Gardeners who are looking for a low maintenance style to fit in a small space will find success with miniature xeriscape gardens planted with succulents. A collection of succulents will withstand hot weather while requiring less amounts of water. Many succulents will attract pollinating insects and birds but not foraging deer, a great asset to any outdoor garden.
Succulent Container Garden Collections
Container garden collections with succulents can be made anywhere dry soil is located in full sun. Gardeners will want to choose succulents based on where the plants will permanently be located. Succulents should be chosen taking into account their plant hardiness unless the container garden will be moved indoors during freezing temperatures.
Mixing Sedum x ‘Bertram Anderson,' a succulent hardy in zones 3 – 9, with Alternanthera ficoidea ‘Red Threads,’ a perennial often treated as an annual plant, means they would be separated in fall or the pot moved indoors. Sedum x ‘Bertram Anderson is also called a black leaf stonecrop. The smoky dark purple foliage edges gracefully over a pot’s rim. Alternanthera ficoidea ‘Red Threads’ leaves create a carpet of dark burgundy. The plant is not grown for its minute-sized flower perched where the leaf and stem meet.
In contrast, Echeveria ‘Perlevon Nurenburg’ is a succulent only hardy in zones 9 – 11. The round rosette form has a rosy and dusty green coloring. On a bed of Delosperma, commonly called ice plant, the low growing Echeveria petal-leaves look like they are floating on a sea of green.
A more complex xeriscape collection can be made in a larger planter. Here is a list of the plants with a variety of forms and colors and a brief description of each:
- X Graptosedum ‘Bronze’has a pinkish tinge to its leaves but the flowers are pale yellow. It has limited hardiness, zones 10 – 11.
- Sedum sexangulare is a stonecrop, a species of the genus Sedum. It is fast growing and can be used as a groundcover in zones 3 – 8.
- Sedum album is a white stonecrop and hardy in zones 3 – 9.
- Pachyveria glauca, again only hardy in zones 10 and 11. It is another type of succulent that forms a rosette.
- Kalanchoe thrysifolia ‘Flap Jack’ has large flat leaves that will be either tinged with or completely red, depending on the amount of full sun the plant receives daily.
- Echeveria runyonii ‘Toppy Turvy’ has bluish green leaves. It does not have the typical rosette form as the leaves are narrower.
- Echeveria runyonii ‘Silver Onion’ is hardy in zones 8 – 11 with the typical rosette form.
Echeveria is often confused with hens-n-chicks, botanically Sempervivum, because of their rosette forms. However, Echeveria is not cold hardy and Sempervivum withstands below freezing temperatures.
Echeveria Plants
Echeveria has become a very popular plant and with such a large succulent genus, it can be the impetus for many succulent gardens in containers. Because Echeveria plants are not cold tolerant, gardeners have found they make excellent houseplants too, still only needing minimal watering indoors. Another popular succulent often used in gardens is Euphorbia for its drought tolerant properties and variety of colors.
Plant terms succulent, sedum and stonecrop are often used interchangeably. All succulents are not cacti but all cacti are succulents. Sedums are a genus of succulents often used in northern outdoor gardens for their cold hardiness. Stonecrop is a word used to describe some sedum.
Succulent Plant Maintenance Care
Caring for miniature xeriscape container gardens planted with succulents is not difficult. Outside, containers with succulents grow best in full sun in soil that dries quickly. Containers that are shaped low and wide, like deep saucers, with drainage holes are best.
During the summer, water plants thoroughly until the water runs out the bottom. When it is cold or it has been rainy, delay watering; indoors during winter, gardeners should water less frequently.
Building Small Space Hot Weather Gardens
Building a garden to fit a small space and withstand hot weather is simple with succulent plants. The variety of succulents allows gardeners to be creative mixing plant forms and leaf colors with other types of plants. Succulents are deer resistant, drought tolerant and attract butterflies to any outdoor location during summer.
Public desert gardens are a good place to see live displays and record combinations a gardener finds appealing to try at home. Agave plants and yucca flowers provide more inspiration for outside and indoor gardens.
Reference:
Miles Anderson, 1999 Illustrated Encyclopedia Cacti and Succulents. Amness Publishing Limited.
Permission received for all photos used in this article.
Chris Eirschele - Chris writes on plants grown and gardens explored; she is a member of the Garden Writers Association.
Join the Conversation