See a Succulent Collectors’ Garden Renovation Amazing tips

In my latest video, you'll tour a renovated collector's garden north of San Diego that is a living gallery of rare and unusual succulents. I’ve followed this garden since 2008, and it appears in my books. Over time it became overgrown and needed a good going-over. You’ll see before-and-after photos, and how the designer groups rocks and boulders to create interesting vignettes.

Succulent vignette with rocks

The layout was fine, but a lot of plant material needed to be removed to reveal (or to salvage) large, mature specimens that deserved prominence. The owners, who are discerning succulent collectors, hired a designer who specializes in cactus and succulent landscapes: Steve McDearmon of Garden Rhythms. In the video, Steve shows us the garden as it's nearing completion.

Planted area under sumac

At the owners' request, Steve brought in additional rare succulents to add to the collection, including intriguing variegates I'd yet to see.

Sources

There are succulents being trialed (tested) in the garden that are not yet commercially available, but the majority of new plant material came from:

• Oasis Water Efficient Gardens
• Waterwise Botanicals
• Altman Plants

Steve also brought in more than 20 yards of soil, plus his favorite warm-hued rocks, boulders and gravel.

Steve's rocks

Left: rubble rock; center, 3/8-inch gravel; right ornamental boulder.

Steve's tried-and-true combo of three kinds of rock includes boulders that blend hues of blue-gray, lavender and rust. At KRC Rock they're called Honey Quartz; and at other suppliers---such as Southwest Boulder & Stone---Apache Sunset.

Rocks larger than gravel but smaller than fist-sized are Copper Canyon rubble. Gravel topdressing is 3/8-inch Mojave Gold, which Steve likes because it's "not too bright. It's gray and brown with flecks of white."

Step-by-Step: Succulent Garden Renovation

Think of it like clearing out a closet: Take out everything you don't want, put back only what you do, and decide what if anything should be added.

1. Evaluate areas to be redone. Remove any plants that are tired, ailing, ugly, in the way, or you no longer like.
2. Remove weeds and debris and trim and cut back anything that's overgrown or needs pruning and lacing.
3. Flag large plants that'll serve as focal points.
4. Decide which plants should stay, and which will be moved and where.
5. As well as design and aesthetics, consider plants' sun-shade requirements and size at maturity.
6. Evaluate locations, prior to planting, from main vantage points.
7. Check and improve hardscape, walkways, steps, sitting areas, and other people-oriented amenities.
8. Fix any infrastructure issues, such as plumbing, irrigation, lighting, drainage, and terracing. Note: The irrigation Steve mentions is Netafim techline. (Affiliate link)
9. When you have a relatively blank slate, bring in soil and create mounds and swales.
10. Add boulders so they look natural---not evenly spaced or in straight lines, but rather irregular groupings.
11. Set plants where they'll go: those you're repositioning or are in nursery pots.
12. Once everything's planted, adjust irrigation.
13. Add topdressing. Steve starts with swaths of rubble rock in beds, bordering pathways.
14. Cover remaining bare soil with approximately two inches of gravel.
15. Apply pre-emergent herbicide. It's a powder that prevents weeds from germinating.

Gallery of Collectors' Garden plants

Aeonium 'Sunburst'

Agave 'Blue Flame' variegated

Agave 'Blue Glow' variegated

Agave 'Kichijokan' variegated

Agave 'Streaker'

Agave attenuata, variegated

Agave bracteosa, variegated

Agave filifera ssp. schidigera, variegated

Agave isthmensis

Agave nickelsiae (ferdinandi-regis)

Agave parryi var. truncata

Aloe 'Hercules', variegated, Agave angustifolia 'Variegata'

Aloe 'Hercules', variegated

Aloe 'Hercules'

Aloe 'Wildfire'

Aloe cameronii

Aloe dorotheae

Aloe nobilis, variegated

Aloe plicatilis

Aloe striata, variegated

Cereus peruvianus 'Monstrosus'

Cyphostemma juttae with fruit

Dracaena draco, Agave angustifolia 'Variegata'

Dracaena reflexa (Song of India)

Dudleya brittonii

Echeveria agavoides 'Ebony'

Echeveria horrida (E. polygona) 'Snowflake'

Euphorbia ammak, crested

Ferocactus latispinus with boulders

Ferocactus sp.

Graptosedum 'Vera Higgins'

Kalanchoe fedschenkoi, variegated

Kalanchoe luciae cultivar

Mangave 'Spotty Dotty'

Mangave sp.

Mangave sp.2

Oreocereus celsianus (Old Man of the Andes)

Portulacaria afra 'Minima' variegated

Ruschia pulvinaris

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Oh, No, My Succulents Froze! Amazing tips

Not good. This morning the birdbath was solid ice and lemons had frozen on the tree. Even those succulents I'd covered have patchy areas indicating damaged tissue. Those not covered (above) look worse.

Last night's forecast was 30 degrees, but parts of my garden likely went lower as cold air flowed and settled. Frost cloth and bedsheets added a few degrees, but it was the duration of the cold that made the difference.

It was windy while I was covering plants, so I secured sheets with clothespins.

Not all of this region---inland Southern CA---gets frost. Avocado and citrus orchards sit atop slopes so frost drains away. Hilltops often are fine at the same time valleys freeze.

Winter had been mild up to now. I was optimistic; I didn't think a late frost would be bad. Hopefully you saw frost advisories on the news and/or designer Laura Eubanks' social media post showing she'd covered her own garden.

So...how are your succulents? If you didn't cover them, is it too late? If there's damage, what's to be done?

You won't be able to tell the extent of the damage for a few days. That's time to rethink what-goes-where, and consider summer concerns as well.

Here on the cusp of frost, it often comes down to microclimates.

Case in point: After getting tired of covering them in winter, I grow crassulas only along my home's east-facing wall, beneath eaves. There they get morning sun, are protected from cold, heat, harsh sun and hail, and benefit from the wall's radiant warmth.

Dead and badly damaged plants will need to be removed.

If jades, kalanchoes and others turn brown and collapse, you probably don't want them.

This Portulacaria afra will look good again, once frost-burned branches are removed.

Wait until the weather warms---late March---then prune survivors back to healthy tissue. (Leave dead top growth for now; it helps insulate.) Spring works wonders, and plants will grow fast after late-winter rains.

Pruning is fine for shrub succulents like jades but not most aeoniums. Once a rosette freezes, leaves fall off, leaving naked stems. The good news is that succulent roots are shallow, and removal is quick: Yank-and-toss.

Trees are important inland

Speaking of Laura Eubanks...San Diego's best- known designer prefers not to plant under trees because leaf drop spoils a succulent garden's tidy aesthetic. That's smart along the coast, where temps range from the low 40s to the high 80s. But inland, trees serve to protect tender succulents from harsh weather.

The top of this jade is toast, but the plant's OK. Notice healthy growth at its base.

I have few deciduous trees because I want year-round canopies that moderate excessive sun, heat and cold. I've noticed that after succulents get a foot tall or fill in, leaves filter down through them. Under my oaks, hardscape is messier than planted areas. During hot weather, I blast with a hose those succulents with leaves in their crowns, like agaves and aloes. Year-round, I sweep (or blow) leaves from steps, patios and walkways.

Btw, I'm keeping my plants covered for a couple more nights, until lows are safely above the mid-30s. If you haven't covered yours, well, the worst is over, and (sad to say) once the damage is done, there's probably no point in doing so.

So, how did your garden fare during the frost?

Comments, questions, tips and suggestions welcome...but don't forget to mention your city or region. It matters!

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