As winter approaches, I carefully look over my succulent and cactus collection on the front deck and make decisions about what needs to be done before I bring them inside.
I began my love affair with these arid plants decades ago as a young working mother. Even though my chosen trade was and still is working outside with flowering plants, I could not seem to keep houseplants happy in my own home. I patiently grow many tender and beautiful flowers outside. I am outside more than inside and most things housebound get neglected. I must confess that I was a house plant murderer.
As a beginner to houseplants, I had more plants than I did furniture. I learned quickly which plants would end badly for me, no matter how much I tended to them.
Eventually, I discovered the many varieties and ease of care offered by cacti and succulents. I fell for succulents because their requirements are pretty forgiving for someone who is too busy to notice a limp fern. I move them outdoors for the summer and tend to them alongside my annual flower containers. I enjoy their resilience; the way they have adapted to weather and various environmental conditions in order to survive. For surely, they need to survive me!
To this day my taste in houseplants is evolving. I have agave, which is becoming too large, so it will become a gift to my son-in-law, who adores them. I also have a cactus that has speared me one too many times and that nobody wants as a gift, so I think heaven may be in order. I have many succulents that I will keep.
All of these plants share the same care. They thrive in sunny or bright light and prefer to be on the dry side. They dislike fertilization, stay in the same pot for interminable amounts of time and do not seem to attract pests. I have almost murdered them many times, but they will not die and they still look great.
I prefer the species Echeveria above all of my succulents. I am always on the lookout for cultivars that I do not have. They can be found almost anywhere these days among the gift plant sections of stores. There are so many cultivars with different colors and petal shapes to choose from.
For the most part, what I like best about them is that they look like fleshy roses. They possess a main central stalk from which thick leaves form a rosette that looks as if it is made of wax. Some Echeveria are small, others are large. Some are ruffled, some are pointed. They send up a stiff stem with a cluster of waxen, bell-shaped flowers, usually in primrose yellow and red. The seeds from these flowers can produce new plants, but it is a lengthy and tedious process. Once the flowers die back, I trim the stem off closely.
When an Echeveria grows, new leaves come from the central top point of the plant. The leaves beneath dry up and eventually the stalk becomes taller than one wants in a pot, looking somewhat like a palm tree. Sometimes little pups sprout from the leaf nodes along the stalk under the rosette.
At this point, I ‘freshen’ the plant by cutting the rosette off of the stalk. I leave about an inch of stalk below the lowest leaves. I set it out to dry for a couple of days, so it can form a callus. Then I place the stump end of the rosette into a small pot of fresh moist potting soil. It will root right there.
Each leaf can also be rooted. I set them aside on a saucer somewhere for a couple of weeks, while I wait and watch for roots to form. Then I plant them shallowly in moist soil. I repeat the same process for the little pups. Using plastic six-packs, or nine-packs, works for economy of space. I do not over-water them while they are rooting; Echeveria dislike being overly moist.
This species hails from Mexico and lower Texas. Their charming common name is Mexican Hens and Chicks. One thing to be sure of, if the plant originates from the southwest, is that they are water conservative and fertilizer spare. In nature, these plants can get long and leggy and fall over, they can form roots all along the stalk and root into the ground. The pups fall off and lie on the ground and eventually sprout roots and take hold. Echeveria can form vast colonies. They are tough and can handle abuse. These succulents remain steadfast and pert in their pots, always welcoming me home.
There are many uses for Echeveria in the trade. They make fantastic potted creations for tabletops and walls. They are used in bouquets and as boutonnieres at weddings. They are turned into fabulous floral jewelry. Once I made a living wreath out of several of the plants.
I always make new plants every fall. It takes most of the winter in a cool room in a sunny window upstairs to raise a new generation of them. As a grower, this is a fun winter project.
Liz Krieg is a horticulturist. She lives and raises cut flowers in Bethel.