North Florida Month-to-Month Gardening Guide   January 2008  by Nancy George

Cacti and Succulents

{sidebar id=3}Looking for plants with a contemporary element, unusual forms, vibrant colors, striking foliage and extraordinary flair while remaining low  maintenance?  Then look to succulents and cactus.  Whether planted in large numbers or used as a single specimen these plants are both beautiful and enduring.  The colors, shapes and textures are endless.  There are so many varieties that can be either planted in the landscape or used in containers and a lot of these beauties are totally hardy to frost.

What to Buy / Plant

Many succulents have delightful flowers and many look like a giant roses such as jovirbarba which has spectacular orange pendulous blooms.  Bulbine is a tough growing plant that blooms profusely.  Dyckias, aloe, euporbias, and opuntia are great in the landscape and all mentioned are frost tolerant.  Echeveria and sedums are ground hugging and make a hardy groundcover.  Agave varieties come in blue gray or variegated green and cream.  Hoya, kalanchoe, devils backbone, living stones, and Christmas cactus need protection from freezing temperatures.  Look for Gasterias and Haworthias both native to South Africa, the latter is grown for their unique markings.

Prune/ Propagate

Succulents are propagated by leaf cuttings, when a piece of the fleshy leaf breaks off simply let it lie and in time roots will develop. Also, many plants produce multiple crowns that can be divided.

Watering

These plants are extremely drought tolerant and depending on variety can go for a several weeks to several months without watering. Good drainage however is essential.

Pests

Rarely do these plants have problems with pests. Some will get mealy bug. Euphorbias produce milky latex when disturbed, wash hands to avoid exposure to the eyes. 

For Fun

Make Hypertufa, a lightweight artificial stone composed of 1 part ready-crete cement - 2 parts peat, 2 parts perlite. These homemade containers are Intended to resemble rock troughs and are perfect for succulents.

This article originally published on January 10, 2008.

Written by :

mkwestmark

 

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