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This weekend, I went with my fiance to an educational workshop for her work. Before we went, we took a look at the seminars that were planned. One caught my eye. It revolved around succulents and how to grow and maintain them. I don’t exactly have a green thumb, seeing as most plants I tried to grow would die within the month. This sadly also includes a small cactus that I had received from a graduation party. I was excited with the prospect of learning what I had done wrong the first time and to grow from that.
After learning the basic care and maintenance of succulents from that seminar, my mind started to wander and I went online to see what I could learn more on the subject. This led me down another agricultural rabbit-hole, this time on succulent plants; what they are and how to grow them.
[img source: https://www.homedit.com/succulent-arrangements/ ]
What a succulent is varies based on who you ask. If you ask a botanist, they would likely answer that it’s a plant that grows special tissue that is thicker and fleshier than normal that is used to retain water in dry, hot climates or soil. This definition is more inclusive, including cacti. If you ask a hobby horticulturist, they would say that it’s any desert plant that the would wish to grow, oftentimes, being much more exclusive.
The water-bearing flesh that these plants grow are one of a myriad features that distinguish succulent plants and help it to live where other plants would be unable. Other notable traits include: absent, reduced or cylindrical leaves, compact, reduced, cushion-like, columnar, or spherical plant shapes, nigh impregnable skin with a waxy, hairy or spiny outer surface, and roots that are very near the surface for easy access to surface water.
Compared to some of the other plants that I’ve tried to grow (lima beans and such for school mainly, and that poor, poor cactus), succulents are pretty easy to cultivate and maintain. In fact, the woman leading the seminar joked about them “thriving on abuse.” These hardy plants don’t need to be watered until their soil runs dry, nor do they need constant attention. All they need is a bit of water, good draining soil, and sunlight.
Ideally, when you are looking to plant your first succulent, you want to be sure that you have a fast draining pot and fast draining soil. The standard terracotta pot with a hole at the bottom is a perfect receptacle and if you mix your potting soil with an aggregate like perlite or pumice, in even parts, you’ll have an ideal substrate for planting.
[img source: https://mountaincrestgardens.com/blog/planting-succulent-cuttings-a-visual-guide/ ]
Planting and propagation are easy as well. The most common way is to take cuttings and plant them in the soil to root. Another is by dividing a large clump up by the stem and roots. The most fascinating one that I have found is that by breaking off some of the leaves at the base, some will start growing new buds and form a small plant of their own.
[img source: https://mountaincrestgardens.com/blog/planting-succulent-cuttings-a-visual-guide/ ]
There are 12 varieties that I’ve found which are very forgiving and won’t die, even for those with the blackest of thumbs. These are aeonium, agave, aloe, cacti, jade crassula, echeveria, euphorbia, haworthia, ice plants, kalanchoe, sedum, also called stonecrop, sempervivum, also known as hen and chicks, and senecio. Each of these plants are beautiful in their own right, and some of these are fairly common, depending on where you’re living.
[img source: https://theheartoftheseahome.typepad.com/the_heart_of_the_sea/2015/04/succulents-and-the-drought.html ]
After that seminar, my fiance and I bought a succulent arrangement and brought it home. It sits on the windowsill in our bedroom and is a welcome sight to come home to after our long day at work. I am looking forward to cultivating my new hardy green succulent friends for years to come and I hope that you take the same -leaf- of faith that I did. If you have any succulents of your own, or know someone who does, we would love to see and/or hear about them!
[the succulents I have at home!]
Information Sources:
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Dimmitt, Mark. “The Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society”. www.tucsoncactus.org.
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https://www.sunset.com/garden/garden-basics/types-of-succulents
Other great source of information
https://www.epicgardening.com/how-to-propagate-cactus/?msID=c5d57300-5980-4387-8a29-cf4fe3ef1634
