Posted on by tonytomeo · 2 Comments

Succulents

Succulents are remarkably diverse.

Among the many garden chores that I neglected so far this summer is the ‘processing’ of many of the bits and pieces of unusual succulent plants that I acquired from earlier volunteer work days at the Arizona Garden at Stanford. Volunteers are always welcome to take any of the debris that we generate. After everyone present took what they could, I could not bear to waste what was left; so I took more than I should. Cacti, agaves and yuccas cannot be recycled as green waste, so would otherwise have been disposed of.

I really wanted large canes of a particular unusual yucca, so processed them as large cuttings first. I only needed to cut away all but the foliage on top, stick them in the ground and keep them watered until roots grow. This particular desert yucca does not grow roots as efficiently as tropical yuccas do, though.

Meanwhile, many pieces of cacti, ice plant, and succulents that I can not even tell you the names of remain out in a pile in the driveway. However, as I was looking them over today, I noticed that they are not only alive, but actually seem to doing quite well. Some are even blooming!  

This is just too weird. There is no soil. There is no watering. Even if there were, there are no roots to exploit the resources that are necessary to keep plants alive. These bits and pieces of various succulents get only sunlight and warmth during the day. Apparently, this is all they need for now.

They know that it will eventually rain. When it does, they will develop new roots into the soil wherever they are. Since I do not intend to let them do this in my driveway, I will eventually get them into the garden, and water them in to hasten the rooting process. I will groom them and strip lower foliage from agaves and aloes, so that they look better than the debris that they are. They should actually grow slightly and look pretty good by autumn.   

There are so many different kinds of ‘succulent plants’ or ‘succulents’, that the definition is not always so clear. All cacti are succulents that are equipped with spines. Many relatives of poinsettia (euphorbs) have fleshy green stems just like cacti, so are also succulents. Some of these even look like cacti, with comparable spines. Aloes and agaves are succulents as well, with large fleshy leaves, some with very sharp leaf tips and teeth on their leaf margins. The list goes on, including sedums, sempervivums, echiverias, aeoniums, crassulas, lithops, ice plants and more.

Simply speaking, succulents store water in distended ‘succulent’ leaves, stems or even roots, in order to survive long dry seasons. Most happen to be remarkably easy to propagate from cuttings. Some can even be grown from relatively large cuttings. In the desert where water is a very limited commodity, many succulents defend themselves with spines or teeth.

Yuccas, which are related to aloes and agaves, are considered (by ‘some’) to be succulents as well, even though they lack fleshy leaves or stems. Some yuccas that form trunks and branches, particularly those that are from tropical or forest environments, and especially the common Yucca elephantipes, are just as easy to propagate from cuttings as other succulents are.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 2 Comments

Succulents Are A Diverse Group

If Agave are succulents, are closely related Yucca also succulents?

There really is no way to neatly classify succulents. Many are spiny cacti with fleshy stems without recognizable foliage. Others are euphorbs (related to poinsettias) that may resemble cacti, or may instead have fragile leaves on fleshy stems. Aloes and agaves have bold rosettes of fleshy leaves that obscure their wide basal stems.

The most familiar succulents are small docile perennials, like the many varieties of jade plants and iceplants. Some are flowering perennials like begonias. A few are even grown as annuals, like busy Lizzie (impatiens).

So what do succulents have in common? Well, that is a good question that is open to interpretation. Most would agree that succulents have some sort of fleshy succulent parts for storing water through dry weather. These succulent parts are most often leaves or stems. Yet, yuccas, dracaenas and ponytail palm that are no more succulent than palms, are considered by many to be succulents like related aloes and agaves.

Many succulents are remarkably easy to propagate vegetatively (without seed). Most aloes, some agaves and many yuccas produce pups, which are basal shoots that can be separated as new plants. Agaves that do not produce pups while young will likely produce many pups after they bloom and begin to deteriorate. (Individual rosettes die after blooming.)

Despite the nasty spines that make them difficult to handle, cactus that produce multiple trunks can likewise be divided. Cactus can alternatively be propagated as large cuttings; but because they are so fleshy, should be left out for their cut ends to dry and ‘cauterize’ somewhat before rooting. Many euphorbs behave much like cacti, but are even more hazardous to handle because of their very caustic sap.

The majority of small succulents, like the many jade plants and iceplants, are notoriously easy to propagate by cuttings.