Are you a plant hoarder? You know, someone who stalks the aisles of their local garden center looking for “just one more” plant to complete their collection. It’s fine to admit your compulsion because you’re in good company. You see, I’m also a plant collection and proud of it.
Over the years I’ve become addicted to wide range of plants including begonias, geraniums, agaves, ferns, citrus, and roses.
Some of these passions have come and gone, but recently I’ve become totally hooked on cacti and succulents. These easy-care plants come in an almost unlimited selection of shapes, sizes, and colors so it doesn’t take long to get hooked. They look so great together, so it's hard to own just one.
Plus, once Costa Farms introduced our Desert Escape collection, it became even more tempting, and easy, to go a bit overboard with these fascinating plants. These plants come in larger pots and look stunning packed into a group container or displayed in individual containers. If you live in a temperate area, they also make ideal landscaping plants.
One of the main reasons I like succulents so much is because they are so versatile. You can mix them together in shallow bowls or let them mingle with annuals and perennials in pots, planters, and window boxes.
Or you can house your favorite varieties in their own individual pots, creating a little village of spiny, fleshy, and fuzzy beauties you can cluster together on a deck, patio, or balcony.
Succulents are also very forgiving. If you forget to water them or go away for a week’s vacation they don’t seem to mind. Their only requirement is sunshine, the more the better. Plus, these almost indestructible plants grow slowly so you don’t have to worry about repotting them very often. And when you do replant them, make sure their pots have drainage holes because they hate wet soil.
And remember that most succulents and cacti are not cold tolerant and should be brought indoors once freezing temperatures are predicted.
Written by Doug Jimerson
