Designing with SucculentsHow to incorporate succulents and cacti into your garden design
For more than 30 yr , Robin Stockwell ofThe Succulent Guyhas been promoting succulents and depict off their beauty . As he says in the introduction to his bookSucculents , “ If you face [ succulents ] well , you will show off their unequaled beauty to the full . ”
We chatted with Stockwell about all thing succulents , including his tip for success .
In his bookSucculents , Robin Stockwell show a plethora of ways succulents can be display . “ Aeoniums andaloesmake with child accents among finely - textured grasses , ” Stockwell writes . “ They look a little ghostlike when settled among grasses that rock in the breeze . Photo by : Tom Story .
Garden Design : How did you go down in lovemaking with succulent ?
Robin Stockwell : I studied political science in college and intended to go into international relations . Somewhere along the agency I was bewitch by succulents . I started growing them in college fresh out of the army . Then I startle serve a friend grow plants on my 24-hour interval off and ended up becoming partners with him when we bought a cactus accumulation .
ab initio I was scheme by the fact that retail nurseries did n’t have succulent , and I was concerned in how we could put together a product line that would make for retailers . It was the business organization side of succulents that first suffer me interested .
Back in the seventies people just were n’t using succulent in landscape painting . As I learned more about the plant and saw how they could be used I lead off to really appreciate the lulu of the plants themselves . It was evolutionary .
GD : What are some of your good tips for designing with succulent ?
RS : I think the identification number one thing is to not be intimidate by them . It ’s okay to make mistakes — succulents are quite forgiving . you’re able to pull them out and move them or cut off the tops and replant them . Each sentence you ’d learn something new about how the plants grow in a blank and what plant you like easily .
I also like that succulents have a very diverse curing of physical body , colors , and size to run with . This means there ’s something for every panache and size of garden . But , when you regain succulent you like and that go your space do n’t employ a peck of different mixture . Just pick a few to wreak with and use a good deal of them in large chimneysweeper and groupings .
in conclusion , there are succulent for wide range of growing condition . There are succulents for shade , low-cal shadowiness , filtered sun , full sun , piquant air , sand . ordinarily , as long as there ’s good drainage and the other plants around them do n’t have to be watered all the time you ’ll be OK .
GD : Do you have any tips for raise succulents and being successful with them ?
RS : Succulents like decent drainage . So if you have soil where drainage is bad ( the Great Compromiser for example ) the easiest things to do is to mound your soil in order of magnitude to set up it 4 to 6 in .
If you are able to replace your territory or if you ’re adding soil to a new planting bottom I recommend a general aim landscape portmanteau that you’re able to get from a local glasshouse or bulk material supplier . Just make certain it ’s a blending that does n’t get too hot ( you do n’t want too much nitrogen ) . It ’s a good melodic theme to repair the soil with pumice stone which helps with drain .
To do a 6- by 40 - foot planting I would lie the soil down and put the pumice amendment on top then rototill it in . After that you ’ll be quick to constitute .
If you ’re plant a belittled space or a container you’re able to use a standard bagged cactus mix , but I commend rectify it with pumice , pearlite , or crushed lava . Use the ratio of 1 part amendment to 4 parts soil .
GD : What are some tricks you ’ve pick up to make succulents look their in force in the garden ?
RS : I ’m a backpacker and I like to hike up in the mountains . I ’ve always say that succulents have a brass ( guess bragging rosettes onAeonium ) and that you should think about which direction their face is looking when you ’re set them . Do n’t plant them all with their boldness look straight up at the sky . You want them look all unlike directions .
One of the sound ways to create a dynamic succulent planting is to utilize declamatory boulders and rock music . you may insert succulents in and round the Boulder or let them fawn over the top . When you implant succulents next to rocks , plant them at an angle . They will look more natural and attractive . The slant will heighten both the aesthetics of the rock and the succulent .
GD : What are some of the coarse pitfall when growing succulent ?
RS : One of the most vernacular interrogation I get questions is what succulent should I plant in the specter ? The key to success with succulents in the shade is to not watering them too much . I recommend plant such asAeonium canariense , Agave attenuata , andEcheveria imbricata . Other succulent can be used but oftentimes to get their normal colouration , they need sun .
GD : When you ’re doing a volume planting how do you know how many plant to utilize ?
RS : With large planting I have a general guidepost that say a flora in a 2 - in container will fill a 6 - column inch space in about 1 year . A plant in a 4 - inch container will fill an 8 - in space in about 1 year . If you plant succulent closer together with equal spacing between each industrial plant they will fill in jolly quickly . The space will appear good for several years but be ready to thin and replants your succulent slip in 3 to 5 year ( this aid keep the plant life looking good ) .
GD : Anything else you like to recount multitude about succulent ?
RS : Many succulent have the most incredible flowers . And many ( bitter aloes , for illustration ) bloom during the winter when little else is in bloom . And many succulents also attract hummingbird to the garden . Some of my favorites are tree aloe such asAloe feroxandA. speciose . But even low - growing succulents likeEcheveria eleganshave wonderful , vivacious pink bloom .
This bonus content accompany “ Designing with Succulents”—an article that displays seven ways to showcase succulent smasher in your garden — in the Spring 2017 issuing ofGarden Designmagazine .
Succulent CareAgave Plants
