Get ready for fall by creating this seasonal planter filled with low light succulents, pumpkins and owls. Laura from Garden Answer explains how to create and care for a stunning low light succulent container! Be sure to use Espoma’s Cactus Mix and Cactus! liquid fertilizer.
Watch the quick version here!
Are you experiencing a hot, dry summer and wanting to plant something new? Go the water-wise route and add a cactus to your container garden. It keeps your garden interesting and gives everyone something to talk about.
Cacti are a great way to introduce new character in a garden. With their unique texture and eye catching shapes, cacti can be the next big hit in your garden. But be careful, their spines can stick you when you aren’t paying attention.
Five Sharp Cactus Gardening Tips
1. Gear Up
When handling cacti, it is incredibly easy to get poked by one of their spines (needles). Wear nitrile dipped gloves to reduce being poked by the little hair-like spines. The synthetic of the nitrile helps decrease the penetration. Leather gloves don’t repel as well. Keep an eye out for the long spines; they can still hurt! Make sure your soil is geared up too, with Espoma’s Organic Cactus Mix.
2. Catch Your Eye
Every container needs a focal point. Plant tall, structural cacti to ensure your eyes are sweeping over the garden. Add cacti, such as mangave and saguaro, to areas most commonly looked over.
3. Create Cactus Clusters
Bunching up a variety of cacti will improve the aesthetics of your garden. Like other plants, cacti love to be next to each other in clusters.
4. Balance the Colors
Balance out the heat of the summer by planting cool colored cacti. Muted colored cacti have colors of teals, purples and soft greens that really bring relaxation to mind.
5. Create a Living Backdrop
Columnar cacti create a tall narrow look that is perfect for bunching together to make a creative backdrop. This works great to reduce sound, hide a fence, or even as a great meeting place. Put a table and some chairs and always stay on trend. Imagine how beautiful it will look as the cacti start blooming.
Cacti are very low-maintenance, needing water once every 10-17 days in the summer. Remember to use Espoma’s Cactus! liquid plant food every two to four weeks to keep your cacti happy and healthy.
Winter months are right around the corner! Learn how to take care of your indoor cacti and succulent plants to survive even in the winter’s darkest days.
Instead of carrying around a rabbit’s foot or a four leaf clover, try adding jade plants to your home for good luck! These plants signify wealth and prosperity, so they make the perfect addition to offices and homes. Like most succulents, they’re low-maintenance and easy to care for.
You don’t need to be lucky to find success, just follow these simple care instructions for your jade plant.
Water
Instead of watering your jade plant on a schedule, water as needed. If the top inch of the soil is completely dry, it’s time to water. Depending on the amount of sun and the room temperature, water needs may vary. If your jade plant starts to lose leaves or develop sun spots, it’s trying to tell you it’s thirsty. Water just enough to moisten the soil.
As with all houseplants, avoid over watering as it can lead to root rot and other diseases.
Sunlight
Jade plants love sunlight. Just four to six hours of direct sun a dat promotes healthy growth also protects against diseases. Place your jade plant on a sunny windowsill at work or at home.
Certain varieties of jade, typically ones with variegated leaves, don’t need as much sun. Look for a variety than can thrive in indirect sunlight to place on your desk or coffee table. Jade plants love mild temperatures, anywhere from 50 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit will do.
Soil
Jade prefers a well-draining soil to avoid becoming water logged. Espoma’s Organic Cactus Mix is specialized for succulents. It promotes healthy root growth with its optimum aeration and drainage. Clay pots are great for jade plants because they wick away any excess water and help protect the plant from over watering damage.
Fertilize
Fertilize your jade plant regularly to keep it healthy and growing, try Espoma’s Cactus! Liquid plant food for succulents.
With just a little care, your new jade plant will bring you plenty of luck and prosperity!
Want to be creative with succulents? Try this DIY paint can planter for succulents.
