The succulents spending their summer outdoors are enjoying their holiday in the fresh air, sunshine and rain. All are colouring up well and the Echevaria are in full flower. My old multi headed Gasteria nitida is plump and healthy and has coloured to a shiny ebony.  The Nolina which is planted out and which lost its growing point due to frost damage, has not produced one new growing point, instead it has produced about twenty, all the way down its stem.  Although I don’t really want a Nolina bush, I shall leave them all till after next winter to see which survive and I may them remove some. I wonder if they would root as cuttings??

Gymnocalyciums are still flowering away.  I grow them under the bench in the greenhouse. They seem to be quite happy there and to be growing well. On top of the bench they have sometimes shown signs of sunburn. It is always difficult to strike a happy medium. 

There have been lots of flowers on the Astrophytum. One A. capricorne minor has flowers with a reddish tint as also has a capricorne x asterias hybrid.  I have used my paintbrush to exchange pollen between these two and both have good plump seed pods.  It with be interesting to see what coloured flowers will be produced by their offspring.

Last year there were lots of complaints from Lithops enthusiasts about non flowering or late flowering of their plants.  This year in contrast a few of my plants have already started to flower.  They were not plants that failed to flower last year, but they are certainly earlier.  The seedlings are progressing well but I am having to shade them on hot days.  Last year I painted the greenhouse glass with white shading but this year instead I am using green netting when the weather reaches scorching level.