Saguaro Feliz: septiembre 2019

jueves, 26 de septiembre de 2019

Succulents 2020 Calendar Images & Giveaway Amazing tips

Every year I create a calendar so I have to do a dozen watercolors. Painting is a cherished hobby, but---can you relate?---I need a deadline to do it. In August, I hadn't picked up a brush for nearly a year and had lots to relearn. The first few were awful. At least I think so. Uncertain and dissatisfied, I did 16.

My Question for you

So, which three or four are worthy to be up for a month, and which three or four, eh, not so much? Share your candid opinions below. If you're a newsletter subscriber, your comment makes you eligible to win a calendar. I'll give away five (retail $20/ea.). Go to the green bar on my Home Page to subscribe. On Oct. 1, I'll announce the winners (selected randomly) here on this page. I'll also upload "your" top 12 to Zazzle.

If you want to buy a calendar...

I'll post the link here, so do check back. Btw, I don't sell calendars myself---Zazzle does, and we "artists" get a 10% royalty. Clearly, I don't do it for the money! But they do have sales, and historically Zazzle discounts calendars 60% on Black Friday.

Btw, I'll bring a dozen or so to a Master Gardener Seminar I'm doing in Orange County, Sat., Dec. 14 (details to come). Come and get one for yourself or a friend, and I'll even sign "Happy Birthday" on the date. ;+)

OK! Pick your faves:

In the Comments below, let me know your favorites and those you like least. They're in alphabetical order by common name.

Agave polly pelona

Artichoke agave

Blue Curls echeveria

Blue rose echeveria

Blue Sky echeveria

Bumpy echeveria

King Ferdinand agave

Parryi's agave

Quadricolor agave

Queen Victoria agave

Sedeveria

Sempervivum

Shaw's agave

Short-leaf aloe

Silver Star graptoveria

Xmas agave

P.S. I'll read every comment, so be as detailed with your suggestions as you like. Thanks! ~ Debra

View my 2019 Succulent Watercolors Calendar

I’m pleased to show you my 2019 Succulent Watercolors Calendar! It features a dozen new, vibrant watercolors based on my favorite photos of succulent plants. Last year I was so busy with the launch of the second edition of Designing with Succulents, I didn’t pursue my watercolor hobby. This year happily I found time. I try to…

The Easy Way to Paint Watercolors

Is there really an easy way to paint watercolors? Yes, if you go straight to painting and don’t spend time laboriously drawing the image first. I learned the technique described here from San Diego watercolor artist Diane Palley McDonald. Step by step: Select a photo that inspires you. Print the photo on 8-1/2 by 11 paper.…

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miércoles, 18 de septiembre de 2019

Autumn Succulent Must-Do’s Amazing tips

You're aware of autumn in sun and shadows, shorter days and drier air, and so is your garden. Smart plant parents also are attuned to wind, rain and frost. And they're vigilant. Succulents that have yet to recover from summer heat and sun are especially vulnerable to pests.

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

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

In September and October...

(1) Aeoniums and senecios are emerging from summer dormancy. Cut back leggy aeoniums, save the rosettes, and discard old plants roots and all. See how in my video, How to Refresh an Overgrown Succulent Garden.

(2) Trim Senecio mandraliscae back several inches, and plant cuttings in gaps. Old stems branch where cut, which helps mass plantings look fuller. See my new video, How to Fill Gaps in Your Succulent Garden.

(3) Spread pre-emergent herbicide. This nontoxic, granulated powder stops seeds from germinating. Spread it, before the first rainstorm, wherever you don't want weeds. More.

(4) Check your garden's run-off. Create channels that divert rain from succulents growing in low spots. If they sit where water collects, they may rot.

(5) Treat agaves for snout weevil. This essential preventative needs doing in spring and fall. It also saves infested plants if caught early. More.

Autumn succulent wreath

(6) Create a lovely wreath that'll transition from fall into winter. See my video: Make an Autumn-Themed Succulent Wreath DIY (3:58).

(7) Fertilize in-ground succulents before a rainstorm with Ironite. It's optional, but it does promote lush spring growth. Don't let it stain hardscape.

(8) Scrub cochineal scale off opuntia pads. Remove the bumpy white colonies with a soft-bristled shower brush dipped in Safer soap. Read the article. See the video.

