Snaky/Sneaky

Some little snake left a skin in the rock garden. Probably a garter snake, judging from the size. I'm sure the rocks provided a great place to get the peeling started. We used to have a pet snake. It was very cool watching him shed. As the old skin dried, his eyes would get milky and his colors dull. After a few days he would start rubbing his jaw against a rock, and pretty soon he'd peel out of that old skin just like you pull off a dirty sock. After he shed, his skin would be smooth and his colors bright.

As for the "sneaky" part: I've been trying to sort out a few of the numbered spaces in the rock garden. You'd think it would be easy to tell which is which, but some of the rocks have gotten fairly covered with dirt. And some of the plants have moved around. I've been trying to figure out where space 13 is (interesting that it was that number) for a couple of days.

It appears that a Sempervivum (hen and chicks) that was in space 18, just above 13 has moved itself downhill just a bit, and is now occupying 13. But this sneaky behavior led to me taking on the solution of another mystery. I bought this Sempervivum in 2002 as the variety 'King George.' I no longer remember why I thought this one was of particular interest, but I did order it from a plant company.

It bloomed in 2006.

Surprise! Not only is this plant sneaky, it's just plain misidentified. This is the bloom of 'King George." (stolen from the internet)

I think even a non-plant person could easily notice that flower is not the same as this flower.

So, I spent almost an hour trying to figure out the species of the one I actually have. I am pretty sure it's a Sempervivum heuffelii. There are lots of varieties, but there's no chance I can figure that out. It may not be a cultivated variety, because those seem to be mostly interesting color variations of the leaves, and this seems ordinarily green/maroon.

Well, it's not going to get to remain sneaky for much longer. This stalk is going to bloom in just a few days and then I'll know if it's the same plant as the one that bloomed in 2006. Each rosette blooms only once. After it flowers, it will die. But there are plenty of other rosettes.

Perhaps there will be a rock garden report tomorrow. I've done a lot of work. We'll see.

I also spent a fair amount of time today working on various articles I'm supposed to be writing. The weather was nice (not too hot) which makes me more productive.

See A Related Sempervivum?