Successfully growing succulents

You know one when you see one, but if asked what a succulent is, you might have trouble finding an answer. Don’t feel bad. Even botanists struggle to find a description for them. They tend to simply call them ‘succulent plants’ and will tell you that a synonym for succulent is ‘juicy’. The reason why succulents are so easy to recognise is because they have fat, juicy-looking leaves and stems, or bulbous roots.

Popular varieties

• Adenium is one of the world’s most elegant-looking plants. It has it all: a beautiful, bulbous base and thick, soft, green stems topped by vivid red flowers.
• Aloe vera is the best known plant of the Aloe genus, but by no means the only one. Some varieties produce stunning flowers.
• Burro’s tail (Sedum morganianum) is a native of Mexico. It has long stalks of overlapping leaves that (with a little imagination) look like the tails of burros. Burro’s tails are perfect as hanging pot plants because the ‘tails’ spill over the sides of the pot.
• Hen-and-chicks come in two varieties (Sempervivum tectorum and Echeveria elegans). They look a little bit like an artichoke (also a succulent), but are not edible. They get their name because the ‘hen’, or main plant, produces ‘chicks’ around its edges.
• Jade plant (Crassula ovata) is one of the most popular succulents because of its tree-like appearance and thick, shiny, red-tinged leaves. This native of Africa is easy to grow, but you need to plant it in a heavy terracotta pot and keep it trimmed, or it can become top-heavy and tip over.

An insidious rumour has it that Australia has no native succulents. It’s not true. Over 400 varieties of Australian succulents have been discovered and the list is growing. You can find out about them on the Australian Native Plant Society’s (ANPSA) Australian Native Succulents pages.

Growing succulents

Succulents are easy to grow and are very forgiving. Depending on the variety, they do like full or partial sunlight and prefer good soil, but because they store so much water, they will stay alive even if you forget to water them. They also require less water than other plants, which is one of the reasons they are becoming so popular.

The main reason for their popularity, though, is their low-maintenance beauty. Succulents don’t require a lot of soil to grow, so they are ideal as indoor or outdoor pot plants. Buy a few small succulents from Bunnings and put them on the windowsill in your kitchen or anywhere else with enough light for them to grow. When they grow larger, transfer them outdoors and, before you know it, they will be the highlight of your garden.

Although succulents are low-maintenance, they do need some maintenance to thrive and grow to their full potential. You can get a number of books about succulents and their cacti cousins from The Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust. After you’ve discovered them, you’ll fall in love with them, so order a book or two online and you will be well on your way to succulent success.