Designing with SucculentsHow to incorporate succulents and cacti into your garden design
For more than 30 years , Robin Stockwell ofThe Succulent Guyhas been promoting succulents and showing off their sweetheart . As he says in the introduction to his bookSucculents , “ If you present [ succulent ] well , you will show off their singular sweetheart to the fullest . ”
We chatted with Stockwell about all thing succulents , including his tips for succeeder .
In his bookSucculents , Robin Stockwell exhibit a plethora of way succulents can be displayed . “ Aeonium andaloesmake gravid accent among fine - textured grasses , ” Stockwell writes . “ They count a small ghostlike when square up among eatage that rock in the breeze . Photo by : Tom Story .
Garden Design : How did you fall in dearest with succulent ?
Robin Stockwell : I studied political science in college and intended to go into international relative . Somewhere along the way I was enchant by succulents . I pop develop them in college sweet out of the army . Then I started serve a friend grow plants on my mean solar day off and terminate up becoming mate with him when we bought a cactus assemblage .
Initially I was intrigued by the fact that retail nurseries did n’t have succulent , and I was interested in how we could put together a product tune that would work for retail merchant . It was the business side of succulent that first got me concerned .
Back in the 1970s people just were n’t using succulents in landscapes . As I learned more about the plants and see how they could be used I begin to really appreciate the beauty of the works themselves . It was evolutionary .
GD : What are some of your best tips for design with succulents ?
RS : I think the phone number one thing is to not be restrain by them . It ’s OK to make mistakes — succulent are quite forgiving . you could pull them out and move them or cut off the spinning top and replant them . Each time you ’d learn something newfangled about how the flora grow in a space and what plant you like best .
I also like that succulents have a very diverse set of shapes , colour , and size to work with . This means there ’s something for every flair and sizing of garden . But , when you get hold succulents you like and that fit your space do n’t use a muckle of different varieties . Just foot a few to work with and employ a lot of them in large expanse and groupings .
Lastly , there are succulents for wide of the mark cooking stove of mature conditions . There are succulent for shade , light wraith , filtered sun , full sun , salty air , gumption . normally , as long as there ’s salutary drainage and the other plants around them do n’t have to be watered all the time you ’ll be okay .
GD : Do you have any hint for growing succulents and being successful with them ?
RS : Succulents like nice drainage . So if you have soil where drain is bad ( Henry Clay for example ) the easiest thing to do is to mound your soil to bring up it 4 to 6 inches .
If you are capable to substitute your soil or if you ’re adding soil to a newfangled planting bed I recommend a cosmopolitan purpose landscape portmanteau that you’re able to get from a local nursery or bulk materials supplier . Just ensure it ’s a blend that does n’t get too hot ( you do n’t desire too much nitrogen ) . It ’s a good musical theme to better the soil with pumice stone which helps with drainage .
To do a 6- by 40 - foot planting I would lay the soil down and put the pumice stone amendment on top then rototill it in . After that you ’ll be ready to plant .
If you ’re institute a smaller distance or a container you’re able to use a standard bagged cactus mixture , but I recommend rectify it with pumice stone , pearlite , or crushed lava . utilize the ratio of 1 part amendment to 4 portion soil .
GD : What are some tricks you ’ve learned to make succulent look their salutary in the garden ?
RS : I ’m a backpacker and I like to hike in the mountains . I ’ve always say that succulents have a fount ( think bountiful rosette onAeonium ) and that you should think about which charge their face is looking when you ’re plant them . Do n’t establish them all with their boldness looking straight up at the sky . You desire them look all different focusing .
One of the best way to create a active succulent planting is to utilise large boulders and careen . you could insert succulent in and labialise the boulders or allow them mouse over the top . When you plant succulents next to rocks , institute them at an angle . They will look more lifelike and attractive . The angle will enhance both the aesthetics of the rock and the succulent .
GD : What are some of the coarse pitfall when maturate succulents ?
RS : One of the most common questions I get dubiousness is what succulents should I constitute in the shade ? The key to success with succulents in the shade is to not water them too much . I recommend plants such asAeonium canariense , Agave attenuata , andEcheveria imbricata . Other succulents can be used but oftentimes to get their normal coloration , they need sunshine .
GD : When you ’re doing a peck planting how do you know how many plants to utilize ?
RS : With with child plantings I have a general guideline that tell a plant life in a 2 - column inch container will fill a 6 - inch distance in about 1 year . A plant in a 4 - inch container will fill an 8 - in space in about 1 year . If you imbed succulents closer together with equal spacing between each plant they will fill in pretty rapidly . The blank will appear secure for several years but be ready to thin and replants your succulent cuttings in 3 to 5 long time ( this helps keep the plants seem good ) .
GD : Anything else you care to tell people about succulents ?
RS : Many succulents have the most unbelievable flowers . And many ( aloe , for example ) bloom during the winter when little else is in flower . And many succulent also attract hummingbirds to the garden . Some of my favorites are Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree aloes such asAloe feroxandA. speciose . But even low - growing succulent likeEcheveria eleganshave tremendous , vivacious pink blooms .
This incentive subject matter companion “ design with Succulents”—an article that displays seven way to showcase succulent beauty in your garden — in the Spring 2017 issuance ofGarden Designmagazine .
Succulent CareAgave Plants
