestimated because there was a lot of babies on the soil when I removed it from the pot.
I ended up using more than 10 pots. I read you should put it in indirect sunlight. I put half of them on the planter in the garage and the other half indoors. After a week I noticed that the pots in the garage seemed happier than the ones indoor. I moved the indoor plants nearer the front window where it's warmer. There was a number of babies I didn't want to cram in the pots so I just "threw" them in a pot with soil. They survived and are now growing nicely. I'll re-pot them properly when they're a bit bigger.
Well, I hope they will survive because they will be good to give as gifts! I wasn't planning to buy plants for now, but I'm really happy Ate Rose gave me some plants to work on. Really hope I do better this time :)
I went out today for a regular check-up and headed to the nearby mall to buy some groceries. I was buying a drink when I saw this very unusual vending machine. From afar I thought it was selling special cupcakes.
When I went near I was surprised to see it was a vending machine for succulents! You can select from many different types!
Signs of the times noh? Whoever thought of this is probably a plantito/plantita. Would you buy a plant from a vending machine?
