If you’re looking to add some exotic elements to your landscape while also lowering the amount of water and work to keep it looking great, succulent gardens are the perfect answer – and spring is the perfect time to get started.
Succulents can be used in landscape design to create eye-catching focal points, as durable ground covers on difficult areas like slopes, and even to “defend” your property from wildfires or intruders. Here in Visalia and throughout California, spring is the perfect time to get started to give succulents time to establish and grow before summer’s heat kicks in.
How to plant succulents outdoors
In general, all succulents do best in sun, so choose a spot that gets at least 6-8 hours of sunlight each day for healthy, vibrant plants. Different varieties have varying requirements for sun or shade so be sure to read the labels or research online so you can place them in the best spot.
Choosing the right time and conditions to plant your succulent garden is important, too. Never plant them on a hot, sunny day. Early evening or on a cloud-covered warm day is best. Even though succulents love the sun, they need a few days to adapt to their new home in order to thrive when summer comes along.
Be sure to plant succulents in soil that drains well. If you have compacted or clay-like conditions, work in some compost or coarse sand, pumice, grit, or kitty litter-like soil amendments to the top 6-8 inches. After placing the succulents in the ground, tamp soil firmly around them and allow them to settle in for a couple days before watering.
For more information about caring for succulents, check out these articles:
Landscape designing with succulents
Succulents come in a wide array of shapes, sizes, colors, and can have flowers, spikes, stripes, quills and other unique extras to give them more visual interest too. For a burst of inspiration (and some pretty amazing photos) just do a search for “succulent landscape design” in Pinterest.
To help you get started, here are a few ideas we’ve used to help homeowners and business owners integrate succulent gardens into their gardens and commercial properties:
- Surround tall, fast-growing succulents with small and medium-size varieties for a mixture of heights, textures and colors
- Mix in natural elements like interesting-shaped rocks, tree stumps, stepping stones, driftwood or tree branches
- Add color with recycled glass, marbles, or colorful tiles
- Plant a mix of native and drought-tolerant plants and flowers alongside such as California poppies, lantana and rockrose.
- Be creative with broken planters or old furniture by planting succulents that appear to grow or flow out of them
- Create shapes or flowing “streams” using a mixture of river rocks and succulents
At Rainscape, we do more than simple landscape designing; our landscape specialists can create innovative drought-tolerant and succulent garden plans for residential or business properties for an attractive, memorable experience. If you’d like to speak with our landscape design specialists, give us a call at (559) 651-2333. We’re here to help!