With dry conditions in place across much of the country, plants that cope with drought are invaluable in your garden. None more so than succulents, close relatives of the cactus plant.
There aren’t any thorns but thick fleshy leaves and often stunning shapes and colors. Best of all, they’re so easy to grow, succulents will strike from virtually anything – even from a single leaf.
A new plant will form the base of the leaf, feeding off the old leaf until a new rosette (a circular arrangement of foliage) has developed roots and can sustain itself. Of course, they will also grow off a larger stem cutting.
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Cacti are subcategory of suffculents. In short- not all succulent plant are all cacti; although all cacti are succulents. Basically, all succulents store water in their leaves, but mostly cacti variants grow thorns.
With their unusual shapes and textures, succulents add an exotic touch to the starkest of settings. And while succulents can survive the most brutal summers, in spring their whimsical shoots and fantastical flowers never fail to delight.
For versatility and ease of care, cacti, in the ground or pots, provide more value for money and time spent than almost any other plant. They also provide beauty and variety to yards and patios year-round. Many varieties are easy to grow from cuttings. A small collection can easily grow into a container garden of dozens of specimens.
To start your own collection, all you need to do is carefully break a leaf off the base of a growing succulent plant. This is where friends and neighbors come in handy, you can raid their gardens for cuttings and start your succulent garden virtually for free.
While cacti can be grown from seeds, many varieties can be purchased at gardening centers for a minimal cost. Those with patience can purchase starter plants for two or three dollars each. Larger specimens are available ranging in price from about $20.00 for a 3-5 gallon container to hundreds of dollars for mature cactus. A ten-foot-tall Saguaro, for example, runs upwards of $1000.00.
Tools that you need to start your succulent garden-
For those with more modest landscaping needs, other cacti grow rapidly and will provide volume to your space in a short time. While cacti can grow in a variety of soils, loose, sandy soil is best.
Good drainage is essential. For container gardening, potting soil for cactus and succulents is recommended. For planting cacti in-ground with a denser or clay-like soil, mixing the dirt with cactus potting soil or with a handful of small rocks or pebbles improves drainage. Make your own by mixing two parts potting soil, two parts sand, and one part gravel.
First you need to think about a color scheme for your garden or containers and find succulents to match. In the blue-green and yellow-green shades, consider planting Echeveria, Crassula, Sedum, and Aloe.
For pink and lavender tones choose Aeonium, Pachyphytum, Oscularia, Portulacaria, Echeveria, Kalanchoe, Crassula, and Graptoveria.
If you prefer one plant, consider the Crassula ‘Hummel’s Sunset,’ that sports light yellow and green leaves and branches that turn bright red.
There are so many of them to choose from but below are some of our favorites-
Purple Heart (Tradescantia pallida) is from the Commelinaceae (Spiderwort) family. This perennial cactus is great for a beginner gardener. It is a groundcover plant with 1 inch wide leaves that are 3 to 5 inches long.
A deep purple color for its stems and underneath leaves; it has pale pink flowers that are around half an inch wide. It requires full sun and moist soil; it can do fine in dry soils and in times of drought. Propagate via cuttings in sandy soil. USDA Hardiness Zone of 8 to 11.
Century Plant (Agave Americana) is from the Agavaceae (Agave) family. It is a perennial evergreen. It has a rosette and 6 feet long and 10 inches wide ‚”spine” leaves. The 3 to 4-inch yellowish-green flower is on a 20 to 40 feet tall stalk. It requires well-drained slightly acidic soil with full sun. It is drought-resistant and can be propagated via seed or by offsets. USDA Hardiness Zone of 8b to 11.
Soap Aloe (Aloe Saponaria) is from the Liliaceae (Lily) family. It is a perennial evergreen that attracts hummingbirds and does well in a garden pot or container. It has a stemless rosette with offsets. It will get 1.5 feet tall and the same in width with a pale green lance-like leaves 10 to 12 inches long.
Flowers are tubular and red, orange, or yellow. Soap aloe prefers good drainage and full sun or partial shade. While leaf tips may wither the plant will be tolerant of drought conditions. Propagate via separating the offsets.USDA Hardiness Zone of 8b to 11.
