Devon Succulents

succulents as they should be grown and some other pictures from a wow garden

I have found the best method of planting in these containers is to use course shrub compost to the halfway point and then use a succulent mix on the top which we plant the different succulent's/ cacti in to make a creative miniature garden First chose your plants stick to indoor or out try not to mix them Clean the base of the plants of any trace of old leaves Plant the first one in the corner and work out Use stones to raise the height this also keeps the roots cool a...nd helps to separate plants and slow down the growing together of more vigorous plants Add more plants the bigger ones first Add more stones to replicate the look of a miniature rockery, garden Then its time for the ground cover plants and the ones that will soon hang down over the rocks and the container Add a couple of tiny surprise plants Then add a final slightly finer soil mix Firm it down gently Spread a layer of horticultural gravel over the surface for decoration as well as helping to keep the surface roots protected and retain traces of water also many pests don't like it and it can help keep the weed population down Brush away stray stones compost that get caught in the plants Brush the miniature rockery stones Give a one litre watering Put in a area of good light
See More

Just fixed problem with the camera so a quick look at a few succulents some in flower around the green house when the light gets better i will make up for lost time and try doing a few macro pictures

The last few days i have been working through the pots of Echeveria prolifica (Prolific Echeveria) its a small clustering succulent plant with rosettes of silvery-green leaves they always flower and have good disease resistant properties This time of year i pot them on up a pot size i always take off the leaves that have died back in summer from around the edges . and pot up in a good open soil mix we grow these plants really exposed to the cold and they are used ...to cold winters . they will stand minus 4 now real devon succulents any that look bad i get rid of or i give away to people to nurse back to health
See More

As there is less to do at the greenhouse this time of year we have been growing succulents from seed for my collection and to share its difficult to find succulent seed on the internet as most of the purchases you get are just a joke they just take the xxx so many people get caught with just random weed seed sent to them especially from a country that had better remain nameless !!! but most will know who i am talking about we buy seed that is what you really... ordered from trusted places....... that's half way there ..... but succulent seed sowing is not easy they are so fine and for us we have to use seed propagators water so carefully give just the right light temp etc but so rewarding here is a few still very small still needing lots of care but worth it .
See More

Its the time of year when i have to protect the tender succulents even though they are under glass we have no heating and this is Devon where the temperature will fall so low they will just turn to mush overnight if i do nothing so i bunch them together check for disease bugs etc and cover with a special fleece the really delicate ones go under fleece and thermal blinds in a different part of the greenhouse this year we had a really early frost and some of the aloe ...Vera got caught and the tips of a few leaves went soft and a few house plants died ie tradcantia but not to bad.
really the worst problems i had was having to bring in the plants i have had outdoors at home, they have got to come in but its difficult to find space as well as giving them good light in the house and every year i make the stupid mistake because we have so little room of not hardening them off [letting them adjust slowly to indoor temperatures] its not that warm in our house but the big aeoniums just dropped almost every leaf overnight such a shame they looked so good i know they will recover but i should have brought them in a good month earlier .
See More

Been taking cuttings of Crassula tetragona today they are one of the most useful succulents we grow it works in so many places and it bonsai's so well to look like a mini pine tree. they also grow quite big up to 3.3 feet (1 m) and again easy to shape a dream to take cuttings of.... and as a bonus clusters of small creamy-white flowers appear at the branch tips in spring and summer.
See More

We have some unusual jelly bean plants also a beautiful plant flowering at moment but still not id it yet also large pile of assorted jelly plants surplus if anyone wants them !!!1 also new blue garden containers very strong and extremely light.

Our grandson Charlie visited today with his flash phone and these are some of his pictures

It was good light so i took a few more pics around the greenhouse and some of my collection

A few more plants that caught my eye while walking around the benches

So busy lately not had time to do a post so here is some shots of some plants that are looking good at the moment.

succulent gardens in Portugal that caught my eye

The bites from these are really painful and i have been bit and stung by all kinds of things but these really hurt. weirdly we have succulents that treat these bites and they worked for me

Aeonium from one pound to thirty in all types of containers good gifts also great for bonsai

Aeoniums , During this time of year, you might be wondering why is your Aeoniums not been doing so well losing lower leaves and not growing Just wait a few more weeks because unlike many other succulents, Aeoniums are winter growers. They thrive in the cool, autumnal weather and are dormant in the hot, dry summer months Aeonium are very suitable for cultivation in Succulent Gardens. Ours are growing well now

More gardens and a massive range of succulents available to buy, if you want to have a look at our nursery, please phone and book an appointment 01404 822916

More gardens and a massive range of succulents available to buy, if you want to have a look at our nursery, please phone and book an appointment 01404 822916