Growing Succulents

Succulents, with their interesting shapes, textures and colorful foliage, are beautiful yet low maintenance plants. Essentially, a succulent is a plant characterized by its ability to store water either in its leaves, stem or roots. They are able to reserve water in their modified tissues making them tough enough to survive periods of drought.

Succulents need bright sunlight or sunshine for at least half the day. They need very well-drained soil and should not be planted in water-logged spots or positions where they will have wet feet during winter. Being too wet for too long can lead to fungal infections and rotting. Also important to note, is that most succulents die from overwatering. Allow the soil to dry out between waterings. The roots need water, but they also need air to stay healthy. Do not leave your succulents standing in a drip tray filled with water.

Feed your succulents once a month during their active growing season when you can see new growth developing on the plant. Use a liquid plant fertilizer like fish emulsion at half strength.

Succulents can be planted in rockeries and look attractive mixed with rocks. You can also plant them in beds, containers or pockets in retaining walls.
If you are growing succulents indoors, place them on a windowsill where they will receive direct sunlight. A spot close to a window where they will receive very bright, natural light can also work. Poor light will result in weak, spindly growth making the plant more susceptible to disease. Also, when growing succulents indoors, make sure that the room has good air circulation.

I’ll mention some interesting succulents to choose from:
There are plenty of Aloe species available. These flower in autumn/winter and are wonderful for attracting birds to the garden when not much else is in flower.

There are also Euphorbia species, for example, Euphorbia tirucalli ‘Firesticks’, which has brilliant red-orange foliage making it an excellent feature plant. When working with Euphorbia plants, watch out for the poisonous sap which can be a skin irritant and also cause blindness.

There’s the Jellybean plant (Sedum x rubrotinctum) which has tiny leaves that look like jellybeans, hence it’s name. When one of the ‘jellybean’ leaves breaks off and falls to the ground, it will sprout roots and form a new plant.

Echeveria species are also popular at the moment. These are slow-growing, picturesque, rose-shaped succulents. The wide variety of colors available make them ideal for mixed succulent designs.

Other succulents to grow include Portulaca species, which are bright flowering plants to grow during summer, the ever popular Spekboom (Portulacaria afra), and Aptenia cordifolia which is a groundcover known as the Ice-plant with fresh green leaves and tiny red flowers.

Succulents are a good choice for beginner gardeners because they are so easy to maintain. Many of them are also simple to propagate because they form offsets that you can separate from the main plant to form new plants. In addition, they are a great water-wise option so do consider including them in your garden!