Ants on gasteria

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

(10) Heat, sun and Santa Ana winds can desiccate succulents. Cuttings are vulnerable because they lack roots, so start them once the winds die down.

Cochineal Scale on Paddle Cactus, What To Do

White fuzzy lumps on paddle cactus indicate the presence of a parasite that pierces the plant’s skin and consumes its juices. A bit of cochineal (coach-en-ee-al) scale is no big deal, but it does tend to spread and may eventually kill the plant. Your first line of defense is to blast what appears to be…

Agave Snout Weevil Prevention and Treatment

Agave experts, growers, and pest management specialists advise drenching the soil around healthy agaves with a systemic insecticide containing imidacloprid.* Untreated agaves are at high risk of infestation. If treated early enough, an infested agave may survive. The agave snout-nosed weevil is a half-inch-long black beetle with a downward-curving proboscis that enables it to pierce an agave’s…

Succulent Pests, Large and Small

Common succulent pests, diseases, and problems include agave grease mite, aloe mite, ant infestation, aphids, black spots, cochineal scale, deer, desiccation, etiolation, frost, gopher, hail, mealy bugs, mildew, rabbit, rot, snails and sunburn. Also find out how NOT to deal with a skunk!

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martes, 17 de septiembre de 2019

Prepare Your Succulents for Rainstorms Amazing tips

During rainy weather, succulents, which come from arid climates, may rot. Stems or trunks turn squishy and collapse. It may be possible to take cuttings from healthy top growth and restart the plants---as I did after one rainy winter with aeoniums. Fortunately, the rest of my succulents came through fine, despite double normal rainfall. After all, it's not water that causes roots to rot, but drowning from lack of oxygen (plus microbes).

If succulents occupy low-lying areas of your garden where rain tends to puddle, and you don't want to move the plants to higher ground, use a patio umbrella to keep them from being soaked. Channel run-off with rocks, sandbags or trenches; and top-dress soggy soil with pumice to absorb standing water.

Above: Agave attenuata, crassulas, yuccas and other succulents thrive in Hilo, Hawaii, where precipitation averages 200+ inches a year. Rain bathes the roots continually, but they stay aerated and healthy because the soil is fast-draining lava rock.

Snails love rain...and succulents

While gardening between El Niño storms, I inadvertently threw a snail through the open window of a passing pickup truck. I realized this because, unlike previously tossed mollusks, I didn't hear the sound of shell hitting asphalt. If the driver had stopped, I would've apologized and explained that it wasn't personal---at least not where he was concerned.

The snail photo is from the first edition of Designing with Succulents, which means the snail would be 10+ years old had it lived. Of course it didn't.

Snails reproduce in abundance in wet weather and unless stopped chew unsightly holes in plants. This is truly a shame because succulents keep their leaves a long time. An environmentally friendly bait is Sluggo, but it's expensive, as are decollate (predator) snails---which in any case are not legal in every California county. The most expedient method, squashing underfoot, leaves a sticky residue on shoes. So I step on a leaf instead, which is one reason I grow nasturtiums. Set a snail on the ground, place a nasturtium leaf atop it, and step on it. If there's no crunch, find harder ground. But not your patio; snails stain.

Pumice absorbs moisture

The best soil amendment for succulents is pumice, a lightweight crushed volcanic rock that aerates the growing medium and absorbs excess moisture. I mix pumice half-and-half with bagged potting soil for containers; and with equal parts compost and garden soil or decomposed granite for in-ground beds. [Learn more about pumice.]

Related info

On this site:

How to Water Succulents These fleshy-leaved plants from hot, dry regions are designed to live off water stored in their leaves and tissues in order to survive periods without rainfall. But this doesn't mean you shouldn't water them at all...[Continue reading]

Learn about pumice. No other soil amendment is as widely used by succulent growers and collectors as pumice (crushed lava rock). Here’s why...[Continue reading]

Oh, No, My Succulents Froze! Will succulents recover from frost damage? It depends. Here’s how frost-tender succulents looked before temps dropped into the mid-20s F, and after...[Continue reading]

Winter Protection for Succulents: Products Soggy soil, dim light, high humidity and freezing temperatures can be death to succulents native to warm, arid climates. These items will help you get your succulents through cold, wet North American winters...[Continue reading]

