The Succulent and Cactus Lady : succulent gardening

About me

🌿 I've been gardening ever since a child, when I spent time with my father in his vegetable garden. But my fascination with Echeverias started in the 1980's, when my father gave me a pot with five Echeverias, which turned out to be E. imbricata. At first I wasn't much interested in them and planted them in some obscure corner of the garden and completely forgot about them. How great was my surprise when, a couple of months later, I noticed that they had spread and made a beautiful display - I was hooked!

Showing posts with label succulent gardening. Show all posts

Saturday, 25 July 2026

Faires in the garden

We are at the beginning of winter here in South Africa and the succulents are all starting to respond with their winter finery--the first being the Crassula multicava (Fairy crassula), which is already sporting its beautiful pink little stars. This is a true shade-loving succulent with glossy, oval-to-round leaves that are slightly darker in shade than in full sun. The flowers are petite, charming little stars, hence the common name fairy crassula, and appear in masses above the attractive leaves. The leaves contain hydathodes (water-secreting pores), which serve for rapid absorption of water from the leaf surface.

Because of its free-seeding, easy rooting and perennial nature, Crussula multicava is not endangered and generally occurs in abundance in its natural habitat. Since planting 5 little seedlings a few years ago, they have spread rapidly and I actually have to thin them out every season or else ... or else what? I don't actually know! lol! A garden covered in pink little stars wouldn't be that bad!

Crassula multicava, indigenous to South Africa, occurs on forest margins, river and stream banks, and in coastal and subtropical thickets from Mpumulanga and KwaZulu-Natal to the Eastern and southern Cape. Plants show a preference for well-composted, deep soils as well as clay soils and occur in partial shade. They are found in sheltered frost-free areas.

During their "dormant" season, which is summer, they form a beautiful ground-cover and are excellent for borders.

Apart from seed dispersal, the plants easily root and spread from leaves that fall or break off from the mother plant. They also propagate themselves by producing plantlets on the flowerhead that drop off onto the soil beneath the parent plant, and develop into independent plants. During late summer they cover the ground in a thick carpet of tiny buds.

So, if you plant a few (maybe stolen from a friend?) multicava's, you will never be without a gift for another gardening friend!

Friday, 16 February 2024

Aloe vera splendour

I’m a succulent-lover

As Winter slowly approaches (Autumn is definitely in the early-morning air and leaves are also slowly starting to flutter down), the Aloes will now start flowering all over the world, even during summer in Europe and the USA. Their internal clock is set to ‘Winter South Africa’, which is actually from May to July, but this Aloe vera has decided that it’s cool enough in the mornings to start wearing her Winter finery.

🧡

Most Aloes are indigenous to South Africa and I do think that Aloe vera, well-known for its medicinal properties, is one of the better-known of all Aloe species.

Friday, 16 June 2023

Fairy Crassula

My Crassula multicava (Fairy Crassula) is in full bloom. It is a neatly-growing evergreen low-growing plant that rarely exceeds a foot tall in the landscape and is even lower when grown in dry shade.

Indigenous to South Africa, this Crassula occurs naturally along forest margins, riparian areas and within coastal vegetation from Mpumulanga (Eastern Transvaal), Natal to the Eastern and southern Cape provinces.

The beautiful petite flowers, which are pink in bud and then open to charming little white stars that are very showy as a spray above the foliage on reddish stems, appear in Winter.

Sunday, 11 December 2022

Spekboom splendour

Tonight all my Spekbooms (Portulacaria afra) look spectacular after a few days of rain - they actually do much better with more water than less, but they are absolute die-hards and will just go into rest-mode during a severe drought.

And just in case you wondered, these pics were really taken tonight. The iPhone 11 Pro actually has quite a spectacular camera.

This pic was taken this morning through my bedroom blinds, if you look closely, you can see the raindrops on the leaves.

Also known as the elephant bush, porkbush and purslane tree, the ecological significance of this tree is well-known all over the world as it helps to fight climate change and air pollution.

The Spekboom flowers are nectar-rich and provide food for many insects - endangered bees and birds love them! Larvae of the Duadem butterfly also feed on the Portulacaria species. If you do happen to see this large, green caterpillar on your Spekboom, don't be alarmed. Although it may seem to be harming the plant, it in fact is helping the tree to produce new leaves, similar to what pruning a tree does.

Featured Succulent

Echinopsis grows pretty much anywhere. Here in South Africa they can tolerate summer temperatures of 30°C or greater, which is hot enough to spur growth of both Echinopsis pups and their amazing flowers. They also tolerate cold temperatures well during winter months. However, I bring my potted ones inside during hard freezes or their water-filled bodies will freeze as well. Compared to most cacti, Echinopsis bloom fast and furious. They typically begin blooming in spring. Most blooms only last one or two days and they frequently open at night. But it’s common to have several buds on one plant developing at different rates; so a single plant can be in bloom for several weeks. As a general rule, the smaller the diameter of the blooms a Echinopsis species produces, the more blooms the plant produces. Species that produce monster blooms (some over 6” in diameter) tend to have fewer blooms as so much plant energy goes into producing each one. Echinopsis generally begin to produce flowers when they are two or three years old. Echinopsis is a large genus of cacti native to South America, sometimes known as hedgehog cactus, sea-urchin cactus or Easter lily cactus. One small species, E. chamaecereus, is known as the peanut cactus. The 128 species range from large and treelike types to small globose cacti.

A garden requires patient labour and attention. Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfil good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them. Gardeners are well primed to provide food for birds and animals, but the key to encouraging the widest possible range of wildlife is to think of creating a habitat for creatures to live in. The most important aspect of this is the provision of shelter from the weather and from predators, as well as a place to lay eggs, rear young or hibernate.