Hi,
I bought several Dudleya this spring. Read that they should be kept very dry, so I barely water them. They don't look very happy now, so I watered the ones that look the worst (second picture). Any suggestion on how to water and grow Dudleya? They are all grown in pots. Thanks a lot.
Anne
Pretty much all Dudleyas look bad this time of year.... it's part of their natural cycle, nothing to worry about. Your plants are probably fine. They slow way down and the lower leaves die off during the annual summer drought. You are more likely to hurt them than help them by giving extra water this time of year.
There are different schools of thought on this, and you'll have to work out what's best for you. I water my Dudleyas year round and try to let the soil dry out each time. I make sure to water them well (until water drains out the bottom of the pot). They are quite efficient at extracting water from the soil (the air too, I would imagine), and they handle dry soil very well. If you put a fair amount of rock in the mix and give them some sun, the watering becomes more straightforward.
Your plants should start perking up in October or November, or whenever it starts raining. They seem to really enjoy the winter rain here.
This message was edited Jul 20, 2014 10:32 AM
Hi, I have lots of dudleyas and water them year-round, with no ill effects whatsoever. (I'm in zone 9b coastal climate in Santa Cruz, CA.) Mine actually look fine all year with this regimen.
There is a lot of professional advice about succulent care which, IME, is more applicable to cacti--which are definitely prone to rot--than to succulents, which for the most part thrive in moist, well-drained soil. I have echeveria imbricatas multiplying like rabbits in a raised bed of pure rotted horse manure. (And I actually have Eve's Needle cacti growing on a steep hill composed entirely of rotted horse manure. They, however, do act like typical cacti and seem to love lots of water, as do Notocactus Leninghausi.)
I am always trying to use the least rock possible in order to lower my costs. A surprising number of succulents do very well with little or none. But I don't cut corners with Dudleyas. They grow in almost pure rock in habitat and they do very well with a lot of rock in cultivation. Putting more rock in the mix allows me to water more frequently without rot concerns.
There is some confusion out there concerning allowing plants to go dry vs. allowing them to stay dry. I can't think of too many succulents that like to stay dry, except maybe in cases of extreme and/or forced dormancy. Dudleyas (like most succulents I grow) like to go dry or almost dry, but do better when they are not forced to stay dry. The key seems to be working out what's happening with the moisture in the pot so that you can find the delicate balance. In a mild climate like ours, that is made much easier.
Here are some pictures to illustrate how Dudleyas survive on almost pure rock in habitat. These plants are growing on a boulder field in the cracks between rocks, or in tiny hollows on the face of the rocks. The little finger Dudleya is D. attenuata and the green rosette is D. brittonii. Obviously the Ferocacti are pretty good in this little niche too. The location is particularly foggy and I think that helps make it possible for the plants to grow there. The lichen certainly thrive with all that moisture in the air.
Fascinating pictures. It's always a good reminder to me: what is an exotic houseplant for me is (of course) native somewhere else.
When you say fog, Baja, how frequent and lasting how long?
Most nights and many days are foggy. Humidity averages 80% or more. The road through there can get pretty hazardous.
Why that particular location is so foggy I'm not sure but the ocean is particularly cold right offshore and that might have something to do with it.
if you get cold water next to a hot landmass always likely to be lots of fog at night, moisture condensing on the cold air, same effect that causes condensation on something taken out of a fridge. Some coastal plants in Chile (Copiapoa etc) get all of their moisture from ocean fogs, never experiencing actual rainfall where they grow.
Want to post an update of my Dudleya. I didn't water them as in last Summer and Fall as I read they don't like being watered during dormancy. They got some rain during the winter. They look so fabulous now.
They do look fabulous, dividing and flowering like they should be doing this time of year. Third one might even be ready for a bigger pot some time soon.
Where you are (cool coastal climate) you can get away with not watering your Dudleyas for a really long time. I used to water mine every 3 weeks year round and they did fine. Now I water about once a week and they actually look a lot better. These things have a way of sorting themselves out over time as you learn the plants' behavior. Whatever you're doing seems to be working. :)