On My YouTube channel:

Why Succulents Rot and How to Prevent It

Why Rain is Good for Potted Succulents

Post-Rain Must-Do's for Succulent Gardens

Succulents and Too Much Rain, A French Solution

Want to protect your succulents from too much rain? Here’s how the Jardin Zoologique Tropical in southeastern France keeps their succulents from becoming waterlogged during seasonal rainstorms. Corrugated fiberglass panels atop metal bars tent the plants so excess rain doesn’t soak the soil. The structures are tall enough to allow good air circulation, and the panels are translucent, enabling maximum sunlight to reach the plants. The…

Your Succulent Garden After a Rainstorm, Checklist

Rain at last! Could the California drought finally be over? Well, no. It’ll take hundreds of years for underground aquifers to refill. The snowpack isn’t adequate for our future water supply. On the bright side, our gardens are looking glorious…even those with mainly drought-tolerant plants. Perfect conditions for succulents are good drainage, annual rainfall less…

How Rain Benefits Succulents

Don’t be surprised if after a good rain, your succulents look brighter and more vibrant. Here’s how rain benefits succulents: It provides dissolved minerals and washes away dust that inhibits photosynthesis; it dilutes and flushes salts and harmful chemicals that have built up in the soil from tap water; and it provides nitrogen essential to growth, especially…

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jueves, 5 de septiembre de 2019

Avoiding Mail-Order Succulent Misery Amazing tips

If you've tried to ship succulents or ordered them from afar, you've likely experienced the miseries of spilled soil, damaged leaves, and unseen spines. I've received shipments in a sorry state, and I've also tried to send gift succulents to out-of-CA friends. Here's what I've learned.

Succulents by Mail: Six things you need to know

1. Live plants must be inspected prior to shipping to be certified pest-free, in order to protect the destination's environment and agriculture. Not surprisingly, the most vulnerable states---Florida, California and Hawaii---have the strictest regulations. Remember my mystery gymnos from Thailand? They were hidden in a box of pastries, doubtless to sidestep inspection.

2. Soil is problematical. It spills, it's dirty, and it adds weight. Go with cuttings if you can.

3. The fatter the leaf and the smaller its connection to the stem, the more likely it is to pop off. Plump-leaved succulents are especially challenging to keep intact in transit.

4. Spiny succulents like cacti and agaves need warning labels. So do those with caustic sap, like euphorbias.

5. Just because you put labels and arrows on a box doesn't mean it won't be delivered upside-down. Or tossed off a loading dock. Package plants for the worst-case scenario.

6. Let succulents with thin, brittle leaves (like many echeverias) get good and dry so they're soft and flexible. Flaccid leaves are far less likely to split or break.

Plants after being unpacked, in my new video: Unboxing Fragile Succulents (3:53)

Inspection certificate

Unboxing Fragile Succulents

Recently Mountain Crest Gardens, a succulent mail-order nursery in Northern CA, asked me to evaluate their packaging. I assumed I was already familiar with it...packing peanuts made of corn starch, right? Into the compost pile they go. Ah, yes, but there's always room for improvement. Seems they've come up with paper cones to secure plants in nursery pots (similar to the sleeves florists use for bouquets) plus shredded, biodegradable, cardboard "crinkle paper."

In my new video I unpack two dozen succulents

Mountain Crest sent a box 6 inches high by 12 inches wide by 16 inches long. It came via 3-day to replicate transit time to the East Coast. Inside were two dozen assorted succulents selected for being especially challenging to ship: aeoniums with leaves that mar easily, a cactus with glochids, a euphorbia with milky sap; and quite a few with fragile, brittle or detachable leaves. None had issues despite landing upside-down on a sunbaked driveway on a 95-degree day.

A word about delivery drivers. They mean well, but they do things that are forehead-slappers, like ignoring arrows and words like "Live Plants" and "This Side Up," and setting boxes in hot sun---or where the contents are certain to eventually cook or freeze. So no matter how excellent a nursery's packaging, track your shipment and be home to rescue it.

P.S. "We’ve already made another tweak since sending those plants," says Mountain Crest's Matts Jopson. "We’re using tissue paper inside the cones for all cacti since it’s much easier to remove. The crinkle paper gets stuck on the spines."