A friend from work asked me if I wanted a tiny succulent that she didn’t like. Someone had given it to her. She didn’t know anything about it, she just didn’t like succulents. Of course I said yes. I brought it home and potted it up in a great looking red, glazed pot. It didn’t do much.
It didn’t do much for quite some time. It also didn’t die. I decided that I needed to figure out what it was and what it needed. All I had to go on was the plant itself, so I spent time looking at pictures of succulents. After days of looking at pictures and comparing them to the plant, I thought I had narrowed it down. I decided it is Hawothiopsis fasciata. I could be wrong, but it seems a good match.
But that meant the care I’d been giving it was not the care it wanted. I got it out of the glazed pot and into 4″ terra cotta. Instead of potting mix, I got it into a very well-draining soil. And sun, it wanted a lot more sun, and a good drink once a week. It took off.
These are great plants. They are so undemanding and so rewarding. You can find tiny ones at big box stores, and they’re usually very inexpensive; and there are a lot of different varieties. This could become a problem.
