Gardening
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Easy Succulent Gardening Follow these tips to find success BY NATALIE GILLIILAND
Poppies Flower Shop
We just spent a wonderful weekend in Southern California in Huntington Beach. The smell of the ocean air, clean breeze and crisp mornings were exactly what we needed to recover from a busy Valentine’s Day! One of the things I enjoy about visiting other states is looking at the variety of plants and flowers they have in their climate. California has a lot more humidity than Arizona, and its succulents are incredibly beautiful. When I return from visiting the beach, I always get the urge to plant more succulents at my house. Because the heat is brutal here in the summer, I am going to talk about planting an indoor succulent garden to protect our delicate plants from our summers. There are several important factors to consider when planting any type of indoor garden, especially succulents. The common misconception with succulents is that they are low-maintenance, easy-to-care-for plants. That’s somewhat true. They just take a while to get established and into a healthy routine. Containers are important. You can select a container that has a drainage hole, or we can create our own drainage in the container. When selecting a container, I always recommend choosing one that is one size too big for your succulent or succulent garden. This way, your roots have room to grow and your succulent has room to spread its petals. Once you have your container selected, ensure there is adequate drainage for the
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soil. If your container has a hole built into the bottom, then you are good to go. If it does not, you can easily create drainage by placing a layer of small rocks at the bottom. Depending on the container’s size, I would recommend at least a third of the container to be a layer of rocks. Rocks can also be used in a container that has holes, to keep the soil from leaking everywhere. After you have your drainage, keep the soil in mind. Use a moisture-control soil. Fill the rest of your container with the soil, and now we are ready to plant our succulent. When planting the succulents, squeeze its plastic container to loosen the plant. Once it slips out of the plastic sleeve, comb through the compacted soil and roots to loosen them. Plant the succulent in the new container and cover it with extra soil but ensure the petals are above the soil line. Finally, find a nice sunny spot for your succulent indoors and give him a nice drink of water — but not too much water. Overwatering is the most common way of damaging succulents. I recommend about 2 to 3 tablespoons of water per small succulent only once per week. Wait until the soil is completely dry before watering again. Succulents are often slow growing, so your new container should last about six months before you should move your succulent into something bigger. Enjoy your newly potted succulent garden. Poppies Flower Shop is located at 2450 W. Happy Valley Road, Suite 1147, Phoenix, in the Shops at Norterra. For more information, visit poppiesflowershop.com or call 480-649-7100.
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