Succulents

With the current trends to drought-proofing your garden. These plants can provide a surprisingly colourful option that can be kind to arms and legs, provide seasonal flower displays and focal points of dramatic effects.

Most succulents come from South Africa, but some come from Mexico and North and South America. In Chile’s high altitudes some succulents may have hairs or ‘bloom’ on leaves to absorb heat and protect against snow in the Andes. Succulents can vary in height from a couple of inches to trees. To distinguish between Cacti and Succulents: Cacti have a ‘pad’ at the base of each spine, Succulents have the spine coming straight out of the body of the plant.

Succulents are easy to grow from a stem, root or leaf. Use a mixture of potting mix with half coarse river sand. They need dry conditions. Test the soil by inserting a pencil, if it comes out moist, dry it out a bit more! Some succulents produce tall stems of flowers; others are excellent in hanging baskets, for example ‘Jade necklace’ (Crassula).

There are a great variety of shapes, colours, sizes, ‘leaves’ and flowers – varying from tiny Euphorbias to the giant Selenicereus grandiflorus (Queen of the Night), which opens only for one night! Succulents have a great variety of colour: white, cream, yellow, orange, red, pink, purple and black.

• The Aloes: vary from 1-in diameter to trees 45-ft (15 metres) tall; extremely florescent, bring honeyeaters; need a half day of sun; small 4-in (10cm) varieties with beautiful colour in foliage. There is a climbing aloe with clusters of flowers and green leaves, has a thin rhizome, which can be attached to a fence or trellis.

• Crassula: can grow to 1-metre high (3 ft); foliage varies; pink or white flowers. ‘Hummel’s Sunset’ has bright yellow leaves. ‘Chinese Lantern Plant’ is a vine that can be wound round a trellis and has most unusual flowers.

• Euphorbias: ‘Medusa’s Head’ with tiny yellow flowers; sap is dangerous. Euphorbia ‘Milii’ or Crown of Thorns can also be yellow-flowered. E. Flanaganii the ‘cristata’ variety has sinuous crested branches, or crested stem.

• Bromeliads: take pups from underneath. ‘Dickii’ flowers on a 2 ft 6 in (80cm) stem.

• Echeverias: from Mexico E. secunda needs full sun, good in a 14-in (35cm) pot. Short stemmed, yellow flowers. E. ‘Black Prince’ grows from a leaf (put them in sand in semi shade).

• Stapelia: ‘milkweeds’ from India are good in a basket.

• Glottiphyllum: leaves are very fleshy and the seeds are dispersed by the first rain.

• Hoyas: are succulents with 32 species.

• Kalanchoe: var. ‘Angel’s bells’ is best in baskets. ‘Golden Girl’ is 18-in (45cm) with tall, furry leaves.

• Rebutia: R. Alaska has hundreds of flowers, excellent in window boxes.

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