viernes, 3 de octubre de 2025

My Succulent Calendars Amazing tips

Newsletter subscribers: Scroll down to leave a comment in response to the question I sent you. Thanks! 

Always in Current-Year Format!

I have numerous succulent calendars available at my online Succulent Chic store, hosted by Zazzle. Although created and sold for past years, each is automatically updated.

I don't sell my calendars myself---Zazzle does. Be sure to enter Zazzle's ever-changing discount code at checkout. Note: during Zazzle's Black Friday sales, calendars are usually discounted 50% to 60%!

Btw, we "artists" get a 10% royalty. Clearly, I don't do it for the money---rather for the creative joy of it. Also to give as gifts to family and friends, and for succulent enthusiasts who shop for one-of-a-kind succulent-themed items at Succulent Chic.

sample calendar images:

Jan - Echeveria sp.

Jan - Echeveria sp.

Feb - Agave shawii (Shaw's agave)

Feb - Agave shawii (Shaw's agave)

Apr - Echeveria imbricata (Blue rose)

Apr - Echeveria imbricata (Blue rose)

Jul - Agave nickelsiae (King Ferdinand agave)

Jul - Agave nickelsiae (King Ferdinand agave)

Aug - Echeveria 'Blue Sky'

Aug - Echeveria 'Blue Sky'

Succulent Calendar Dec - Agave polly pelona

Dec - Agave polly pelona

The post My Succulent Calendars appeared first on Debra Lee Baldwin. Copyright © Debra Lee Baldwin.



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miércoles, 1 de octubre de 2025

Autumn Succulent Checklist Amazing tips

These seasonal succulent must-do's are for southern and coastal CA, from the Bay Area south. If you live beyond, please visit my site's Succulent Care By Season and Region page. 

Senecio and aeoniums

Blue Senecio mandraliscae and aeoniums, from my video: How to Fill Gaps in Your Succulent Garden

In Autumn...

Fertilize winter growers: These include aeoniums, aloes, cotyledons, crassulas (jade plants), gasterias, graptopetalums, haworthias, kalanchoes, sansevierias, warm-climate sedums, and senecios. See How to Fertilize Succulents on my site.

It's tidy-up time. Don't let dead branches and messy overgrowth persist into spring. Trim so new growth goes where you want it and won't be in the way.

Groom echeverias. Remove old flower stalks and dry leaves under rosettes. Behead rosettes with long trunks. See on my site: Refresh Your Echeveria Garden and How to Behead and Replant Echeverias.

Spray mealy bugs with 70% Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol.

Spread weed preventer (pre-emergent herbicide). This nontoxic, granulated powder minimizes seed germination. Ideally before the first seasonal rain, sprinkle granules where weeds tend to sprout: bare soil in sunny areas.

Scrub cochineal scale off paddle cactus (Opuntia sp.) Remove the fluffy white bumps with Safer soapHere's how.

Scale on Paddle Cactus, how to remove (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

See how I press my grandson into service removing scale from paddle cactus, in the video.Check your garden's run-off. Create channels that divert rain from succulents in low spots. If they sit where water collects, they may rot.

Fertilize in-ground succulents with Ironite. Ideal for newly planted gardens, it boosts spring growth. Take care it doesn't stain hardscape.

Treat agaves for snout weevil. This essential preventative needs doing in spring and fall. Don't assume your agaves don't need it; sadly, the weevil WILL find them. How and what to use now that California banned the most effective insecticide.

Hose large succulents to remove fallen leaves, dirt, and dust that inhibit photosynthesis. Btw, Michelle Slatalla of The Wall Street Journal recently asked me to recommend a garden hose---of all things---for her lifestyle column. Here's my hand's-down, kink-free favorite.

Ant-infested succulent

Ants push soil up from below.

Check for ants in outdoor potted succulents, especially haworthias, gasterias and aloes. One tell-tale sign is soil in the crowns, pushed up from below. What to do.

Wait to plant cuttings and new nursery plants until after the weather cools and the the winds die down.

Note: Some product links are affiliate. 

Related Info on This Site

Cochineal scale on Opuntia (paddle cactus) (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Cochineal Scale on Paddle Cactus, What To Do

White fuzzy lumps on paddle cactus are cochineal (coach-en-ee-al) scale, a parasite that pierces the plant’s skin and consumes its juices. It’s used to make carmine dye.

Agave snout weevil damage (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Agave Snout Weevil Prevention and Treatment

Agave snout-nosed weevil is a half-inch-long black beetle with a downward-curving proboscis that enables it to pierce an agave’s core, where it lays its eggs. Grubs hatch, consume the agave’s heart, then burrow into the soil to pupate.

