Calgary Horticultural Society: Gardening with hardy succulents doable within the Prairies

Article content material

Succulents are an enchanting group of crops. The range in color, form, texture and measurement make these drought-loving crops attention-grabbing backyard topics. The bulk hail from hotter climates and are relegated to indoor or outside containers. Nonetheless, a smaller, although no much less attention-grabbing, subgroup performs admirably in our chillier circumstances.

Article content material

Succulent crops have developed to develop in quite a lot of inhospitable environments. Thick, fleshy leaves, stems or roots have specialised water-storing tissues that allow them to rapidly take up water throughout instances of lots and survive on their reserves throughout drought. Their root methods are usually shallow and spreading, enabling them to soak up moisture from a wider space. All however a only a few require full solar.

Article content material

My succulent mattress sits in entrance of a paved driveway that, by noon, is baking scorching. It’s fabricated from a mound of driveway gravel blended with a little bit of compost to create a slight berm. This combine drains properly, an necessary consideration for succulents, as chilly, moist soil, particularly through the late winter thaw, could cause crops to rot.

A group of rocks and boulders are positioned in key spots. The rocks present shelter, hold soil cool and plant crowns dry. They take up warmth through the day, releasing it again to crops at night time. In an ideal world, the mattress could be fabricated from a 10-cm deep sand/gravel combine.

Now for the enjoyable — the crops!

Sempervivums, additionally known as “hen and chicks” or “houseleeks,” hail from Europe. They’re tolerant of chilly winters and extra moisture than different succulents, and their plump rosettes of leaves are available in shades and patterns of inexperienced, plum, purple, brown, blue, and orange. A choose group, the “arachnoids,” are lined with superb white hairs. Smaller rosettes department off the mom, ultimately forming massive communities. As soon as thought of frequent and boring, these succulents at the moment are accessible in a plethora of cultivars and varieties with spectacular colors and patterns. A few of my favourites embody ‘Bernstein’ (gold with burnt orange suggestions), ‘Black’ (deep burgundy), ‘Cafe in July’ (inexperienced with deep mahogany suggestions) and ‘Damask’ (a stupendous dusky purple). Colors intensify throughout extremely popular or chilly climate.

Article content material

Article content material

Good companions to semps are the groundcover sedums. Their shallow, creeping root methods enable crops to unfold into dense, weed-smothering mats. Leaves may be spatulate, small, massive, needle-like, blue, purple, inexperienced, gold, orange, and variegated. Clusters of small five-petalled flowers are held on quick stalks. My favorite is S. rupestre ‘Angelina’, which is gold with skinny, spiky leaves. An evergreen in our local weather, it takes on burnt orange tinges in colder temperatures. Its cousin, ‘Chocolate Ball’, is smaller and extra refined, with skinny, delicate-looking darkish burgundy leaves. S. spurium ‘Fuldaglut’, or ‘Dragon’s Blood’, is a troublesome workhorse with darkish burgundy leaves and darkish pink flowers. As soon as it’s established, the one factor to knock it again is overwatering. Creeping sedums are simply propagated by cuttings and division.

The bigger sedums have been reclassified as Hylotelephium. These reasonably sized, rounded succulents bloom in early fall. They create attention-grabbing shapes amongst lower-growing succulents. Flower buds, resembling small heads of broccoli, emerge in midsummer. The white, pink, or purple flower clusters open in early fall and are a magnet for bees and butterflies. A lot of hybridizing has given rise to cultivars with burgundy foliage (‘Matrona’, ‘Purple Prince’ and ‘Chocolate Drop’), variegated foliage (‘Autumn Appeal’, ‘Elsie’s Gold’ and ‘Frosty Morn’), and brighter flowers (‘Birthday Celebration’, ‘Good’ and ‘Neon’). ‘Herbstfreude’, or ‘Autumn Pleasure’, is a well-liked outdated favorite. Left standing, massive sedums present winter curiosity and seeds for birds.

Article content material

For one thing totally different, I’ve included a couple of cacti. Opuntia fragilis, O. polyacantha, O. humifusa and Escobaria viviparia are 4 small, hardy native cacti. Flowers happen briefly in early summer time in breathtaking shades of pink, yellow, orange, purple, and white. To overwinter, the pads lose moisture and seem withered. If doable, hold them lined with snow to guard the pads from winter burn.

Different much less frequent however hardy succulents might be added to my succulent mattress over time, in addition to a military of drought-tolerant companions. Come summer time, will probably be a pleasure to only sit within the shade and revel in.

If you want to study extra about gardening within the Calgary space, go to our web site at calhort.org

Article content material