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We can hope for some warm late summer weather in August but already, by the end of the month, it will be time to start preparing our plants either for their winter rest or for their autumn growing season. Some plants will have had a mid-summer rest particularly during warmer spells in July. Many South American cacti, parodia (notocactus), do this and they will be ready for watering again by the beginning of August. As the end of the month approaches it will be time to start reducing watering again but this will depend to some extent on what the weather is like.
Now is the time to treat your plants to a dose of insecticide to try to make sure that they will be pest free during the winter rest period. Some growers recommend that plants are sprayed occasionally during the winter period. I would not go this far but you can always consider the use of insecticidal powders during the dry rest period.
On the other hand conophytums, some other mesembs and other South African succulents such as Othonnas, Tylecodons and Testudinarias will just be coming into growth now. And their watering will need to be stepped up if that is the correct term for plants with such a low water requirement. Most of them require very careful watering until after they have flowered or until they start to drop their leaves. Watering of lithops should continue until after they have flowered. I have kept conophytums virtually dry during June and July but in August they require a bit more than a light spray but not much more.
Many of the mesembs will need to be tidied up after their summer rest particularly if you are thinking of entering the Autumn Show. It is a good idea to remove the dead skins from Lithops and Conophytums because they provide dark corners where pests can hide if they are left in place. Dead skins should not be removed from some other genera such as Pleiospilos because damage to the plant will result. |
