Planting Succulents in My Greenhouse
I love evergreen succulents. With their fleshy leaves and extraordinary forms, succulents are easy to maintain and make excellent container plants - I have a large number of these popular specimens in my collection.
Last week, when temperatures in the area dropped to single digits, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, planted a selection of succulents in three faux bois planter boxes I designed for my collection at QVC. These boxes feature a realistic bark texture that add rustic charm to any space.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Succulents, or fat plants, are those that store water in fleshy leaves, stems, or stem-root structures for times of drought. Succulents are often grown as ornamental plants because of their striking shapes.
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- This is one of my faux bois planters from QVC. I love its realistic bark texture. It has three drainage holes in the base to release excess water and measures approximately 30-inches long by 15-inches wide. It also comes with its own stand.
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- Ryan fills the planter with the appropriate medium. Because succulents don’t like wet roots, it is important to use a soil mixture that will drain well.
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- We also use a mix of sand, perlite and vermiculite for best drainage. The right soil mix will help to promote faster root growth, and gives quick anchorage to young roots. Ryan also sprinkles some osmocote fertilizer. Osmocote particles are known as prills. The beige shell on the prill coats a core of nutrients – nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
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- Echeveria is a large genus of flowering plants in the stonecrop family Crassulaceae, native to semi-desert areas of Central America, Mexico and northwestern South America. Ryan uses echeveria in green for this planter box.
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- Before planting, he trims off anything unsightly, along with any leaves that are too close to the bottom of the stem. This is Echevaria ‘Topsy Turvy’.
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- This planting now has enough stem to be planted securely in the box.
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- Echevaria runyonii ‘Topsy Turvy’ has pale leaves that curve upwards and are strongly inversely keeled on the lower surface with leaf tips pointing inwards towards the center of the plant.
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- The Echeveria succulent plant is slow growing and usually doesn’t exceed 12-inches in height or spread.
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- Echeverias are some of the most attractive of all succulents and they are highly valued by plant enthusiasts for their gorgeous colors and beautiful shapes.
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- Ryan uses various sizes to fill all the spots in the planter.
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- Many types of succulents were propagated right here in my greenhouse from other cuttings.
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- This is called ‘Medusa’s Head’, Euphorbia flanaganii – an exotic succulent with multiple snake-like branches. It makes an exceptional container plant and thrives in direct sunlight.
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- This is an Aeonium. This succulent forms rosettes of brilliantly colored fleshy, spoon-shaped leaves. Here, Ryan removes the bottom leaves in preparation for planting.
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- And then gently pushes the stem end of each plant into the growing medium.
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- This is another type of succulent – sedum. The Latin name Sedum, meaning “to sit,” is an appropriate name for these low-growing succulents. They spread rapidly and make great filler plants in arrangements like this one.
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- Senecio is another succulent grown for its decorative foliage. This is Senecio radicans or fish hook plant or string of bananas. It is a great plant for trailing over a planter.
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- Succulents can be planted closely together, so don’t worry if some of them touch each other.
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- Ryan uses garden sod staples to help prop up some of the taller specimens.
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- Succulent comes from the Latin word “sucus,” which means juice or sap. It’s also a nod to the nourishing leaves that help these plants survive in extremely warm conditions.
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- Succulents require very little water to survive – these will be watered about once a week.
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- Shades of green are a given — but you can also find succulents that are blue, purple, pink, orange, and even red!
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- Ryan made sure all empty spaces were filled. Here is one planter box all finished – all these plants will do so well in this vessel.
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- Succulents thrive in bright light and they should do nicely in this vestibule between my greenhouse and head house, where they can drink in lots of natural light even when the sun isn’t directly over their pots.
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- This planter box of succulents was completed last year and placed on its stand.
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- And here are all three of the newly planted faux bois containers – they look great in this space. What are your favorite succulents? Share your comments in the section below. I read every single one of them.
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