Curious and Unusual in the Plant World

To the connoisseur of beautiful plants, succulents rank as a large group of easily grown floral gems with marvelous color in foliage and flower – often brilliant, often so subtle that the casual observer may not see these delicate tones.

The term succulent is often confusing, even to experienced gardeners. It is of Latin origin meaning juice, but in the horticultural world, the succulent is described as a thick, fleshy plant and refers to many kinds besides cacti. Plants that store water and those that are able to resist droughts are generally included in this classification.

The plants described here are not cacti, because none of them have the primary characteristics of the cactus family, which are: (1) generally no leaves, (2) numerous spines in clusters, (3) countless stamens on flowers which show little difference between the sepals and petals.

The rosette plants you will see are:

• Sempervivum, hardy, star-like flowers, opening flat
• Echeveria, tender, flowers never wide open
• Haworthia, tender, with translucent windows on ends of the leaves
• Mesembryanthemum, very juicy leaves and many petalled flowers
• Aeonium, rosettes on stems (Sempervirums are flat on the soil).

If you see a four-petal succulent it is, generally, a Kalanchoe; a six-petal flower it is an Agave. Aloe, or Haworthia; the others have mainly multiples of five petals.

If you see a star-like flower less than inch in diameter it is a Sedum; if it has five petals and 10 stamens, it is a Sedum; if it has five petals and also five stamens, it is an Aeonium; while a Sempervivum has more than five petals and stamens.

• Stapelia – Starfish Flower
• Crassula
• Sedum
• Gasteria
• Kalanchoe and Bryophyllum
• Aloe
• Haworthia
• Agave

Culture

The very nature of succulents is to store water when they can get it and save for a dry day. As house plants they thrive with a minimum of water when they are not in active growth. This varies in season with the different sorts. The writer kept a plant of Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi in a sunny window in an olive bottle without soil, and gave the cutting a tablespoonful of water whenever the plant seemed to be ready to die. For two years it had less than a tablespoonful of water every two months. Plants were produced on the leaves and little plantlets on these little plants. Mesembryanthemums seem to be the most drought-resistant of those mentioned.

We may use humus in the potting soil, but perhaps active manure had best be avoided. Some find sponge rock mixed with some soil an excellent medium. Good drainage is essential. If ground mealy bug develops, take the plants from the pots and wash out the soil.

Many of the sorts take less strong sun than one might expect, because in nature the plants are often found on the shaded side of a shrub. Gasterias and Haworthias like less bright conditions than some others, whereas it is well to give Mesembryanthemums the full exposure. Aeoniums become leggy in the atmosphere of a home.

The leaves of Echererias, Cotyledons, some Sedums and Kalanchoes root readily. Gas. feria leaves may be cut into several pieces and inserted in sand. One such leaf section produced a dozen plants for the writer. Stem cuttings can be used for most sorts such as Sedum, Echeveria, Cotyledon and Mesembryanthemum, Many genera produce numerous runners or offsets.

Related Articles Of Interest:

• Mesembryanthemum – Unusual House Plant To Grow
• Haworthia
• Crassula Easy To Confuse
• Aeonium