You may have noticed around the Gold Coast, the increasing use of succulents in Council gardens and roundabouts.

Landscape designers are now using these drought tolerant, tough and architecturally stunning plants in many of their garden designs. Our team love incorporating these textural plants into our planting schemes, as they provide interesting accent and require little attention.

How to grow them is easy

Succulents can be propagated by snapping off the fleshy stems and leaving them to dry,or callus (like a frangipani), in a cool shady spot. Once dry, they can be planted into a free draining cacti /succulent potting mix and within a few weeks you will have a new plant. When planting in the garden ensure the soil media is sandy and free draining and the aspect is warm and sunny. Watering in the summer months is more than adequate if done on a twice weekly basis, but caution is needed during winter, as you need to limit watering only if the plants dry out.

Our top 5 Succulents 

1. AgaveAgave plant

Agave are native to the hot and arid regions of Mexico and the Southwestern United States, the Caribbean and South America. There are over 200 species and the spiky plump leaves
are great architectural features in
the garden. They are extremely hardy and will only require little watering in the winter months.

 

 

 

 

2. Sedum morganianum

This plant also known as donkey or burros tail , is native to Honduras and southern Mexico.It  produces trailing stems up to 60 cm long, with fleshy blue-green leaves and pink to red flowers in the summer months. It looks great in a hanging basket.(see Tim, one of our team members tending to some sedum baskets).

 


3. EcheveriaEcheveria plant

The ubiquitous rosettes of the Echeveria plant are most recognizable and come in a range of colours. Native to the Americas, the leaf colours are more vibrant in the cooler months and do prefer a water during the warm summer months.

 

 


4. SenecioSenecio plant

This large genus of plants are found all around the world, but only some are succulents.The striking ground cover succulent species have grey or blue leaves and look great in pots  or containers. Like Echeveria  they prefer being well watered in the summer.

 

 

 

 

 

5. Aeonium Aoenium

These  plants are native to North Africa and the Canary Islands. Their fleshy leaves grow in the winter and enjoy full winter sun, but can also tolerate shade. Our team love using the purple leaved Aeonium arboreum for its attractive form and colour.