Echeveria Bonanza at Oasis Amazing tips

The selection of large (dinner-plate-sized) echeverias at Oasis Water Efficient Gardens right now is astonishing. Great timing, too. Autumn is nearly upon us, and an important end-summer task is refreshing our echeveria gardens. My own occupies several large pots. Annually in late August, I pull off dry lower leaves, deadhead, and enhance the assortment---hence my trip to Oasis.

As you'll see in the Gallery below, echeverias at this north San Diego nursery are beyond beautiful.

Oasis is owned by Altman Plants, the largest wholesale grower of succulents. Oasis' selection typically includes patented Altman cultivars (indicated by PP numbers on their tags). Among them: rosy-red Echeveria 'Love's Fire' above, ripple-edged 'Crimson Tide', maroon-pink 'Fireglow', pastel pink 'Angel Kissed', and glossy 'Pink Diamond'.

Above are echeverias in smaller pots (3-1/2" and 2-1/2"). Both of the pink varieties in the foreground are patented by grower/hybridizer Altman Plants. 

There were cultivars I'd yet to see---and that's saying a lot---like pastel lavender 'Cream Puff', wavy blue 'Hawaii' and an intergeneric patented hybrid, Tacisedum 'Spring Glow' (x Graptopetalum and Sedum).

I also was delighted to find an old favorite: Echeveria imbricata. This symmetrical, offsetting "blue rose" from Mexico once was easy to find, but after succulents took off, it became so popular it nearly disappeared. Not surprisingly, the price soared.

Speaking of prices! I mean, c'mon: $20 for 2-gallon plants, $8 for one-gallon and 8-inch, $6 for 9cm (3-1/2 inches) and $3.25 for 2.5 inch!

Can't Get There? Tari's On It

But what if you live too far away to pounce? No problem.

I called succulent personal shopper Tari Colbry and asked if she could help...and she's happy to. In fact, Tari promised to do one of her "live sales" from Oasis. These are streamed via Instagram and are a lot of fun. Tari shows a plant, talks a bit about it, and tells viewers what she'll sell it for (plus shipping).

Tari's proud to offer a wide variety of superb plants priced competitively. She visits nurseries and growers, cherry-picks best specimens (mostly succulents, but she's branching out), then sells them during her scheduled sales. Her turnover is fast, so she doesn't post photos of what she has to offer on her website.

Follow Tari on IG so you'll know when this and future live-streaming sales will be. She's off to Ecuador, so it'll be when she gets back in a couple of weeks. Why she's there is a circuitous story that involves cool plants. I'll leave it to her to tell you about it. Just know Tari is one energetic gal who enjoys getting gorgeous plants to people who can't obtain them otherwise. She ships anywhere in the US. See her in action in my video.

Also when she gets back, Tari is moving her inventory from her home to a greenhouse in Vista, CA. It's over 2,000 square feet---more than double what she has now---with lots more space for packing and shipping.

As for Oasis' echeverias...

Below are those I saw mid-August. Do keep in mind availability and quantities change daily. Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Oasis, and for all I know, they may be dismayed if this results in a stampede. Please don't pester them with phone calls. Contact Tari instead---she's up for it.

Do you see a succulent you simply have to have? Every echeveria I've brought home from Oasis has thrived, and some are huge Check out my own collection. As always, your comments are most welcome!

Gallery

Echeveria agavoides 'Red Edge' 8-inch

Echeveria 'Andromeda' 2 gal.

Echeveria 'Angel Kissed' 3.5 in.

Echeveria 'Belen' 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Big Red' 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Blue Sky' 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Cielo' 2 gal.

Echeveria 'Creampuff' 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Crimson Tide' 8-inch

Echeveria 'Elfstone' 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Encantada' 2 gal.

Echeveria 'Fireglow' 8-inch

Echeveria 'Green Abalone' 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Hawaii' 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Hortensia' 2 gal.

Echeveria imbricata 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Isabella' 2 gal.

Echeveria 'Jennifer' 2 gal.

Echeveria 'Love's Fire' 8-inch

Echeveria multicaulis 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Pink Diamond' 3.5 in.

Echeveria 'Sea Dragon' 8-inch

Echeveria 'Sofia' 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Swirl' 1 gal.

Echeveria 'Violacina' 2 gal.

Echeveria 'Viviana' 2 gal.

Graptoveria 'Opalina' 1 gal.

Pachyveria 'Starbucks' 1 gal.

