Tired of blossoms in your flower garden that dazzle and sizzle but are quick to fade? Maybe it’s time for some dependable succulents – the enduring plants that last through the good times but also, especially, the bad.
More than 10,000 plant species have been classified as succulents, including the extensive cacti (Cactaceae) family. Some are tall and irregularly shaped like living sculptures; many remain small, making good ground covers. Scores bloom, a few resemble rocks. But most are tough-as-nails survivors – the so-called camels of the plant world, capable of retaining water in their fleshy leaves, stems or roots.
There’s a growing appreciation among gardeners of plants “for their shape and their form and their geometry and the elegance that comes with that, as opposed to the “I just want to grow annuals’ or “Give me my petunias or roses,”‘ said Debra Lee Baldwin of Escondido, Calif., author of “Designing With Succulents” (Timber Press, 2007).
What defines a succulent? Succulents sometimes are referred to as “fat plants” because they are able to survive arid regions by storing water internally, hence their “fleshy” look. Many also developed hard outer layers or skins to minimize evaporation.
Succulents are tough not to love. They’re easy to grow and easy to maintain. They do well indoors or out and can survive dry desert sands or cold Ontario winters. Some prefer partial shade; the majority can handle full sun.
Common easy-care examples include aloe (ornamentals said to have some medicinal qualities but that also look good in pots), sedums (many of which flower and make good ground covers) and the blue agave, which provides the makings for tequila.
“It has been years since I gave someone a house key to come in and water my potted plants when I’m away because I’ve converted all my containers to succulents,” Baldwin said in an exchange of e-mail messages.
“I just water them before I go (if I remember) and they’re fine the entire time, even if it’s midsummer, they’re on the patio and I’m gone for three weeks.”
Succulents are also among the most accommodating plants, generally willing to be placed anywhere, from rocky slopes to the simplest of containers (think bricks and concrete blocks).
They’re versatile enough to thrive in trendy rooftop gardens, be shaped into topiary or serve as blaze-resistant fences around wildfire-prone residential areas. Certain kinds of cacti, notably the prickly pear, can act as a barrier plant for security-conscious gardeners who don’t mind working around their many barbed spines.
“You can also cultivate succulents very easily once you get them started,” Baldwin said. “They’re ideal for people with brown thumbs. They don’t require a high degree of maintenance. In fact, they kind of resent it if you fuss with them too much. These are not Bonsai.”
Succulents propagate readily from the smaller “pups” or from cuttings, the latter not unlike geraniums, she said.
“Because the cuttings are viable for weeks, they are well suited for shipping, provided they’re not exposed to freezing temperatures. So thanks to the Internet, a wide variety of succulents, which used to be a regional specialty, now are available to people who live anywhere in the world.”
Many people who specialize in succulents favor cacti, with their entertaining shapes and spiky skins. While all cacti are succulents, not all succulents are cacti, Baldwin writes.
“Unlike other succulents, cacti have areoles – points from which spines (which are modified leaves), pads, flowers or new branches grow. Another important distinction is that cacti are indigenous to the Americas.”
Cacti generally prefer more light and less water than other succulents, Baldwin said.
Succulents grow well in soil mixtures containing sand, peat moss and wood chips – coarse combinations that drain well. Moisture-retaining clays, for example, simply won’t do. Succulents also prefer a soil pH low in acids, or a growing medium augmented with agricultural lime. Try for a pH somewhere between 6 and 7, she said.
For a long time people had the idea that a garden had to consist of a grassy lawn with flowers and annuals arrayed around it, Baldwin said. “That was the English style of gardening – something that required a lot of love and maintenance.
On the Net:
For more about growing succulents and cacti, see this University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension fact sheet:
http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/cacti.html
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