Designing with SucculentsHow to incorporate succulents and cacti into your garden design
A cactuscape interplays a carpeting of blueSenecio serpens , bright - yellowEchinocactus grusoniiand candelabra - like pasacana ( Echinopsis pasacanaorTrichocereus pasacana ) . From South America , pasacana resembles the aboriginal Carnegiea gigantea of the Southwest ( Carnegiea gigantea ) ; it also blossom nocturnally . pic by : Jennifer Cheung .
For brainchild from or indoctrination into the amazing public of succulent , look no further than the Desert Garden at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino , California . Its 10 - summation acres are home to 4,000 dissimilar kinds of cacti and succulents , grow in a naturalistic landscape setting . ( succulent are plants that store moisture to last drought ; most cacti are succulents . ) With parts of the garden nearly 100 years older , the collection has long been a plant proving ground for garden designers .
AppealCall it life geometry — the striking shapes of cactus , the elegant arrangements of succulent prickle are unceasingly fascinating . Also prized are such things as the flaccid pastel colors of kalanchoe and shimmering sheets of bloom “ mesembs ” ( from genus Mesembryanthemum , mean “ noonday flowering ” ) in the dead of winter . Perhaps in effect of all is a dull - looking cactus bust forth with striking red flowers that appeal more photographers than insects .
ZonesThe Huntington is in USDA Zone 10 . Most succulent are just outdoors in Zones 9–10 . Some yucca and opuntias tolerate wintertime condition distinctive of southerly Canada . Consider cacti and succulent for movable containers in colder climate .
ExposureFull sun is safe for stout Southwest natives . Soft - will succulents ( such as kalanchoe ) prefer filtered good afternoon lighter . In ecumenical , choose a site offering full sun in the dawning , easy shade in the good afternoon .
SoilMost succulent prefer raised beds or rockeries . Sandy loam is idealistic , allowing water to drain quickly . better heavy filth by adding equal amount of common builder ’s George Sand and gravel .
CareThe rule of ovolo is , water when soil is dry . But unthirsty barrel cacti expect water system at intervals of just one to two calendar month and none at all during the wintertime . Fertilize in leaping and summer with a balanced 10 - 10 - 10 fertilizer .
Tips for Using succulent
Read on for 13 succulent and cacti varieties maturate at the Huntington :
Photo by : Jennifer Cheung
[ 1]ALOE‘HENRY HUNTINGTON’close up reveals a dramatic golden - yellow inflorescence up to 6 feet tall . And it ’s a repeat bloomer . acquire by the Huntington , the plant forms a flashy single - headed idiom 8 to 12 metrical foot tall .
[ 2]ALOE MARLOTHII , from South Africa , with whorls of spiky leaf , produces canary - lily-livered or orange flowers adapted to bird pollination . make a 15 - foot plant , good specimen for large pot or garden accent . Behind , Chorisia speciosa(Brazilian floss silk tree ) .
[ 3]AGAVE PARRYIVAR.PARRYI , with black awl - shaped spines at ends of pudgy grayish leaves , can take the cold of Zone 7 — it is aboriginal to the Chihuahuan Desert . A slow agriculturalist to 30 inches in diameter , then after 25 to 35 old age it sends up an elegant tree - similar flush stalk .
[ 4]MATUCANA INTERTEXTAis a small ball-shaped cactus from Peru , with starry crimson flowers in springtime . produce outside at the Huntington , but is best as a pot plant . It does well in a coastal environs with cooler summers .
[ 5]ECHINOCACTUS GRUSONIIis the famous golden barrel cactus . It flourish in full Sunday . Good rockery accent or great in a pot . flora form a barrel up to 2 feet across , finally a mound of offsets up to 4 feet in diameter . Zones 7–10 .
[ 6]LAMPRANTHUS AURANTIACUS , a pop groundcover in Southern California , is also useful as an accent or even a potted specimen . plane of golden - chickenhearted flowers appear in former winter and early spring .
[ 7]DROSANTHEMUM HISPIDUM , a South African “ mesemb , ” is report to grow outdoors in Colorado , but thrives as a full - sun , 8 - inch - eminent groundcover in Zones 8–10 . In late spring it is covered with a carpeting of brilliant pinkish flowers . Not good for stabilise hillsides , although oft used there — its base are too shallow to truss the territory .
[ 8]ECHEVERIAXIMBRICATA , introduce in the 1890s , is a modeled inheritance succulent with soft , pastel pinkish - blue-blooded leaves . Thrives in geographical zone 9 and 10 as a rockery plant life in semishade . Becomes mound take shape and can be propagated by offset . weewee when leaves become soft .
[ 9]KALANCHOE FEDTSCHENKOImakes a sprawling groundcover or mess plant in Southern California , where it get light frost . Cool temperatures add a pink blush to the folio . If it gets gangling , replant with tip cuttings in fall or other spring .
[ 10]AGAVE VICTORIAE - REGINAE , Queen Victoria agave , forms a solitary ornately decorated rosette that grows up to 24 inches in diameter . produce it as a rockery piece de resistance or a hatful plant life in Zones 8–10 . Wait 35 to 45 years for it to flower .
[ 11]FEROCACTUS GLAUCESCENS , similar to the halcyon barrel ( both from Mexico ) but smaller and eventually offsets to form spiny cluster 2 to 3 foundation across . Use as an emphasis or put in a pot .
[ 12]ALOE‘SOPHIE’is named for my girl — both delightful and unpredictable ! ‘ Sophie ’ the aloe is a repetition boner , a feature article rare in bitter aloes , and produces showy canary - scandalmongering prime . perform well in full sunlight and semishade . take temperatures in the high-pitched twenty .
[ 13]MAMMILLARIA HAAGEANA , a Mexican pincushion cactus , has tiny star - like pink flowers as early as February .
Huntington Botanical Gardens : ( 626 ) 405 - 2100;www.huntington.org
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