Houseplants 101: All About Succulents
You can't just collect one succulent. You demand two, or five, or ii dozen. Many succulents are well-suited as potted plants, and the dazzling variety of forms and colors volition make you desire to keep adding more into the mix. Hither is a simple guide for planting an arrangement of succulents, propagation and care… besides as introducing yous to a few varieties to get you inspired.
View in gallery 
View in gallery The Nuts
- When planting out succulents, the well-nigh of import factor is to avoid having a pot that retains also much water, or else the roots might rot. A wide, shallow pot with a drainage pigsty and saucer is recommended, as is gritty, free-draining soil. (Any soil labeled for cacti and succulents will exercise.) For a piddling extra sweetening of the soil and further protection against root rot, line the bottom of the pot with a sparse layer of horticultural charcoal. Top off the planter with gravel mulch.
- Most succulents love as much sun equally possible. Non every single one, only most of them do. (The #1 dominion with any institute y'all bring dwelling is to read its label.) Abound succulents outdoors if possible, or in the sunniest windowsill in your home; if they don't get enough sun they abound etoliated, or, pale and gangling due to a lack of light.
- Information technology'south better to under-h2o than to over-water. Sempervivums noticeably 'stand on tiptoes', or use their lesser leaves to raise themselves up, when their soil is too damp.
And in case y'all're doubting how rapidly a succulent planter can fill in… the bottom two photos were taken one twelvemonth apart. (The two boosted planters are my doing, though.)
View in gallery Clockwise, from top left: Zebra Plant (Haworthia); Jelly Bean Sedum; Mexican Sedum; Brusk-Leaved Aloe (Aloe brevifolia); Sempervivum 'Sir William Lawrence'
Arranging Succulents
You can create a container garden past filling a planter with succulents. Think contrasting elements of design: size, shape, color, texture. This creates visual interest equally the succulents grow into one some other (but don't forget to leave the plants some breathing room). The tactile quality isn't only visual, either – I also similar examining their surfaces with my fingers, fifty-fifty the toothed edges of the aloe.
A few suggestions:
- Something alpine
- Something ground-covering
- Something rounded
- Something floral
- Something feathery
- Something fuzzy
- Something spiky
- Something REALLY spiky
View in gallery This Aeonium 'Tricolor' grew quickly to a height of 30cm (12″), where it took on a open-branched habit with a solid trunk, in stark dissimilarity to the clumping plants underneath. It has a yellowish/green/pink coloration that grows stronger in summer.
View in gallery This Aeonium 'Zwartkop' ('Schwartzkopf') needs a pot to itself, equally this species can grow to 4ft in the ground (though smaller in the pot). These striking imperial-black plants are very easy to grow in warm, dry climates, although they like a dash of actress water compared to other succulents.
View in gallery Clockwise, from peak left: Echeveria 'Set up-Oliver'; Short-Leaved Aloe (Aloe brevifolia); Easter Cactus (Hatiora); Sempervivum tectorum
Succulents In Flower
Succulents are known for their colorful foliage, merely their flowers are also worth your consideration. The flowers can be a surprise when they appear, as not all of them blossom in summer, and some of them are absolute prove-stoppers.
You can try planting a mass of succulents in ane location to create a wall of solid colour – echeverias can be planted as a spreading groundcover that produce many orange flowers raised on stalks, while Sedum 'Autumn Joy' are cultivated for their pink and purple blooms.
View in gallery Frost-Hardiness and Succulent Coloration
I'one thousand lucky enough to live in a climate where I can abound nigh succulents outside year-round (USDA Zone 9b; read more almost hardiness zones hither). Some succulents are hardy plenty to withstand below-freezing temperatures; in fact, certain varieties of sedums and sempervivums can even survive to -25º F (-32º C). More fragile succulents can stored indoors or in a cold frame over winter, provided they take enough light and they're prophylactic from frost.
Some succulents, similar jades and Christmas cacti, actually won't bloom unless they meet a cool temperature requirement. Leave these outdoors until the first frost.
As for succulent coloration, this tin can exist brought on past cold weather, water stress, or both. Many succulents take on unlike color tones from summer to winter, similar this echeveria which turns pink over the summer and fades to a pale blue in cooler atmospheric condition. Basically, don't care for your succulents too well; neglect = better coloration.
View in gallery Succulent Propagation
Succulents are piece of cake to strike from pups (offshoots that abound from the base of operations) or even from leaves. Place one end of a broken-off leafage into but-dampened soil, and within a few weeks it volition develop roots. Information technology's clay inexpensive to collect infant succulents! I've been filling in this planter with mini sempervivums equally they announced.
By the mode, if you're wondering about the departure betwixt echeverias and sempervivums, which strongly resemble one another, hither y'all go: Sempervivums are known as 'hens and chicks' because they produce and then many pups. They continuously reproduce from these offshoots, and once they flower, they dice. Echeverias flower each year, but they're also less frost-hardy. Either mode, yous should definitely enjoy the bear witness.
View in gallery Have fun with your plants and happy delicious collecting!
Source: https://www.homedit.com/succulent-plants/
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