Tacisedum 'Spring Glow' 3.5 inch

Taciveria 'Tasha' 3.5 inch

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Propagation: What Your Succulents Want You to Know Amazing tips

In my new video I show and explain how your succulents want to propagate, if you help them or not...and whether you like it or not! When propagation happens, you may be delighted or dismayed. Delighted, because you get free plants; dismayed because you get too many.

It all comes down to observation. Succulents are good at telling you what’s important to them. You'll soon discover how yours want to reproduce in your garden or pots. See examples from the video below.

Note: I use the terms "offsets," "plantlets" and "pups" interchangeably to refer to baby plants that grow from the parent via a sort of botanical umbilical cord. Depending on the type of succulent, this pipeline of nutrients might be above or below the soil.

When leaves pop off easily

Succulents with leaves that detach easily

You know that little snap when a plump leaf falls off? Leaves of sedums, graptopetalums, pachyphytums, and pachyverias tend to fall off if you merely brush against them. This is infuriating, but do consider the plants’ perspective: They’re simply trying to clone themselves...and you can help. Tuck the fallen leaf where it’ll produce its own little leaves and roots atop the soil beneath the mother plant.

When stems work best for propagation

Jade cutting with roots

Succulents with stems propagate readily from cuttings, and jade is one that drops stems for that very purpose. If this fallen jade stem could talk, it would say, “Plant me please.” Notice how drying out a bit has made it curl. It's all set to go, with roots that point downward and leaves that go upward. Both form from meristem (growth) tissue.

What cacti want you to know

Ceroid cactus with offsets

If you wonder why cacti tend to fall over or break apart easily, consider how doing so helps them propagate. Columnar species tend to be shallow-rooted and top-heavy. By falling over, they're able to launch a family.

What aerial roots are all about

Aeonium with aerial roots

Stems that are still on plants may send roots into thin air, like this aeonium. Aerial roots are almost always about propagation. This succulent is saying, "I'm SO ready to leave home!"

What pups are trying to tell you

Agave americana 'Marginata' and pups

Pups grow from underground roots that run parallel to the surface of the soil. These are white until they break through. When exposed to the sun, root tips form leaves that turn green and photosynthesize.

You may think pups look cool, like the Agave americana “Marginata’ above with feral plantlets poking out of gaps in a terrace. No! They’re baby alligators, cute until they get huge.

When baby plants form on leaves or flower stems

Haworthia fasciata offset

Haworthias are efficient at creating offsets from their roots, but every so often a plant will produce one or more plantlets on a flower spike. As the baby plant grows, it gets heavier. Gravity lowers it to the ground where it takes root---hence the long stem. Other succulents that do this include Crassula multicava and bryophyllums.

When tissue damage produces baby plants

Barrel cactus with offsets caused by tissue damage

Cacti, agaves, mangaves and other succulents may produce offsets as a result of tissue damage. Above, a gopher ate the root of this barrel cactus up into its core, which stimulated the plant’s meristem tissue. Damaging the meristem is a method professional growers and collectors use to propagate succulents. They may, for example, cut out the cores of agaves, then remove the little clones that result.

What yuccas want you to know

Yucca aloifolia started from cuttings

Because a yucca’s lower trunk is a water tank, it can get by on rainfall alone once established. Don’t plant a yucca near your home’s foundation, pipes or anything that an ever-expanding, bulbous base might encroach upon. I prune my yuccas to make them fuller and more shrublike. And if I want more yuccas, the cuttings root readily.

When succulents need your help

Echeveria in need of beheading

Leggy aeoniums and echeverias that have ever-smaller rosettes atop naked stems can use your help with propagation. Cut off the top along with enough stem to anchor the rosette, set it aside until roots form, then plant in good soil.

---

The above is merely an overview of the 18-min video. Types of succulents in the video include sedums, agaves (large and small), echeverias, aeoniums, crassulas, graptoveria, graptosedum, cacti (paddle, columnar, spherical), kalanchoes (bryophyllums), sempervivums, aloes, euphorbia, haworthias, stapeliads and yuccas.

Have you had an interesting or potentially helpful experience propagating your succulents? Please share it in the Comments below! 

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I’m in Architectural Digest! Sadly… Amazing tips

I'm in Architectural Digest!  Sadly, they didn't interview me about design...which is a little disappointing because I wrote Designing with Succulents and was a regular contributor to Better Homes & Gardens and Sunset. That said, being in AD is a huge honor. Plus they used my photos (example above).

