Cacti and Succulents

Garden Gallery of Cacti and Succulents

For many years, the collections of cacti and succulents at Powell Gardens were stored in a greenhouse at the back of the property and not readily available for our visitors to explore.

Occasionally, a few plants from the collections would be included in a garden or part of a temporary display. The transformation of a greenhouse by the Millstone Fountain and Menu Garden changed that. Eric Perrette, lead horticulturist of the North Gardens at Powell, came up with the idea and led the initiative to develop a permanent display in a public part of the gardens. The display of cacti and succulents has quickly become a visitor favorite.

The Cacti and Succulents Garden Gallery features plants from our arid collection. Full of thorns and hard to move, the larger cacti specimens are placed prominently and considered permanent features. Medium sized plants rotate in and out.

Planted directly in a layer of gravel are drifts including agave, pickle plants, and lifesaver cacti.

To help camouflage the greenhouse’s concrete walls, Eric and Casey McNeel, senior gardener, created four succulent walls. Using propagated plants from the collections, Casey takes each year’s initial design concept and recreates it with the succulents. It’s fun watching it come together in February. Towards the end of February, once the plants have rooted in a bit, the living walls are stood up and attached to the greenhouse walls. The succulent walls receive a quick shower of water every 2-3 days and fertilized monthly with a well-balanced liquid fertilizer.

On either side of the greenhouse are curtains of string of bananas (fast growing with larger leaves) and string of dolphins (slower growing).

Overhead, hanging baskets include donkey tails sedum, donkey ears kalanchoe, and combination succulent baskets.

The Cacti and Succulents Garden Gallery is open for visitors March-December. During the annual Festival of Lights from mid-November through December, a colorful Christmas cactus display is added.

Eric’s Fun Succulent Facts • All cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti. • Succulents come in every color of the rainbow. • There are 10,000 species of succulents in the world. • Succulents are easy to propagate from stems and leaves. • Succulents get their name from their thick, sap filled leaves. • Succulents grow in sunny, hot and dry conditions. • Some succulents have a chalky film on the leaves to help protect them from sunburn. • African baobab is the largest succulent in the world maturing at 80’ tall. • Succulents are found on every continent except Antartica. • The stomata close during the day and open at night to keep the plant from losing water.

SUSAN MERTZ Plantswoman

Build a Succulent Wall

The succulent wall can be larger or smaller depending on the setting. The wall or plants should be moved inside during the cold months to overwinter. To protect the structures from rotting, Eric and Casey used cedar wood. Our materials list included 2’ x 6’ boards to create a finished size of 8’ wide, 4’ tall. To give additional support, 1” x 2” boards, either 8’ or 4’ long, were attached to the back like a tick tac toe board.

First, build the outer frame and lay the structure down on the ground. Staple chicken wire in place for the outer planting wall. Then, staple a layer of window screen that will be next to the soil mix. Add the bottom board and sides. Build and attach the next frame wall with the inside layer of window screen and outside layer of chicken wire. From the top, fill with Promix and Turface. Be certain to fill the structure high with the soil mix and keep pressing down as it will settle when stood upright. Attach the top board in place once it is filled with the soil mix. Finally, finish with 1x4 cedar boards on the front to create a frame and help cover up the staples and chicken wire edges.

To plant, cut holes in the screen and add the succulents. For two weeks, keep the installed wall flat on the ground to give the plants time to root in. Our succulent walls are attached to the greenhouse concrete walls with brackets to prevent them from tipping over.

Favorite Plants

Panda plant Kalanchoe tomentosa: native to Madagascar, the soft leaves are fuzzy and silver. It’s also included in the sensory walk at Powell. (photo 5)

Chair designed by Rebecca Carbonell, Senior Gardener/Photos by Susan Mertz.

Hens and Chicks Echeveria sp.: easy to grow and cold tolerant, it’s a good filler plant for succulent walls. (photos 2, 4, 11)

Pickle plant Kleinia Stapeliiformis: native to South Africa, the tips have orange flowers in the spring. (photo 10)

Fishhooks Senecio radicans: grow long strings of narrow banana-like leaves and are great for hanging baskets. (not pictured)

Saguaro cactus: native to Arizona’s Sonora Desert, mature specimens have arms and can mature at 40’ tall. (not pictured)

Jumping cholla Cylindropuntia fulgida: native to Southwestern United States, the plants have wicked spines. We have to be careful moving it as the arms easily drop off. (photo 3)

Barrel cactus Ferocactus: native to the desert states and into central Mexico, the flowers are edible, but the fruits are not. (photos 1, 8, 9)

Agave: the blue agave is best known as the base ingredient for tequila and also useful as a sweetener. (photo 6)

Aloe: most are familiar with aloe vera as a treatment for sunburn. (not pictured)

Lifesaver plant Huernia zebrina: as the flowers mature and open, they look like a red Life Savers’ candy but are toxic. (photo 7)

Carrion plant Stapelia gigantia: native to South Africa, the huge hairy stinky flowers have a star shape and attract flies. (not pictured)

With over 25 years in the horticulture industry and public gardening community, Susan is Director of Horticulture at Powell Gardens. Married, with grown children and a granddaughter, Susan and her husband love to travel and want to see the world. Or, as much of the world as is covered by their frequent flyer miles. As long as there is a garden or two included in each vacation spot, her suitcase and camera bag are packed.