Caring for Succulents
Succulents for Hawaii, Florida, Tropics
Will succulents grow in tropical climates like Hawaii and Florida? You might assume so, considering succulents like the same conditions we do when on vacation: Plenty of sunshine, not too hot, breezy and balmy. However,
Read MoreTreat Your Agaves Before It’s Too Late
The agave snout-nosed weevil exists in greater numbers and is more active than ever before. Don’t wait for signs of infestation; take preventative measures now to protect your agaves, furcraeas, beaucarneas, nolinas, mangaves and yuccas.
Read MoreSucculent Lovers’ Favorite Tools
Do you own the favorite tools of your fellow succulent lovers? Consider: We differ from other gardeners in that our prized plants can turn on us. Cacti, agaves, euphorbias and even aloes can act like dogs who resent having their nails trimmed. (I don’t know about yours, but my Chihuahua is a two-person job.)
Read MoreYour Autumn Succulent Checklist
This autumn succulent checklist will help you keep your prized plants snug and healthy during the fall and winter months.
Read MorePost-Summer Succulent Concerns
After a brutal, early-September heat wave, I address ten common, post-summer succulent concerns. You’ll see them in my a new six-minute video: Post-Summer Care for Succulents (6:49). It’s a candid, warts-and-all, behind-the-scenes, damage-control tour.
Read MoreLate Summer Succulent Care: Six Essentials
These six late-summer care essentials for succulents come from my own experience with growing hundreds of varieties for decades. In my inland Southern CA garden, late summer heat can do as much damage than midwinter frosts. Below is what I do routinely every year.
Read MoreDon’t Let a Heat Wave Ruin Your Succulents
You have two options for protecting your succulents from heat waves that follow cool weather:
1. Move them. Of course this is only possible if they’re in pots. But don’t forget to do it! When sudden heat and sun hit, succulents that haven’t had time to acclimate may sunburn. There’s no reversing the resulting brown or beige patches.
12 Mistakes Beginners Make with Succulents
My what-not-to-do’s are simple to avoid, but not especially easy to remedy. A smart succulent owner learns what may be expensive to fix, can cause prized plants to look dreadful, and may even kill them.
Read MoreSucculent Garden Maintenance: Tasks
Do these succulent garden maintenance tasks seasonally to keep your succulent garden healthy and looking good: Trim damaged or excessive growth
Prune succulents to show the beauty of the plants and keep them tidy. Use cuttings to
Succulent Garden Professionals: Referrals
Where to find or recommend a succulent garden designer or maintenance professional. Do you know or need someone skilled in this? Tell us!
Read MoreTen Tips for Establishing a Succulent Garden
These ten tips for establishing a succulent garden are from “Celebrating the Joy of Succulents” newsletter subscriber George Tabora of Riverside, CA (between Los Angeles and Palm Springs). His tips are hard-won, based on trial and error.
Read MoreHow Rain Benefits Succulents
Here’s how rain benefits succulents: It provides dissolved minerals and washes away dust that inhibits photosynthesis; it dilutes and flushes salts and harmful chemicals that have built up in the soil from tap water; and it provides nitrogen essential to growth,
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