The topic: How to propagate succulents

In the article I explain how to start succulents from cuttings, pups, offsets and leaves. Does that sort of thing interest you? You'll find plenty of good info here on my site and on my YouTube channel. And of course, if you like, you can read the AD article.

Btw, I gave those links to the writer and also explained how to start succulents from cuttings, pups, offsets and leaves. We talked for over an hour with email follow-ups. Even so, the article has several misconceptions and at least one egregious error. If you spot them, kudos to you! Do share them (or if you think I'm overreacting) in the Comments below.

I was in The New Yorker recently, too.

That article also is not about design, but nevertheless is an honor (many thanks to Jeanne and Barry Meadow for bringing it to my attention). It references a book I wrote pre-succulents: Taco Titan, The Glen Bell Story.

What? You never heard of it?

Well, after I profiled Mr. Bell for the San Diego Union-Tribune, Bell Enterprises and Taco Bell Corp. wanted me to do his biography. I'm proud of the book; it's a good read. After it came out, KFC asked, but I declined doing one about The Colonel. If I hadn't, what do you suppose I'd be doing today? Speculations welcome in the comments below.

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TV, Radio and Media

TV, Radio and Media Features, interviews and articles Here you’ll find excerpts and links to a few of many media articles and interviews in which Debra Lee Baldwin is featured and quoted as an expert on succulents and their design uses. Included are book reviews, radio, podcasts, TV news, Wall St. Journal, Washington Post, KPBS,…

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Discover Stacked Crassulas Amazing tips

My love affair with stacked crassulas began three decades ago. On a garden tour I saw a succulent with leaves stacked like pancakes along pendant stems. I took photos and finally tracked down the plant (Crassula perforata) several years later. Today stacked crassulas are much easier to come by, and desirable varieties number in the dozens.

Crassula perforata in a Mark Rafter pot

What's a stacked crassula?

"Stacked crassula" describes those species and cultivars in the genus Crassula with stems that go through the middle of the leaves. This creates what looks like stacks of bagels, beads on a necklace, minarets, pagodas, alternating plus-signs, rounded stars, rattler tails, pinwheels and more.

Crassula deceptor

Leaves vary from chunky (Crassula 'Moonglow') to dainty (Crassula 'Petite Bicolor'). Colors range from silvery white (Crassula deceptor) through shades of blue, green, brown and maroon. Flowers are tiny and clustering---similar to those of jade plants (one reason they're in the same genus). Stems vary from green "watch chains" (Crassula muscosa) to caterpillars (Crassula 'Baby's Necklace'). Go to the Crassula Gallery.

Stacked Crassula video

I'm so proud of my comprehensive, eye-candy video and eager for you to see 20+ collectible, easy-care and endearing varieties. Each has its own form, color and personality. In the video, you'll learn names, how to care for them, see them showcased in pots, and find out how to take cuttings. Yes, it's possible to propagate succulents with leaves so tight they conceal the stems! And---spoiler alert---it's easy.

Because names vary...

I've painstakingly researched plant names, which tend to be confusing or inaccurate online. I suspect this has to do with the same variety looking different depending on sun exposure, and vendors trying to ID plants from photos. Also to assist my viewers, I tracked down the parentage of crosses and cultivars, and (with glee I hope you share...or at least are patient with), I translate intimidating-yet-insightful Latin names.

Crassula pellucida 'Petite Bicolor' (Little Missy) is among the more delicate stacked crassulas 

Where and how to grow them

Stacked crassulas are too small to grow in the open garden---at least in mine, where they'd soon be engulfed or forgotten. Where I live in the foothills northeast of San Diego (Zone 9b), I grow stacked crassulas in pots in sheltered outdoor areas. Like shrub crassulas (jade plants), stacked species are frost-tender.

Growing indoors shouldn't be a problem; most are suited to windowsill pots. Thicker-leaved varieties want less water than thin-leaved ones, and are more likely to rot if overwatered. All want as much sun as possible, short of burning. They do fine in dappled shade, but will reward you by reddening and flowering in greater sun. A few hours of full sun in the morning or late afternoon should do it.

See My Gallery of Varieties

Go to my Crassula page for care-and-cultivation info and a comprehensive gallery of plants, all ID'd.

Shop for Stacked Crassulas

An online source with a consistent inventory and good selection is Mountain Crest Gardens. Not to mention their nomenclature is reliable (yay!). Also look for rarities at Cactus & Succulent Society shows and succulent specialty nurseries. Oasis Water Efficient Gardens in San Diego's North County consistently offers the more common varieties. If you can recommend other sources, do mention them in the comments.

