Succulents in the Garden

Looking for garden plants that are also really easy to grow, succulents may be the answer today on Southern Gardening.

I was looking at the many ideas for growing succulent plants on Pinterest, and decided I needed to try some in my garden. But which ones? Succulents are plants with soft and juicy leaves and stems in a wide array of colors and textures and a good choice for low water use gardening. Growth habits include ground hugging creepers to upright growers. And species names such as Crassula, Echerveria, Euphorbia and Kalanchoe just adds to the confusion. Let’s face it there are literally hundreds available.

A brilliant idea I found at the garden center was a collection of various succulents all packaged together making the buying decision easy. Grown outside succulents are perfect for container gardens as long as the location gets about 6 hours of full sun. I brought my collection home and planted a couple of combination containers made from recycled fence boards for a rustic look. Since many succulents are from frost free regions planting in containers makes it easy to bring them inside during cold weather. Succulents do not tolerate a soil that is too wet, so planting in well-drained soil is a must. These plants tend to be slow growers so pruning is generally not required.

If you’re not already growing succulents, consider trying some for really carefree gardening indoors or out. Until next time, I’m horticulturist Gary Bachman enjoying our Southern Gardening.