My alien succulents—find your own at a succulent and cacti show this weekend!by Tara Nolan |
This past spring at Canada Blooms, I attended one of Marjorie Mason’s seminars where she spoke about xeriscaping. It was inspiring to hear how some of Marjorie’s land was originally very sandy and through continuous mulching she was able to feed her soil and make things grow. Part of the magic is also knowing which plants will thrive in drier conditions. That’s where xeriscaping comes in – choosing plants that can adapt to a dry environment and finding native varieties that have already adapted to the growing conditions in your particular area. This was a really helpful seminar for me as the soil tends to be very sandy in front of my house and I came away with some great ideas.
Succulents, such as hens and chicks, do very well in dry conditions as they retain water in their leaves, stems and roots. Last year I planted some hens and chicks out front in an area that gets a lot of sun and that can become rather dry. I’ve included a photo to show how they’ve spread and spawned (I say ‘spawned’ because these sweet alien-looking flowers sprouted out of my little cluster and ’spawn’ seems to be an appropriate description).
You can look for your own interesting succulents and cacti this weekend at the annual Ontario Cactus & Succulent Society (OCSS) Show at Sherway Gardens. Hundreds of rare, unusual and expertly grown cacti and succulents will be on display and there will be experts available to give you more information about xeriscaping and to provide valuable growing tips. Maybe you, too, will be able to find that perfect succulent for a dry spot in your garden.
Tags: cacti, dry gardening conditions, hens and chicks, marjorie mason, ontario cactus and succulent society, sandy soil, succulents, xeriscaping
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Hello,
I have a silly question…I am growing a hydrangea and gardenia indoors…
So far they are doing great as I keep the bottom dish with water, mist them daily and fertilize every two weeks.
Any other suggestions?
~ Gabriela ~
That’s not a silly question! Sounds like you are doing all the right things to help them flourish! I would dry the hydrangea blooms so you can admire them all year!
I was reading your blog on alien succulents. I live in Calgary and let me say that when it comes to planting heat/drought resistant plants; this is one area where it is vitally important. It is a desert! I am just starting out with my garden as we finally have our own home. I am reading local gardening books (calgary gardener) due to the unique challenges our high altitude, chinooks and cool summer nights present. I decided the easier, more eco way to go was deciduous trees, shrubs and plants. I am sure I will end up with some succulents (hens and chicks most likely) as they make a great ground cover, are ridiculously easy to transplant (even for a novice like me), and they have proven themselves in this climate. They are thriving in my mothers front yard!
I was glad to find your blog. (Canadian
) I will continue to read your entries.
Welcome, Melanie! I will likely be blogging even more about drought-resistant plants…the city of Toronto has recently dug up a huge patch of my lawn for water pipe maintenance and it is literally a sand dune! My grass isn’t faring so well this summer either. I’m toying with turning my whole lawn into a garden with hardy, drought-resistant plants!