Of all the succulents I grow, ghost plants are among the easiest and most remarkable. They are true survivors. Damaged stem? No problem. No water? The plant hunkers down and looks pretty much the same for months. Frost? It’s gotten down to 17 degrees in my garden, and the graptopetalums were fine. Continue Reading →
Nature is astonishing, isn’t it? How delightfully ironic that the flowers of many cacti resemble water lilies and the tops of some, snowflakes. Here are 18 examples to warm you this chilly season. Apologies to cactiphiles; I wasn’t able to identify all of them. If you would like to provide one or more IDs, please do! — Debra
L-R, top: unknown, Epiphyllum sp., Ferocactus wislizeni
L-R, middle: Opuntia sp. (cholla), Chamaelobivia ‘Rose Quartz’ (peanut cactus), Thelocactus nidulans
L-R, bottom: Trichocereus sp., unknown, Mammillaria sp.
I’m often asked to recommend sources of succulent cuttings for wreaths, topiaries and other projects. Unfortunately, most online sources sell cuttings for around $1/apiece, which means a wreath—not counting its moss-packed wire donut—may cost $100 to make. But pre-made wreaths available this time of year not only cost much less, they’re also a great source of cuttings. Garden Life offers wreaths similar to those shown here for $30 plus shipping. Another good mail-order supplier of seasonal wreaths as well as assorted cuttings—including a mix of highly desirable echeveria, sedum and sempervivum rosettes for vertical gardens—is Robin Stockwell’s Succulent Gardens. Continue Reading →
When you think of fall color, Southern California probably doesn’t come to mind. It’s more a Berkshires kind of thing, with entire hillsides ablaze with leaves about to fall. And yet, here in the far southwestern corner of the US, we have our own ways of interpreting the autumn garden—cactus, succulents, dry gardens, fruit and pumpkins all come into play. For example, in a nursery, I saw pumpkins juxtaposed with a blue agave—a nice contrast of color, shape and texture. Continue Reading →
See the seahorse? It’s sempervivums planted in vertical panels. This was one of many lovely and unusual sights at the second annual Succulent Extravaganza at Succulent Gardens nursery in Castroville, CA last week.
A terrace at the nursery is planted with Agave ‘Blue Glow’ (foreground) and Agave ‘Blue Flame’ (background). Continue Reading →
