Shea talks about the glories of succulents while a customer admires his framed masterpiece. He’s had many offers to purchase it at outrageous prices, but he refuses to sell.
Recipe for a succulent pot
1. First plant a flapjack in the middle of the pot. 2. Now we'll start the outer edge around it. I think I'd like to throw in ‘Fire Sticks’ with its pencil — like spikes to add an exotic red.
3. My next choice would be sedum ‘Gold Dust’, for its bright vibrant yellow that catches your eye every time.
4. Let's not forget the stunning ‘Black Prince’. His dark foliage is beautiful in any landscape.
5. Next, we'll throw in something blue, a sedum by the name of ‘Blue Spruce’ will hang over the side of the pot giving us extreme character. Wow, what color!
6. We're already starting to achieve a mixture and variety of foliage. Add an Echeveria ‘Neon Breaker’ which is pink with blue tones in the centre of its stem and has sweet little ruffles on the outer edges of the leaves. It is truly a beauty and with this addition you now have an adorable pot.
Window boxes Next up, window boxes: succulents thrive here, giving you
a beautiful container in places where not much else will grow. Succulents are perfect plants for anybody who lives in a suite, condominium or a small, sunny place. In a standard 24-inch window box, I would recommend
a minimum of 14 succulents with a variation of short-tall, short-tall, short-tall and so on. The combination looks stun- ning. They out-rave any other plant in a window box and will hang off the balcony with extreme colour, handling the environment of heat and high winds that make it hard for most plants to grow in these locations.
Caring for succulents
Standard care for succulents is easy. Succulents want to be in
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drier conditions, although not at the beginning of trans- planting, when they need to get the moisture in their leaves and a good root base around the stem in order to get ready for the harsh environment ahead. After transplanting, water the pot really well and then do
not water it again until it dries out. Continue this procedure for the rest of the succulent’s life, mimicking its natural envi- ronment; in nature it gets a rain then it’s dry for a month, then it gets a little more rain and then it’s dry again. For fast growth you can fertilize two weeks after you have planted the succulents. Then don't fertilize them for at least another two weeks. When bringing succulents indoors, they must be kept on
the drier side. Fertilize twice during the winter months in good light just to help them continue to keep their coloura- tion. If your apartment or house is totally dark, give them a fluorescent light to mimic the light outside. Remember, this light only needs to run eight hours a day so put it on a timer to save yourself electricity costs. Succulents rule, and yes, some grow as perennials. Escobar-
ia vivipara var. vivipara, Opuntia fragilis var. fragilis, O. humi- fusa, and O. polyacantha var. polyacantha are all zone 2 plants, which means you can leave them outdoors. Many varieties of hens and chicks are also perennials in our zone and work in all of the containers I mentioned above. I work with over 270 types of succulents and next year I’ll
have 590 types, so you can make the pot of your dreams! If you want information or help with your succulents, you
can contact me at
ourfarmmb@gmail.com. Shea Doherty is one of the owners of Our Farm Greenhouse,
a family-based business for over 20 years in Portage la Prairie, Man. V
SUMMER 2013 • 17
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