A discussion on succulents

[SA]

So, I'm finding I'm really liking succulents!

I have purchased/cared for 4 of them inside my house and I really like them over other flowers/small plants.
DH and I want to spruce up our yard (it's so BORING) and were thinking of doing it with succulents.

Anyone have any luck with them outside?

I think we're zone 6.  My biggest fear is investing in them, only to have them die under the winter snow.

Any recommendations?

[57roses]

They can freeze in the winter if left outside. If you have a garage or shed to keep them in on the coldest months they can survive. I'm in zone 10 and have left mine out even though we get some freezing temps and snow about once or twice a year. They get dark but brighten up when the weather gets warm.

I love succulents also. My new daughter in law had them in her bridal bouquet-really beautiful.

[Deleted]

There is a wide range of cold hardy succulents. I love them too, and have a variety of them...yucca, sedum Autumn Joy, stonecrop ground cover, and cactus. All do well in spite of some brutal winter weather here. It's the tender ones (like Jade) that are best suited for household decor...but do very well in pots outside during the summer months.

Check out  this list for some cold hardy plant recommendations....with nice pics!

[SA]

We want to plant them in the ground. On the side of our house, we have a large (approx. 30' X 5") that is currently filled with regular old red rocks. We want to clear the rocks and go with larger stone/succulents. I just worry about the freezing in our cold weather/snow.

Thanks for the link!

[val2525]

Your plants should have a temp hardiness indication on the plant info tag. We get freezing winter temps and some snow here (6000' elevation) and there are some that do fine. I see a lot of pricky pear here, which is kinda cool because you can cook/eat it. We have agave and some types of yucca too.

Google "freeze proof succulents" and quite a few informative articles will pop up.

You need to plant in a sunny area, though. They don't tend to like much shade.

[zoesam]

IDK anything abt plants, but prickly pear & yucca both grow wild here like crazy. I see them all over when hiking.

Succulents are so pretty! Good luck!

[SA]

That should have read 30'x5', not 5". And that side of the house gets most of the sun during the day.

I have a brown thumb. Which is progress, because a couple years ago it was a black thumb and I killed everything I ever planted.

There is so much we want to do, but man--it's expensive and time consuming!

Today I scrapped the rest of my plans and we went to the gravel/Rock yard. Hand picked 1/4 ton of nice rock to put in the planter under our tree to see if we like it. Now? I'm too tired to unload the truck. But once it's in, I really hope it looks nice!

[Deleted]

I love succulents! Not cactus so much, but all the others... The only thing is, their need for water varies. They're not all "drought-tolerant" in the same way. The lithops (stone) ones need more water than others, for instance. But most of them give you a hint before actually curling up and dying, so even a brown thumb can succeed!

[Deleted]

A friend gave me some cactus cuttings late last fall and said to just toss them on the flower bed and they'd root. I was very skeptical as we live in Ohio but here's what I woke to this morning.