My succulent pumpkin this year.. They are so easy to make and they last more than a month with light misting. Great gifts. I sold more than 50 of these pumpkins.

Echeveria Etna, My first bumpy echeveria.  This was a gift from a friend. I love the bumpy leaves and color of this plant.  I hope it can take the heat.

Orange must be the color of the day. My Orange Epiphyllum  and Orange Easter cactus bloomed this morning. What a pleasant surprise!

My first Epiphyllums bloom of the season. Dark pink- not sure of the name. More bud ready to open in a day or so. I love Spring!

Ice Plants in our backyard. This is in full bloom right now and will last for about 3 weeks. it only blooms once a year but worth waiting for. Very easy to grow from cuttings.

HOW TO TAKE CARE OF SUCCULENTS.

Succulents are generally very easy plants to care for. A basic understanding of what they need is necessary for them to thrive. What these plants need are actually their demands, and once you provide their demands, you will be rewarded. Please read along.

1. Buy plant that is healthy. The plant has to have full shape, good color with healthy leaves. Do not buy damaged plants nor plants that are insect infested.

2. Succulent requires soil that is fast draining. For container planting you may have an access to a ready mix cactus soil, or if not available, you may incorporate sand, gravel, or volcanic rock materials to your local soil.
 Perlite, pumice, drystall are lighter in weight and are popular ammendments, to use subject to availability and affordability. For planting areas where succulent groundplanting is possible all year round, be sure to ammend the soil with sand, gravel, or lava rocks for drainage. Also see to it that the area drains well and is not a low spot that would stay wet . Succulents doesn't like wet feet.
3. Select the right container. Succulents can be planted in almost anything that allows proper drainage. Be sure the container has drainage hole for water to flow through. Do not overpot because more soil will take longer to dry. Use a container that is wide more than deep, because succulent roots are superficial, and the growth habit of the plant is on the vegetative parts.
3.1. After transplanting your succulent, DO NOT WATER for a week, because a damage may occur to your plant while transplanting. By not watering, it will minimize fungal entry to any broken parts, if any.
3.2 After transplanting put a layer of rocks on top of the soil to separate the leaves from touching the soil. This will provide above soil drainage. Rocks also provide aesthetic effect and prevent soil from spilling when watering.
4. Watering. Water thoroughly into the pot until the water flows into the drainage hole. Remove excess water if you are using a catch plate underneath. Allow soil to completely dry between watering. Do not overwater, succulents are likely to die from overwatering than underwatering.

5. Light requirement. Succulent plants has different light requirements. Knowing at least the genus where your plant belongs is advantageous. Some plants are unable to take direct sunlight and are called shade plants. Haworthias, gasterias, aloes are a few example of shade plants.
A lot of succulents are sun lovers. They will soak in the sun, and will produce better color tone with direct sunlight. Echeveria, crassulas, senecios, cotyledon, sedums are a few example of sun loving plants.
 Plants leaves that are gray, hairy, or dusting of powder (farina) will take in a lot of sun.
It is important to undestand that gradual exposure to sun is necessary to prevent plant from burning.

6. Feed them, give your succulent a boost by fertilizing when the soil is depleted.

7. Keep plants looking good by removing dead or decaying leaves to minimize insect infestation.

                                                             Echeveria

                                                           Echeveria Agavoides

ECHEVERIA, best grown in full sun.

Echevera is a genus of flowering plants that belongs to Crassulacea family. They are native to semi-desert of Central America, Mexico and Northwestern South America.

They are decidious or evergreen. Flowers arise from compact rosettes of succulent fleshy, often brightly colored leaves. Echeverias are POLYCARPIC, that means they may flower and produce seeds many times in their life span. Many offsets can be produced and can be collected for propagation. 

Many echeveria species are popular in the garden. Most are heat tolerant, drought resistant. Most will tolerate shade and some frost. Most will lose lower leaves in winter. Remove all spent leaves (rain soak) to prevent attracting fungus and pests. 

                     


                                                        ECHINOPSIS

One of my favorite Cacti. It blooms a few times a year for me and the flowers last 2-3 days. It does not need much care - just good drainage. I find it better planted in the ground.

                                               


                                           Leaf Propagation

Lay leaves on top of fast draining soil. Keep away from direct sunlight. Do not water- the mother leaf will provide nutrients for the new growth. When the mother leaf completely dries, the baby is  capable of surviving on its own. Transfer to a pot with cactus mix. Water when it  roots are attached to the new soil. 

   

SUCCULENT TREE

I saw this online during the holidays. It is amazing but takes a lot of cuttings. It can be easily done in a smaller scale using chicken wire and moss. The tree will stay fresh for a very long time, much longer than a regular pine tree.

My next project. Saw this picture frame online. I have all the plants I need, just have to look for or make the frame.  Just waiting for warmer weather.

My yellow Crown of thorns. I am surprised that this is doing well and surviving the winter storm and cold temperatures  we are having. It continues to bloom in spite of the rain and freezing temperature. Will start to propagate when it gets warmer.

We had a frost last week and it affected a few of my succulents. It is so tempting to cut off the damaged branches and tops of the plants but I know I have to wait till spring to prune them all. I moved most of the plants underneath the eaves for protection from the frost. Some I covered with plastic cloth during the night.