GARDENING Succulents stage a take-over
DROUGHT RESISTANT, EASY TO GROW AND DECORATIVE
Succulents are taking over the garden and it is not just for their hardy, drought-tolerant qualities. Gardeners are discovering how decorative they are, with their contrasting colours and leaf shapes, bold forms and spiky, smooth or velvety textures.
Adding to their appeal is that they are so easy to grow and almost impossible to kill. But, beautiful as it may be, an all-succulent garden is not always soft on the eye, lacking the movement and bio-diversity provided by ornamental grasses, perennials and annuals.
Most succulents, which includes aloes, flower in autumn and winter. By adding summer flowering perennials and annuals it is possible to create a beneficial environment for birds, butterflies and bees all year round.
Gardeners in the Eastern and Western Cape have become masters of the minimal water garden, and there is a lot to be learnt from them. Especially, their ability to mix tough, heat-tolerant perennials with statuesque aloes and agaves, crinkly kalanchoe and silvery-fingered senecio, echeveria rosettes and shiny crassula. With water restrictions almost a permanent fact of life now and the unpredictability of the climate, even Gauteng gardeners are moving towards minimal water gardens.
Succulents, like all other plants, should be trimmed and pruned, separated and thinned out to maintain their neat appearance, especially if planted in decorative patterns.
What succulents do need is well-drained normal to sandy soil. They may rot in heavy soil or if surrounded by a leafy mulch pushed up against the stems. Better mulches to use are gravel, stones and rocks. er-spikes, making this a showy plant for beds, borders, and containers. The edible flowers have a light minty scent, and attract butterflies and nectar seeking birds. It is drought tolerant and, once established, flowers continuously through summer into autumn. Plant in full sun, in normal to sandy soil. It is semi-frost hardy and, if cut down at the end of winter, will sprout again in spring. Looks good combined with dark red or bronze-leafed plants.
Gaura soften the architectural shapes of succulents with their grass-like spikes of flowers. There are now very compact varieties (45cm high and wide), that grow upright, with dense spikes of flowers. They show-off best in full sun. The dwarf varieties include Bantam, Little Janie, Belleza and Whiskers Deep Rose.
Gazania, like succulents, do best in a poor soil that drains well. Being low growers (20cm to 25cm high), they work well as edgings for beds that are in hot, sunny positions. Gazania New Day has large flowers on compact plants. Big Kiss has large striped flowers and Frosty Kiss has silvery foliage.
Scabiosa is a long-blooming perennial, flowering from spring to autumn and attracts butterflies. They do best planted in full sun but can take partial shade. Grow in well-drained, light fertile soil and don’t over water in winter. They can be used as edging or in large groups in borders. Divide and replant in fresh soil every three years. Look out for Blue Note which has large single lavender-blue flowers on compact plants.
Vinca can take more sun than most other garden plants and is hard to beat as a low-maintenance plant. The Vinca Pacifica never need trimming or shaping, grow in poor soil and effortlessly produce masses of flowers. Vinca Titan is an early flowering variety, with larger flowers than Pacifica and can handle stressful garden conditions better than most other vinca.