Today is the first day of spring and I am anxious to do some gardening! So off I into go my cold room where I overwinter my succulent and Phormium collections under a 3-tier light system. As the name 'coldroom' implies, the room is very cold during the winter months, approximately 5 to 10 celcius.
At these temperatures the plants go into a somewhat dormant state with my attending to them very little. This is a great benefit as the plants require next to no watering. From October, when they are placed into the room, to late April, I may water them a wee bit 2 to 3 times....and when I say "wee", it is exactly that, maybe one-quarter cup in an eight-inch pot. In this dormant period there is no fertilizer added until the end of March and given a very weak solution.
Today they are doing very well although I do cut off some of the blossoms that have occurred in my absence from last check. I also notice some dried up dead 'leaves' along the stems which I gently pull off. If they resist, I leave them as this would show that they are not quite ready to be removed. I notice that along the occasional stem there are roots growing from it. I think these plants too, are anxious that spring arrive and they be placed outside to savour the blissfulness of full sunshine to bask in and show their ultimate beauty.
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