Succulents

Like everything at Mooseys Country Garden, my succulents are starting to outgrow their allocated space. I know from my frost experiences that they can't easily be planted in the garden itself, though of course there are many suitable sheltered spots. I prefer to grow them in sheltered pots!

Jerome the Cat with Succulents

I feel I'm a fraud trying to talk knowledgeably about these brilliant plants, since I know so few of their names. I'm really out of my depth - this is strictly writing-with-reference-book-in-hand. I think I have examples of the following in my succulent family - aeonium, sempervivum, echeveria, kalanchoe, sedum, cotyledon - see what I mean?

My succulent family lives mainly in pots around the house. I am forever building new pots by breaking off old stalks and poking them in new potting mix. I've been tempted quite a few times by the mail order catalogues - their descriptions and colour combinations sound so interesting, as do the names of the hybrids. How I wish that I'd kept the labels...

One of my mail order catalogues has the following introduction: 'Succulent plants are noted for their interesting appearance, and the general ease in which they can be grown'... makes them sound a bit boring and normal (which they're not). So in an attempt to do justice to these awesome plants, here are some photos of my favourites. And you'll forgive me if I don't exactly know the correct names...

A dearest gardening friend is a member of the Succulents and Cactus Society. She grows some rare and unusual succulents in her garden. So why don't I ask her?

Aloe - not a Polyphylla!...
Tue 9th Feb 2010

I'd love to own an Aloe Polyphylla, a spiral aloe. Alas - I only grow a straight-up, no-twirly-nonsense one. It sits on my succulent shelf on the patio, sheltered from any winter frosts by the house wall.

Agave...
Sat 9th May 2009

Agaves grow well in my garden, though I've put them in sheltered spots - and sheltered pots! Adult plants take up a lot of room, and it's unwise to put them anywhere where people might walk. Ouch - those spikes!

Green Succulent - Jade Plant...
Wed 19th May 2004

Here's another beautiful succulent (this time a rich bright green) which I have growing in several pots, and whose name I'm not certain of. A kind reader has suggested it's a Jade Plant, or Crassula ovata. Hope I've got it right!

Succulent - Sempervivum No 2...
Tue 18th May 2004

Here I go being vague again! I've found a photograph of this succulent in a garden book which tells me it's a sempervivum. I'll go with that, until I find out otherwise.

Succulent - Sempervivum No 1...
Thu 13th May 2004

Please let me have the name of this succulent right! I grow it in pots which I placed in different garden beds. This blue and white pot sits on my patio steps.

Succulent - Pink Sedum...
Tue 11th May 2004

I'm in trouble - I'm not sure exactly what this succulent is called, though I'm thinking it must be a type of sedum. I adore its subtle flesh-pink colour.

Succulent - Blue Sedum...
Mon 10th May 2004

I'm in trouble again! I think this beautiful blue succulent is a type of sedum. Help!

Succulent - Echeveria glauca...
Mon 10th May 2004

I bought this big succulent while on a garden visit some years ago. It's much larger than the sempervivums I've identified. And now someone has kindly given me its correct name. It's an Echeveria glauca.

Chocolate Echeveria...
Sun 9th May 2004

This chocolate coloured echeveria lives in a pot on the house decking. The first thing I did when I bought it (in a nursery sale) was divide it up into several separate plants.