Prickly Pear (Opuntia humifusa) is from the Cactaceae (Cactus) family. It is a perennial evergreen. There are flat pads 2 to 6 inches long that spread wide on the plant, with 3 to 4-inch yellow flowers that appear in spring. There are egg-shaped, edible fruits, tasting like watermelon. It prefers dry sandy soils, full sun, and can be propagated via seeds or pad rooting. USDA Hardiness Zone of 5 to 10.
This Aloe is seen all over the Mediterranean coastline with its pale green serrated edge leaves and striking red poker type blooms in late autumn and winter. It needs very little care except for the removal of dead leaves when they dry out. It is self-propagating with rosettes appearing at the base of the stem. Height 60-80cms.
The Aloe Variegata is a smaller but valued succulent easily managed by the beginner gardener. The variegated leaves and stems of pendulous red flowers make it an attractive addition to a drought loving garden. Blooms in winter. Height 40cms.
This little Aloe has pointed bright green serrated edged leaves with tiny white spots. Orange flowers appear on stems in late winter/early spring and it propagates freely from its basal rosettes. Height 15cms. See photo.
This bushy succulent from Morocco grows well on the Costa del Sol and all around the southern Mediterranean. The 50-100cms stems have rosettes from where stalks appear to carry striking yellow domed flower heads.
After its spring-blooming, the rosettes shrink to conserve moisture and then expand again with the autumn rains.
The Agave Attentuata is a large rosette of sword-shaped spineless pale green leaves that form at the end of a trunk.
Small rosettes from around the base of this and can be taken off and replanted. When mature a long stem of around 2mts emerges from the center of the rosette covered with yellow/green flowers. This Agave thankfully has no spikes. Height 50-60cms.
The aptly named ‚”Pencil Plant” has a multitude of long thin branches in a cool green color. It grows very quickly whether in a pot or the ground. Its tips take on a coral color at certain times of the year, adding a pretty contrast.
The Elephant’s Food Plant is the most prolific succulent of all. With its small, waxy, tear-shaped leaves and profusion of growth, it adds interest and volume to a patio. It can handle full sun and cuttings transplants easily, making nice gifts.
If the plants are in a small container outside, move them around to decorate. Put them on a patio, or place them inside on a table by the front door. Visitors will thrill over the beautiful colors and interesting shapes. They are great for centerpieces on the dining room table.
Succulents are more sensitive to overwatering than under-watering. Therefore, choosing the right container for planting is important for success. Because succulents have such low water needs, containers that are small or shallow are good for succulents.
Terra cotta containers are an excellent choice. Terra cotta is porous which allows excess water to evaporate quickly through the sides of the container. Terra cotta strawberry jars or multi-opening herb containers make interesting succulent gardens. Any container used must have excellent drainage.
Soil is crucial to achieving thriving succulents. Succulent and cactus soil mix, available at garden centers, is ideal for container gardens. If gardeners prefer to mix their own soil, this is easily done. Use one part regular potting soil, one part peat, and one part non-organic material such as perlite, crushed granite, or small gravel. Soil should be crumbly and not form clumps.
If you are putting them in a container, depending on the size, start with an odd number of plants, either one big plant, three medium-size, or five small plants. Plant a succulent that has ‚”weight” in the middle, surrounded by two taller succulents in the back and two creeping succulents in the front.
Use a broken piece of pottery or a coffee filter to prevent soil from clogging the drainage hole and also to hold in the gravel. Cover the bottom of the container with about an inch of gravel or pea rock. This will help with drainage. Fill the container about ® full of potting mix. If using a strawberry pot, fill the container up to the first set of openings.
Place plants in the desired position. Experiment with placement and combinations to get the best look possible. Be mindful of plant growth habits. Avoid putting tall plants in front of short plants or trailing plants in the center of a container.
Once the plants are satisfactorily placed, add more soil to fill the container and hold the plants in place. Use colored stones, gravel, beach glass, or other decorative mulch to complete the container.
Succulents are unusual in that they should not be watered immediately after transplanting. Place the container in a sunny spot. Wait a day or two and water lightly the first time. Overwatering will rot the roots of the plants. Thereafter, check plants weekly and water thoroughly when the soil is completely dry.
It’s easy to create and maintain a succulent container garden indoors or out. These easy-care, low-water beauties are sure to find a place on any gardener’s wish list.
