Hello all,

This little thing surprised me today with its bloom.





I read about some succulents being monocarpic (i.e. the succulent dies after blooming) but I'm not sure whether this one belongs to these monocarpic species. Just to make sure so I can propagate it in time since I don't want to lose this type.

Can anyone identify whether this one will die after its bloom?

Edit: A little update showing different flowering stages

And my small collection with a growing Echeveria Lola from a leaf cutting on the left.

No, your plant will survive to bloom again and again. Very pretty flower.

This is the cutest thing I've seen so far today! LOVE!

JohnnyGui said:Hello all,

This little thing surprised me today with its bloom.

• Chihuahua Flower (Graptopetalum bellum)
• Uploaded by JohnnyGui

I read about some succulents being monocarpic (i.e. the succulent dies after blooming) but I'm not sure whether this one belongs to these monocarpic species. Just to make sure so I can propagate it in time since I don't want to lose this type.

Can anyone identify whether this one will die after its bloom?

No. You have the one , the only, Graptopetalum bellum. Probably the best looking succulent in the crassulaceae family(because of the flowers) . Its polycarpic and functions much like echeverias and most sedums.
Im also nominating to add the photo to the database

I'm jealous! I haven't gotten mine to bloom yet. Very pretty though.

Glad you all like it

Baja_Costero said:No, your plant will survive to bloom again and again. Very pretty flower.

Thanks for the great relieving answer. Really like the color tone indeed. It has 4 more flower buds around it and there's even another small flower shoot starting at the other side of the succulent's center.

skopjecollection said:

No. You have the one , the only, Graptopetalum bellum. Probably the best looking succulent in the crassulaceae family(because of the flowers) . Its polycarpic and functions much like echeverias and most sedums.
Im also nominating to add the photo to the database

Thanks. Feeling honoured for nominating the photo.

I have 2 other questions if you don't mind.
1. Will manually self pollinating this flower produce viable seeds?
2. As an alternative, I also have a blooming echeveria shaviana and I was considering cross pollinating it with this one. Would that be possible?

1. Possibly, but probably not. There's certainly no harm in trying.
2. Yes, the two genera hybridize quite freely.

Baja_Costero said:1. Possibly, but probably not. There's certainly no harm in trying.
2. Yes, the two genera hybridize quite freely.

Thanks again, will try both

Definitely get some more pictures when the other flowers open. Would love to see them!

Macrocentra said:Definitely get some more pictures when the other flowers open. Would love to see them!

Will surely update this thread once they do!

JohnnyGui said:
1. Will manually self pollinating this flower produce viable seeds?

This has been working for me. Watch how the structures change as the blossoms mature. You'll soon notice differences. The pollen gets "fluffy looking" at the tips of the anthers. (That might be the stage seen in your photo.) The "cone" in the center (sorry I don't know the proper botanical term) will open into a star shape. You can kind of see both stages of blossoms in this photo:

It seems the stigmas (?) become receptive to pollen at that point.

The tricky part (for me) is paying attention to when the seed pods are mature in order to catch the seed. One day you think they might be getting close. The next day, there's dust-like seed all over the place. Not long after that, new seedlings are popping up like a carpet of moss in your nearby houseplants

MrsBinWY said:

This has been working for me. Watch how the structures change as the blossoms mature. You'll soon notice differences. The pollen gets "fluffy looking" at the tips of the anthers. (That might be the stage seen in your photo.) The "cone" in the center (sorry I don't know the proper botanical term) will open into a star shape. You can kind of see both stages of blossoms in this photo:

• Chihuahua Flower (Graptopetalum bellum)
• Uploaded by MrsBinWY

It seems the stigmas (?) become receptive to pollen at that point.

The tricky part (for me) is paying attention to when the seed pods are mature in order to catch the seed. One day you think they might be getting close. The next day, there's dust-like seed all over the place. Not long after that, new seedlings are popping up like a carpet of moss in your nearby houseplants

Thanks a lot for the info. I'm curious now to try this out. The anthers are indeed very fluffy but I think I'd have to wait since the stigma in my case doesn't look fully matured yet?

I believe you're correct. It's possible the plant has a little bit of timing outbreeding built in, based on when the pollen is mature and when the stigmas/stigmata are receptive (just meaning any particular flower is more likely to be pollinated by a different flower, but flowers accept pollen from the same plant).

Here are some slightly better close-ups that show what I'm trying to describe. In the first two pics, the pollen looks like it would be ready, but the "stigma cone" (pretty sure that's not a proper term) isn't ready. In the third photo, the stigmas look like they'd be receptive, but the pollen might be past its prime. (And, actually, it looks like I brushed pollen [from other flowers] on the stigmas before thinking, "Gee, I should try to take a picture )

Those pictures are very informative, Michelle.

Here are a few examples from other plants in the family.... often the male parts mature before the female ones.

The flower on the left is younger than the one on the right, and only the one on the right is ready to accept pollen, I think. The bottom flower is the youngest and still has not made its pollen available.



A flower with lots of pollen (male parts mature and available) and a relatively immature stigma (probably not receptive).



And in these shots you can see relatively mature female parts (increasingly glistening and increasingly spreading)

Thanks a lot for clarifying. I just noticed the stigma is starting to open up according to your descriptions. Any moment now and I can go on a pollinating spree.

skopjecollection said:No. You have the one , the only, Graptopetalum bellum. Probably the best looking succulent in the crassulaceae family(because of the flowers) . Its polycarpic and functions much like echeverias and most sedums.
Im also nominating to add the photo to the database

Macrocentra said:Definitely get some more pictures when the other flowers open. Would love to see them!

Baja_Costero said:No, your plant will survive to bloom again and again. Very pretty flower.

Here it is, showing different stages of flowering at once:

The one in the back immediately closed after I've manually self pollinated it, let's hope something viable comes out of this.

My small collection with on the left a growing Echeveria Lola from a leaf cutting.

Nice details! And nice collection. Lola is doing well.