My new succulent: Kalanchoe Serrata "Magic Tower" - Found by the road :)

So, this new succulent has quite a story.... Ever since I have become interested in succulents and cactus I have found myself doing something that I used to laugh at my mother and grandmother for: keeping an eye out for plants by the side of the road! Yeah, that's right, I now drive with a mindful eye, always on the lookout for a wild succulent or cactus that I could perhaps snap a sampling from and propagate! Ha, wow... it must really run in the family, since this is how the women and my family grow their diverse gardens, by finding and sharing clippings here and there. With a little soil and a little love we help create and spread nature! Everyone should do this in some way, not only does it give you a great feeling, but it's important for strengthening nature and creating more oxygen for all.

Anyway, for weeks, on my commute home from work I'd always eye what looked like succulents growing under trees near the sidewalk of a shabby apartment complex on US1. I'd tell my mom and my cousin about them and I'd always want to stop, but the mood was never strong enough to actually pull off the road and parade in front of bumper to bumper traffic down a main Miami road to bend over and inspect and pull plants from the ground!! HAHA! Well, you can guess that after weeks of slowing to a crawl and scrutinizing them as I passed my curiosity grew to certainty that the plants were in fact some type of succulent... So last Friday on my way home from work I pulled over to have a look and boy was I right!

Now, I don't know a whole lot about the technical names of all succulent plants, but I immediately thought it might be related to the Kalanchoe family of succulents because I saw that the tips of the leaves were growing new baby leaves. Well, a while back I read on my friend Julie's awesome blog A Succulent Life that that's a trait of the Kalanchoe - in fact she says that is exactly why it's her favorite succulent! Without that knowledge I wouldn't have had a clue, so thank you Julie! After a quick Google search I confirmed my suspicions, according to GFlora.com it's called Kalanchoe Serrata, nickname "Magic Tower" and it's a drought tolerant fast and tall growing shrub, said to be an amazing bloomer. Nice! I'm thrilled... I already gave a few clippings to my grandmother and aunt to plant and I've potted the rest... they have already shirked the shriveled condition brought on by their somewhat violent and excited uprooting and have regained their succulence. I love the black and purple shades of this plant, and its leaves look like little knives! I love it, take a look....

First, this is the infamous spot where I saw these Kalanchoe Serrata's growing... right under those trees, there are oodles of them!!

Pictures of when I pulled them from the ground...

These are pictures after I potted them, a little droopy from being torn from their home... for the time being I'll leave them in this dumpy black plastic planter left over from another succulent I bought. I need to buy some more terracotta pots this coming weekend....





And last... this is what it looks like today.... it has regained its succulence :)