Gardening Succulents

Host: Gary Bachman, Ornamental Horticulture Specialist

Transcription:

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

Southern Gardening with Gary Bachman is produced by the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

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 and upright growers. And species names such as crassula, esvernera, euphorbia, and kalanchoe just adds to the confusion. Let’s face it, there are literally hundreds available.

A brilliant idea that 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 six hours of the 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 succulent 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 a 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 am horticulturist Gary Bachman enjoying our Southern Gardening.

Southern Gardening with Gary Bachman is produced by the Mississippi State University Extension Service.