SUCCULENTS & CACTI

SUCCULENTS & CACTI

Succulents and cacti don’t need much looking after and often don’t need watering at all in winter, making them a perfect plant for the forgetful novice gardener. They come in an interesting range of colours, textures, shapes and sizes, growing almost anywhere indoors or outdoors. They are sun lovers, tolerating the dry atmosphere in heated or airconditioned homes, and make perfect house plants. Succulents are popular in terrariums, living walls, and any old crockery you no longer use.

Planting:

Succulents need good drainage and at least half a day of direct sun. Most require protection from temperatures below 5ºC. Low-growing succulents are great ground covers and will quickly cover a bank or retaining wall. They are ideal for dry areas, under overhanging eaves, or poked into retaining walls. If there isn’t a good spot in your garden, succulents also do well in containers either indoors or outside, and in hanging baskets or terrariums.

Spring and summer are the best times to plant. If you live in a frost-free area, you could also plant in autumn. We recommend using cacti & succulent mix. This will help your soil drain freely and promote healthy growth.

Place your plants on the garden bed. Check their tags to see how big they’ll get and space them out accordingly. Dig a hole roughly as big as the pot your plant came in. Place plant in the hole and backfill. If planting in a pot or hanging basket, use the same mix of sand and cacti and succulent mix.

For aesthetic purposes, a fine layer of gravel, crushed shell, or pebbles can be placed over the soil surface – this will also deter slugs and snails.

Types of Succulents and Cacti:

Succulents have thickened leaves where they store their own water. There are two main types – those that store water in their leaves and those that store water in their stems. Cacti store water in their stems and have areoles (where spines and hairs grow). Succulents have thick fleshy leaves to store water. Therefore all cacti are succulents.

Some common varieties are:

Agaves: large leafed plants grows in a rosette up to a metre wide. As it grows, shoots sprout along the stem that can easily be propagated 

Aloes: A wide range well known for their healing properties. Their soothing gel-like sap is often used on burns. Grows 30-60cms

Cacti: There are over 200 species of cacti. They range from tall and thin to short and round and do not usually have leaves or branches. They can take the form of single balls or clumps, often flowering.

Crassulas: Have large fleshy leaves branching from stems eg money or the jade tree. Grows about 50cm wide.

Echeveria: A small variety that grows in attractive rosettes and is particularly suited to small decorative settings eg Black Prince can grow 8cm wide

Kalanchoe: A flowering succulent that blooms in early spring with flushes of bright orange, pink or white flowers. They grow between 15 and 45cm tall.

Portulacas: Hardy semi-succulent, and colourful. Great in pots, free-draining areas of the garden, or in hanging baskets.

Sedums: Can be tall, creeping, colourful or shrublike.

Supervivum: (hens & chicks) The mother rosette (hen) spreads in all directions to form offsets(chicks) to reproduce. Can grow 15cm wide 

Yucca: Perennial shrub or tree notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of whitish flowers