succulents planted in pots for valentines day

Succulents  planted in pots  for  valentines day

Average price is £12    quality pots planted with a range of succulents  great presents 

Sedum rubrotinctum 'Aurora' - Pink Jelly Bean

Sedum rubrotinctum  red  and green Jelly Bean
  a colour break to produce Sedum rubrotinctum 'Aurora' - Pink Jelly Bean

Succulents are easy!!! Ha really.

Something you hear a lot is people telling you that succulents are easy!!!

Ha really.

Well i would say well maybe if you live in California or Spain then yes but here in Devon succulents  require people who understand gardening to grow them healthily and well  ,we have cold nights. the odd suddenly hot hour or two, low light  and a constant wet atmosphere  bad for foliage as well as the root system..

perfect conditions for mould, mealy bugs, die off ,frost/cold damage and lanky straggly growth due to the low light and cold protection, they need constant vigilance especially with mould as it can spread really quickly almost overnight and its very hard to cure . we almost always throw them away as except for the really rare ones sprays are slow to work and it can keep spreading,

one thing i do though on rare plants  is to use silver sand moulds hate it

in the glasshouse aphids are often around but are easily dealt with but the cold is a really big problem yesterday it was 1 degree below freezing at night then during the day the temperature was ridiculously high  very stressful for the plants .

so are succulents easy ? well yes some are really easy given the right conditions but others need specialised soil mixes and temperature and that to me is what makes them so interesting to grow.

 Silver Sand

Is something we use a lot
Lime-free horticultural grade sand it primarily consists of quartz particles which are not coated in iron oxides, making it perfect for adding to growing media. and comes from Cornwall unlike other grits and sands, Silver Sand is not usually used for mortar or concrete when paving or laying slabs and its particle size is not all one size like builders sand
Thats the difference between sharp sand (which is crushed rock; In fact, it is fine grade grit) and natural sand, such as beach sand, which has rounded grains. Beach sand should generally be avoided for horticultural purposes.

Silver Sand is a favourite amongst  all gardeners as it provides countless options for use in and around the garden..
Washed and dried, Silver Sand is available as  a horticultural grade quality which is perfect for seed sowing, setting cuttings and for use in compost mixes.
silver sand improves aeration [always a point of argument but true ] and  it also holds a small amount of water around the particles  that helps cool the soil in pots in greenhouses in strong summer sun .It is not simply a matter of improving drainage, but of improving the actual structure of the soil, (for example, so that it is better aerated, or to allow roots to penetrate more easily.) The surfaces of the grains also help with certain kinds of ion exchange which enables plant roots to take in some nutrients more easily and it seems to help prevent some soil  pests and stops surface mould quickly .

 I also use it as a top dressing for lawns mixed with peat and loam for a perfect lawn top dressing.

Mealy bugs

            

Today i spent some time dealing with a small outbreak of mealy bugs on a  Sempervivum that had a lot of little ones around it	Mealy bugs
	Semps often get these bugs hiding in the folds of the leafs
	I don't try spraying as they will always find somewhere to hide and even systemic sprays wont get them unless you submerge the whole pot soil and all in a bucket of spray or as in this case i take the plants to bits clean them up and put them in a container of spray.    drain shake dry and leave on the top for a week
Close up of mealy bugs
Soak them in the spray give a good stir
A week later they are dry with a  bit of root
	Just pot them up in a good soil mix

 

 

 

succulents planted up in lightweight containers

We specialise in the artistic planting , using  our home grown succulents,  pruned, sometimes to the point of  bonsai in to all types of containers with unusual hand picked stones and  weird and beautiful driftwood.

Hi 
This is the early spring  range of hardy [in our area] succulents planted up in lightweight containers
each month they get a little bit more exotic and a little more expensive and a lot more fun to plant .

These are all very lightweight hand sculptured/painted  recycled containers .
we cant wait for spring .