Potted Beauty

Wordless Wednesday ~ Blooming

Aloe Minibelle flower in bloom. Makes a great desktop image!

How To: Not Suck at Succulent Care

Succulents are tough.  Not only can they live in some of the worst conditions on the planet, they are easy to kill.  Figure that one out.  They naturally grow in deserts, places where everything else withers and dies, they thrive.  Yet when you bring them home and give them water and nutrients they die.  I guess they are trying to tell us something.  Don’t Water Me!

These matching little beauties are planted in a copper tray. Very pretty display actually.

And any gardener knows, Not watering isn’t as easy as it seems.  When I see a dry pot, my first instinct is to water it.  When we first got our succulents from my Pa, we put them up in the hothouse and treated ‘em like all the other plants.  And they started to show their displeasure almost immediately.  But my dad quickly figured out what he was doing wrong, moved them to the back of the room, and stopped watering.  And now they are Glor-Ious!  Growing like mad!

These all started about 2" high with a few leaves, now they are 6-8" tall.

I was looking around for more information on caring for succulents and the consensus is only water once a week during peak season (mainly Spring and early Summer), and only water once a month during the Winter months.  Be careful though, some cacti and succulents are from the southern hemisphere and they consider our Spring/Summer their Winter, so adjust your watering schedule accordingly.  Another good tip for the unsure gardener, only water when the soil is dry completely through.  And when in doubt, Don’t Water!

One of the coolest things I read I found on CactusLands.  They said you can cover the topsoil of your succulent with pea gravel or crushed granite to help the soil dry at an even rate (helps keep the topsoil moist along with the rest).  It also helps the water distribute evenly.  Very cool.  And I think I’m gonna try it out on a few of ours.

See the little baby in the bottom left corner?

Along with the important lack of water, succulents also don’t particularly care for nutrients.  We planted our succulents in Black Gold (it received the National Home Garden Club Seal of Approval) which is a peat and perlite mixture with no fertilizers, and as I said, they are doing just great.  No matter what brand of soil you use, be sure it has good aeration to allow water and air to the roots.  If you do add nutrients to the soil (they like a little nitrogen) do so sparingly.

Don't water often, but enjoy the beauty when you do. I just love the droplets!

Easter: No ‘Net, Good Food & Succulents Galor!

Steve's parents, Clay (Pa) and Grandma Sarah

Hey Folks, sorry it’s been a while.  My family went down to my grandparents (Steve’s parents) for Easter weekend and unfortunately they are not quite as technologically advanced as the average bear.  No internet, can you believe it?  But then again, would I have found time to write anyway??

My Grandma Sarah & my brother Toby at Easter brunch.

We had a delightful one o’clock “brunch”.  My brother and sister came up from San Francisco to join us.  Steve’s cousin Vince and his family came as well.  Just a small group of 14 (family gatherings are rarely fewer then 20 so this was  nice, intimate, and relatively quiet.)

Vince’s oldest child, Anna, is in eighth grade now and I can’t believe how grown up she is.  It seems like yesterday she was just a kid!  But then again, I certainly don’t feel like enough time has gone by to be 26 myself.

Steve & Vinny at Easter brunch.

While at my Grandma Sarah and Pa’s house I took some pictures of Pa’s succulents and cacti.  Hes got a little shade shed out the sidedoor of the garage.  Every time we visit he gives us some succulents, which we are happy to have.  We are experimenting with propagating them, so far with success (Yeah!).  Currently I don’t know the different species we have but once I find out I’ll be sure to let you know.

These ball cacti are quite menacing don't you agree?

Mixed variety of succulents.

Two varieties of succulents.

This succulent was planted in a hanging pot and had branches almost two feet long!

*All these images were taken with my digital Canon EOS RebelXS using a EFS 18-55mm lens.

~Stephanie