Mycoplasma on crassula (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Succulent Pests and Problems Q&A Forum

Are pests or mysterious maladies causing problems with your succulents? This page is a forum for you to ask questions, leave comments and share what works for you. Others can see and benefit from the answers. Your own tried-and-true solutions are welcome, too! 

The post Autumn Succulent Checklist appeared first on Debra Lee Baldwin. Copyright © Debra Lee Baldwin.



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domingo, 7 de septiembre de 2025

Succulent Windowsill Pots How-To and 7 Years Later Amazing tips

In my Succulent Windowsill Pots video and DIY below, you'll find out how to make a simple, colorful succulent windowsill garden. Here's how to transform your window at work or home into a mini-garden.

The six pots in my video, each 3-inches in diameter, came as a set from Amazon. Their rainbow colors make them fun to combine with colorful succulents. I added crushed glass topdressings for bling and sparkle.

You needn't use the exact pots I did; other multipot sets work equally well---for example, these from Mountain Crest Gardens. Scroll down to watch a video of Annie and me planting them with haworthias.

Colorful windowsill succulents (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Windowsill pots with haworthias, from Mountain Crest Gardens

Materials and Method

You'll need...

  • Four to six 3-inch decorative pots. Cover drain holes with a 2-inch square cut from a paper towel, so soil doesn't fall out.
  • The same number of succulents in 2-inch nursery pots. Numerous varieties and even cuttings will work. These are Adromischus cristatus, Sedeveria 'Lilac Mist', Sedeveria 'Letizia', Senecio haworthii, Sedum nussbaumerianum, and Sedum adolphi:
  • Gently slide each plant out of its nursery pot and tuck into its new pot. If need be, remove 1/4 to 1/2 inch of soil from top or bottom so root ball stays below the rim.
  • Use a gritty potting soil to fill gaps after putting plants (root balls and all) into the pots, or to elevate if needed. Soil should go to about half inch below the rim.
  • Add a 1/4-inch layer of white or neutral-colored sand (but not beach sand---too salty). The sand will fill gaps and keep the glass topdressing's color true.
  • Add a layer of crushed, tumbled glass (optional) from craft stores, floral suppliers or online. I chose glass that echoes the glazes on the pots. Alternatively, conceal bare dirt and give your pots a finished look with crushed rock, pebbles, rhinestones or beads.

Succulent windowsill pots

Care:

  • Water lightly and infrequently. See my How to Water Succulents page.
  • If your windowsill might be damaged by moisture, move the pots to the sink when watering. Let drain thoroughly before replacing. Cut little circles from foil and place one under each pot to protect the sill from condensation.
  • If stem succulents stretch or rosette succulents flatten, they're asking for more light. However, the sun's ultraviolet rays, when magnified by untreated window glass, can burn leaves. If this is a concern, add a sheer curtain or move plants farther from the glass. Keep in mind that south-facing windows typically get the most sun and north-facing the least. Haworthias, being shade succulents, are especially at risk.
  • It's normal for succulents to get leggy over time. After four to six months or whenever you tire of looking at stems that have growth only on the tips, take cuttings and replant.

Be sure to watch this DIY video on Mountain Crest Gardens' YouTube channel. In it, Annie and I plant haworthias in brightly glazed flowerpots:

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Overwintering

Overwintering Succulents How to keep succulents happy during the cold winter months Where you live makes a big difference when it comes to the well-being of your succulents in winter. Most varieties go dormant in winter and are frost-tender, meaning they can’t handle temps below 32 degrees F. Winter Conditions That Damage Succulents These common…

Fishbone cactus (Epiphyllum anguliger) (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Shade Succulents

Shade Succulents Use these in areas of your dry garden that don’t get direct, hot, midday sun. Certain succulents not only thrive in shady spots, they prefer them. Below you’ll find cultivation tips and a gallery of 90 readily available, low-light garden succulents.  Video link: https://youtu.be/AXtV8e6o-pE > Jump down to the photo gallery I’ll help you…

The post Succulent Windowsill Pots How-To and 7 Years Later appeared first on Debra Lee Baldwin. Copyright © Debra Lee Baldwin.



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miércoles, 13 de agosto de 2025

Discover Julian Duval’s Personal Botanic Garden Amazing tips

You're about to tour the garden of one of San Diego’s most endearing and knowledgeable plant experts: Julian Duval, retired CEO of the San Diego Botanic Garden.

