Aloe jucunda, a mini aloe with spiny leaves.
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Sedum spurium - photo by Jan Havránek. Hens & Chicks, Sempervivum tectorum.
Growing Made Simple WRITTEN BY Angela Quayle
Succulents are a big trend in Southwest gardening. They come in a myriad of shapes, sizes and colors to delight the senses and they do well with very little care. But not all succulents are created equal – and not all do well in the high desert. A lot of succulents are tropical plants and they won’t survive our cold winters. Or the grower tells you the plant needs full sun and it cooks in our summer sun. You just need to pick the right succulent for the right spot. Put the cold-hardy ones like agave and sedum outside in the garden and keep the tropic plants like aloe and crassula in pots indoors or on a sheltered porch. And take the grower’s suggestions with a grain of salt. Most of them are from California and the sun isn’t as intense. Three hours of sun per day is plenty for those outside plants. The great thing about succulents is that once you have them someplace they’re happy – inside or outside – you can forget about them and they’ll forgive you. They’ll shrivel up when they’re thirsty, but they’ll plump right back up after you water them. You can, however, kill them with kindness. Too much water and attention and they’ll rot and die.
The succulent garden at the Sherman Library & Gardens in Corona del Mar, California. Photo by Jane Johnson. Crassula capitella ‘campfire’ Photo by Eric Hunt.
An inside succulent garden in a ceramic pot. Photo by Loft32.
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