by Connie Oswald Stofko
I know most of you are dreaming of spring right now. You can’t wait to get outside and arrange perennials in a garden bed or mix annuals in a container.
Don’t just pout and wait for spring. Here’s a gardening project you can do right now: Create a container garden of succulents that you can grow inside.
A project like this allows you to use your creativity, but if you’re a beginning gardener (or a lazy gardener like me), don’t be frightened. Succulents don’t need much care.
Succulents don’t need to be watered much at all, said Mark Yadon, vice president of Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd., Williamsville.
In most homes, you probably have to water succulents only about every three weeks. Of course, if you have your thermostat set at 75 and have a toasty fire going, you’d have to water more often, he said. In the summer, you’ll have to water more often than in the winter, especially if your plant is in a south window.
Many of us grow aloe or jade plants, but there are so many more succulents to choose from. They come in numerous textures and colors. Some are upright and some trail. Take a look at just a few pictured here.
“We have a wide variety of succulents, from agave to zygocactus– from A to Z,” Yadon said. (Zygocactus is often called Christmas cactus.)
It’s okay to grow a single kind of succulent in a container, but you can create more interest when you combine them in a container garden. Use the same design techniques that you would use to create an interesting flower arrangement or lovely container of annuals.
Get creative with your containers, too. You can get ideas from the photos here or get inspiration from a recent Succulent Show at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens as well as from an earlier succulent show.
You’re not limited to a container set on a table top. Use succulents in hanging baskets and vertical gardens, too.
You may have seen vertical gardens outside, but you can hang them inside, too. It’s easy to do using a container manufactured for vertical gardens, which you can purchase at Mischler’s. See the video on how to plant a hanging garden. If you prefer, you also buy the hanging garden already planted.
You can stop in to Mischler’s now to buy succulent plants, a container garden already planted, a container for a wall hanging or a vertical garden already planted.
Mischler’s will also have succulents for sale at Plantasia, which will be held March 20-23, with a preview night on March 19, at the Fairgrounds Event Center and Expo Hall in Hamburg.
Have some fun now with container gardens of succulents.
I like succulents because they require less care and last a long time. Not to mention, you can take cuttings and always have new plants to give away.
There’s a lot to be said for succulents. Thanks, Donna.
How often do you water a jade plant. thank you for your idea. i am going out and buy some.
Water thoroughly when the potting mix is dry. The depletion of the moisture content in containers will vary based on container size, location and room humidity. Typically, succulents require watering every 2 to 4 weeks.
what kind of soil is recommended for succulents. I have some and I want to make sure I plant them in the correct soil.
Hi Celeste,
There is a Cactus/Succulent Mix on the market. As of this writing, our Spring shipment of potting soils has not yet arrived. Any fresh potting mix is acceptable and will do fine. The key is to let the mix dry out before watering. Over watering can result in root rot.
Mischler’s