In my new video, you'll see rare and unusual plants in pots, in the ground, and in an 18 x 24 greenhouse that Julian calls "a walk-in terrarium." His impressive, decades-old specimens routinely win blue ribbons at Cactus & Succulent Society shows.

Julian's vast assortment of uncommon succulents include uncarina, brachychiton and cyphostemma trees; bizarre and intriguing welwitschias, ant plants, caudiciforms, pachyforms, and epiphytes; and numerous oddball tropicals.

Uh, just what ARE those, Debra?

Julian introduces them in the video, but here are photos and definitions:

Ant plant (Myrmecophyte): Has a symbiotic relationship with a colony of ants. The plant provides food and nesting chambers; and the ants protect it from predation, provide nutrition via their waste, and aid in seed dispersal.

Prickly tropical plant with a symbiotic relationship with ants Myrmecodia tuberosa

Myrmecodia tuberosa (ant plant)

Epiphyte: A plant that grows on another plant but is not parasitic, such as ferns, bromeliads, air plants, and orchids in tropical rainforests.

Air plants and other bromeliads in a dracaena tree (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Epiphytic tillandsias and other bromeliads grow on the slender-trunks of a dracaena tree

Caudiciform: These plants have an enlarged base that stores water (a caudex). Despite being a succulent, the leaves may be thin. In many varieties, thickened roots can elevated and displayed like bonsai.  

Fat trunked succulent bonsai with pink flowers Adenium swazicum

Adenium swazicum with elevated roots

Pachycaul: From the Greek meaning "thick" or "massive:" A succulent with a bottle-shaped or swollen trunk that's minimally branched. Elephants, you doubtless know, are pachyderms.

Succulent tree with prickly bottle shaped trunk Pachypodium lameriiPachypodium lamerii is both a pachyform and a pachycaul. 

Pachyform: A general term encompassing caudiciforms, pachycauls, and other thick-bodied plants. 

Welwitschia mirabilis, native to African deserts, has two ever-lengthening leaves that emerge from a short, woody trunk. Certain specimens in habitat with leaves 8 feet or longer are thousands of years old---some of the longest-living plants on earth!

Longest lived plant on earth, Welwitschia mirabilis

Welwitschia mirabilis

One of Julian's oddball tropical trees is Ficus auriculata, native to Nepal, China and Southeast Asia. Grows to 24 feet with oval leaves 15 inches in diameter. Large, donut-shaped, inedible figs cluster along trunk and branches.

Fruit clusters on the trunk look like donuts Ficus auriculata Ficus auriculata

See more in the gallery below, all ID'd. 

Climate, soil, watering

The soil of Vista, CA is a mix of clay and decomposed granite that "isn't ideal," Julian says, noting it could be better-draining. "It's an adobe-DG combination."

For succulents and other dry-climate plants, Julian amends "mostly with inorganics such as pumice." However, due to the diversity of the plants he keeps, how he improves the soil is not a hard-and-fast rule. "The soil mix is also dependent on the watering schedule," Julian says. "There are lots of variables."

He and wife Leslie chose their 2/3-acre lot for its large boulders and sloping terrain that lets cold air drain. "Vista is generally frost-free," Julian says. "It stays warmer than the coast and cooler than farther inland."

Are you aware of the "collected plants" controversy?

Does Julian have favorites among the thousands in his collection? Yes---those with "fat bottoms" which he considers "sculptural." Because he's owned and tended these for decades, many of his bonsai'd caudiciform and pachyform succulents have the look of great age---a reason they impress Cactus & Succulent Society show judges.

Blue ribbon winning Operculacarya decaryi bonsai pachyform

Julian's bonsai'd Operculacarya decaryi took "Best Succulent - Advanced" at a recent San Diego Cactus & Succulent Society show and sale

It's frustrating to long-time collectors like Julian that "collected plants"---cacti and succulents taken from the wild---may be sold and/or displayed at shows, as though their owner had cultivated them a long time.

Julian says: "I support not entering plants collected from the wild in shows. Poaching is a serious problem that contributes to the potential extinction of some species. Plus I think growers who have taken the time to produce a plant that has the maturity judges look for in a show specimen should not have to compete with someone who has taken a plant from habitat."

What do you think? Agree or disagree? Tell us in the Comments!

 

Gallery of Julian's Plants

These are favorites from my recent visit, but obviously Julian has many more. If you'd like to learn and see more from this remarkable plantsman, I'd love an excuse to go back. LMK in the comments!

Note: Also see 80 photos of Julian's garden, taken in the spring of 2025, on Gerhard Bock's "Succulents and More" blog.

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Euphorbia mammillaris variegated (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

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Tephrocactus geometricus (c) Rich Zeh

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