You’ve probably heard the words cacti and succulents thrown around interchangeably. However, this is a common misconception. Technically, all cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti. Cacti are simply one of the many types of succulents.
Succulents are defined by their water retaining cells. Which is one of our favorite things about them because it’s what makes them so low maintenance and drought tolerant.
Another common misconception is that cacti are defined by their prickly needles. Many succulents have spikes similar to cacti, and not all cacti are prickly.
If you’re looking specifically for a cactus, the determining factor is called an areole. They are small, cotton-like lumps on a cactus where the spines grow out of. All cacti have areoles, making it easy to distinguish them from other prickly succulents.
Now that you know the difference, let’s talk about care. Although they’re different plants, cacti and succulents have similar needs. When caring for cacti or succulents, remember they love everything in moderation – not too much, and not too little.
Photo courtesy of Garden Answer
Light
Cacti and succulents thrive in a spot by the window or outdoors in the garden. Too little sunlight will cause loss of color or strange growth patterns. Lack of sun can lead to root rot as the soil may stay moist for too long.
On the other hand, too much direct sunlight and heat can cause succulents and cacti to sunburn! These burns can change the color and texture of the plant. While most succulents can handle direct sunlight, it takes time for them to become accustomed to a new environment. Don’t move them from a windowsill to full sun in the garden without conditioning them. Gradually place your plant in brighter locations and allow it some time to adjust to its new surroundings.
Water
The same Goldilocks rule goes for watering – not too much, but not too little.
While succulents and cacti are drought tolerant and can survive without water, that doesn’t mean they’ll thrive. They will do best when watered in moderation.
It’s safer to stay on the lighter side of watering rather than giving too much. If you notice the succulent starting to shrivel, its most likely because they are using up the water reserved in their cells. Add a small amount of water to the soil to help them replenish.
Too much water will cause your plant to become mushy and potentially develop root rot. Your succulent or cactus can fall apart right in front of your eyes!
Avoid these problems by using very little water and determining later whether they need more. If you have your plant in a double pot, water it and after a few minutes empty all excess water. Over-watering is just as common of a cause of plant death as under-watering. Use Espoma’s Organic Cactus Mix potting soil to keep roots healthy and to reduce drought-stress in between watering.
Temperature
Succulents and cacti are very flexible when it comes to temperatures. Just be sure to adjust your watering schedule accordingly.
When plants are in cool temps, soil won’t dry as fast. Remember root rot can occur if the soil is too wet for too long. If succulents or cacti are planted outdoors in the hot summer sun, you may need to water more often.
Now that you know the difference between succulents and cacti and the proper care, add some to your garden today!
Feed plants with Espoma’s Cactus! Succulent Plant Food for best results and let us know how your succulent garden turns out!
The options for succulents are endless. You can spend an entire afternoon at your favorite garden center picking out succulents in all shapes, sizes and colors. And once you have one succulent plant, you can grow even more plants from it!
While planting succulents is a pretty straightforward process, there are a few tricks to ensuring they stay healthy in their new homes.
6 Tips for Creating a Succulent Container
Now that your container is complete, find out what succulents need to keep growing!
Why have just one succulent when you can have many? Luckily, it’s easy to grow an entire garden of these hardy plants when you propagate them from leaf cuttings.
All you need are a few simple materials and a single succulent. Get started now!
Propagate Succulents in 7 Steps
And just like that you’ll have plenty of succulents. Grow enough to decorate your home and garden and give a few away as gifts.
The growing doesn’t stop here! Learn how to care for succulents here.
Have a container you think would be perfect to add succulents to? Laura from Garden Answer shows you how to make a quick succulent arrangement…in just one minute.
For this DIY, you will need:
Container for succulents
Drill
Drill bit
Succulents
Be sure to share your own DIY succulent containers in the comments below!
In this video, Laura from Garden Answer shares her personal tips for success with succulents. Check out these 10 tips to care for succulents and then try them out yourself. The options for planting are endless!
Want to grow more? Learn more about caring for succulents.
