Succulents
Well, if you
think about it, all plants are succulents.
That is, plants move and contain water and must have a source for it. Eventually the toughest cactus will perish
without water. Watercress will survive
only a very short while with no water source, so we do not call it succulent (except
for eating). Horticultural succulents
have evolved in areas of below average water availability. All of them store water in their
tissues. We can say “they feel
fleshy”. Like humans they can be fat or
dessicated. These plants often have
beautiful colors and striking flowers.
I think this is an aloe, I displayed it in the library with the cult movie
title “Revenge of the Succulents”
Here’s all I have left of the pink leafed one that grew 6” tall 18 months
ago.
This one in the basket below is “Little Pickles”, othonna
crassifolia. I grew and loved this plant
near the begiining for me in 1973. I
kept seeing it and growing it until 1980 when it disappeared from view and
commerce. To my joy and my customers’
good fortune I got it back five years ago.
Othonna crassifolia is its real name.
A lot of succulents send up phallic looking spikes from the
center of their rosette. In Houston I
saw an agave spike 25’ high and correspondingly thick and strong. That likely doesn’t impress people from
Mexico. Here’s an ascending flower
structure from a beauty.
These haworthias have a pebbly skin and exquisite coral colored flowers.
Jade Necklace (crassula), aeonium, blue tiger jaws (faucaria) and tree aeonium.
Even though succulent plants can survive long periods without water they actually love water and are very good at scarfing it up when it is available. so if you have one in good light that is in its growth season it will respond to frequent watering and feedings with fast growth and great beauty.