The same rules apply to succulent containers as other container gardens. Use a mix of textures, colors, and shapes when choosing plants. Also, choose succulents with different growth habits and size.
Taller, upright plants make good focal points to plan designs around. Smaller, mounding plants are good for filling out containers. Trailing succulents work nicely on edges or in strawberry jars.
Many succulents may be placed together in a special section in the greenhouse. There are many varieties of sedum, crassula, jade, aloe, and kalanchoe. Also, check the perennial and annual sections of the greenhouse for other sedum, sepervivum (hen and chicks), and purselane among others.
Succulents are one of the easiest plants to transplant. Simply snip off the shoot of a branch, making sure you have about two inches of growth. Stick the offshoot in the new container or ground and wait a few months for the plant to start growing.
Set cuttings in a nice dry spot – they will need to dry out for a couple of weeks before planting. This will help any open wounds to develop a hard skin and prevent fungal attacks. Once they’ve callused over, small rootlets will start to appear and even tiny rosettes of foliage at the bottom of each leaf.
Plant the cuttings with the little rosettes gently tucked in. They need to be planted in a bed of potting mix containing coarse sand to aid with drainage. The plant needs to be placed out of strong sunlight until it has developed.
Once the tiny plants have formed into larger plants, carefully replant into larger pots or straight into the garden.
The more sun succulents have, the better the plants’ shape and color will be. Succulents don’t like humidity, so add mulch and pebbles around the base of the plant to help it.
The stones will keep moisture away from the stem and allow water to flow straight through into the soil. They will also keep weeds down as no sunlight can get through. Water the succulents lightly once a week.
If you bruise or scratch succulents when repotting them, always let them dry out for a few extra weeks before watering. This will help reduce the likelihood of disease.
After a year in the same pot, the potting mix will start to become depleted of nutrients. At this stage, a feeding pattern is best established. Use an only low nitrogen, slow-release fertilizers, or liquid low nitrogen fertilizer.
If you can’t find any succulents to break a leaf from, consider either a local nursery or a mail-order nursery to source succulents that will fit in perfectly with your garden design.
These plants will hold water in their leaves, so you don’t have to water regularly. Drought-tolerant succulents in the garden can get by on rainwater unless it’s an extremely dry year, then they should be watered about once a month. If it’s extremely hot in summer it’s best to water succulents about once a month in the garden.
That being said, you can also water them regularly if they are mixed in a garden with other consistently watered plants, and they will thrive. Container plants should be watered on a regular schedule.
Use a potting soil that promotes quick drainage. Plant them in a pumice-based potting mix that’s nutrient-rich and doesn’t let the plants sit in wet soil. They love the sun but will grow in shade and indoors as well.
Desert gardening is typically seen as gardening in harsh heat and elements. However, even in true deserts, there is potential for freezing temperatures.
If cactus and succulent plants get too cold, especially during freezing temperatures at night, they have the chance of sustaining freeze damage. Particularly tall cacti and succulents can sag and droop during a long cool spell and have black spots during harsh cold weather.
Freeze damage on plants can not be reversed or repaired. Many times it is seen as black spots on the exposed portions of the plant. It may be on a small section of the plant or an entire area of the cacti/succulent. These black spots may become crisp and dry.
While not reversible, many times the damage is only temporary, even after it has been subjected to a long cold spell. This temporary freeze damage can just be cosmetic and the plant may be able to grow out of it and be fine. A plant that has been damaged by cold may take years to grow out of and start looking like a healthy cactus or succulent again.
To prevent freeze and cold damage, find the temperature requirements of the plants used. Planting particularly sensitive plants should be placed by walls or hills, areas that will have a radiated heat during the evening.
Being out in the open as a lone plant has the ability to get cold wind damage and be subjected to lower temperatures than plants with some windscreens. Coverings also keep cold from getting to sensitive succulents and cacti, using cotton to lightly over during the evening. Use cotton if covering prevention is the method chosen as plastic can freeze a plant wherever it touches it due to poor insulation.
Using containers to plant your cacti and succulents is also a good idea, as they can be brought indoors during particularly cold snaps or hard freezes. They can also be put near walls and hills so that they can get the night heat radiation.
They have the most portability which can make them easier to move around during weather changes. Using containers can help if you are in a particular geographic area where there are frequent cold nights.
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