Perfect plants when living in small places
If you have had to downsize your home, chances are you might not have the yard space you once did. So there goes your dreams of a lovely garden.
Or maybe you are just too busy to spend time looking after a large yard.
But all is not lost, if you would still like to practice your green thumb skills.
Succulents are the latest ‘trendy’ plant, appearing in gardens and craft classes everywhere, but there is a reason they are so popular.
They are incredibly versatile, work well in pots and require minimal effort in looking after them. In fact, many of them require minimal watering too.
One of the biggest reasons they are so popular is that they are also so darn adorable. No matter your preference for colour, shape or texture there is a succulent for you.
A current trend is to plant them in a variety of coloured pots, tea cups, and shells or as a way to repurpose old items such as toys and garden water features.
How to plant them
Succulents like good drainage so make sure the pot has a hole in it to allow water to drain out.
Remove any excess soil from the nursery pot, as it might not be the right kind your plant needs in its new environment.
Make sure the soil mix you place your new plant in is a good draining variety. You can use ordinary potting mix but add sand and gravel for better drainage. You can also add rocks or other fill that will encourage drainage too.
Use decorative rocks on top too – as they not only add extra colour they help with soil erosion and drainage.
Wait a couple of days before watering after you have placed your succulent in a new pot, to allow the roots to heal, and so they don’t get root rot.
Place the pots where the plants will get sunlight, but not enough that it will burn them.
Remove any dead leaves from underneath the plant.
Repot them when they grow out of their old one.
Did you know
Succulent comes from the Latin word sucus, meaning juice or sap. Succulents can store water in their leaves or stems.
Cacti are a variety of succulent but not all succulents are cacti. Some look very similar but don’t have the same prickly spikes.
Echeveria, Aloe, Sedum, Kalanchoe, Agave and Crassula are other popular varieties of succulents.
Some variety of succulents are actually weeds and are banned in some states, because they can take over your garden.
Planting succulents in pots slows their growth as it contains the roots.
Succulents grow ‘babies’ you can remove to put into their own pots. Many succulents can be propagated from their leaves too.
They can be planted in shallow pots as many don’t need much root depth, but make sure the water drains well to prevent root rot.
Now just sit back and enjoy the beauty of your new succulent garden.
What is your favourite succulent?
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