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• See how nursery manager Aaron Ryan propagates stacked crassulas
• Find out why crassulas turn red (and how to help them do so) on my Stressing Succulents page
• Get a strawberry pot for your collection of stacked crassulas

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See Hannah’s Award-Winning County Fair Garden Amazing tips

Hannah Eubanks, 25, of Design for Serenity (she's Laura Eubanks’ daughter and protégé), undertook a herculean task: creating a 1,750-square-foot succulent display for the Del Mar Fair Flower Show. Hannah transformed ten motor-home-sized parking places (two adjoining exhibit spaces) into an immense, eye-catching, award-winning garden.

Before: This parking area was what Hannah tackled less than a week before opening day. Shade cloth had yet to conceal buildings at right or be installed overhead. Yep, that's it.

Where's the exhibit LOCATED?

When you enter the Fairgrounds go left to enter the Flower Show. Find Hannah's exhibit on the west side facing the east end of the Bing Crosby Hall, adjacent to the SW corner of O'Brien Hall. The Del Mar Fair website gives hours, admission, parking info and more. San Diego County's summer Fair, which averages 1.5 million visitors annually, runs through July 4.

"So many awards!"

The energy at this year's Flower Show award ceremony was palpable as Hannah, her sister Alex and friends awaited results. Over the course of the evening, Hannah, on behalf of exhibit sponsor Grangetto's, won five awards! Fellow designers---now like family---gave a delighted Hannah hugs, high-fives and happy whoops. Parents Laura and Greg Eubanks, away in Northern CA, watched proudly via Alex's texts.

Hannah shows an award the exhibit received from the American Horticultural Society.

What Hannah accomplished

To understand and appreciate the scope of what San Diego's youngest and brightest succulent designer managed to pull off, consider that Hannah…

• did it all on her own during six 10-hour days
• had only occasional hand’s-on help
• moved boulders (ten tons worth, some bathtub-sized) with a rock dolly
• moved dozens of barrel cacti, many weighing more than she does
• coordinated all materials---much of it donated---with nurseries and suppliers
• was given free reign by sponsor Kevin Grangetto of Grangetto’s Farm and Garden Supply
• was invariably cheerful, bubbly, friendly, hardworking and professional (but that’s Hannah).

Bleached and twisted driftwood sourced at Waterwise Botanicals suggests a desert tree's skeleton. From a design standpoint it's in scale with the space, offers contrast of form and a sense of motion, and draws the eye upward.

Links and credits: Who did what

When you support these outstanding businesses, it's a win-win for both you and them.

• Sponsor: Grangetto's Farm and Garden Supply (more about Grangetto's below)
• Design by: Hannah Eubanks of Design for Serenity, her parents' succulent landscape company
• Succulent nurseries: Sun Valley (wholesale), Waterwise Botanicals
• Driftwood: Waterwise Botanicals
• Rock and flagstone pavers: KRC 
• Lighting: Hunter Industries FX Luminaire 
• Pots and Talavera accents: Planter Paradise, El Cajon
• Raised vegetable beds, trellis, annual flowers: Grangetto's

Details of the display

Don't miss hearing Hannah explain how she handled all this. It's astonishing.

• • Square footage: 1,750
  • Boulders: 10 tons
  • Gravel topdressing: 6 yards
  • Soil: 10 yards

Raised beds (upper right) are among garden accessories sold at Grangetto's. Pots and a Talavera orb are from Planter Paradise in El Cajon. Crushed rock topdressing from KRC is "chamois beige."

About the sponsor: Grangetto's Farm & Garden Supply

The aim of Grangetto's first-ever Del Mar Flower Show exhibit is to make homeowners more aware that the company welcomes and serves residential customers. “Seventy percent of our business is now retail,” says owner Kevin Grangetto. When his father founded it in 1952, the business was primarily an agricultural supplier.

Hannah Eubanks and Kevin Grangetto appeared on KUSI News the day the Fair opened.

A name long respected in San Diego's farm and gardening communities, Grangetto's has locations in Encinitas, Escondido, Valley Center and Fallbrook. I can attest that the staff is friendly and helpful. For over 30 years, I've asked questions and bought supplies at Grangetto’s, just as my dad did long ago for the avocado ranch I grew up on.

After the award ceremony, Kevin told a reporter with KUSI-TV News that Grangetto's offers “everything you need to grow plants: irrigation, fertilizer, tools and more. Everything but the plants, literally." Not surprisingly, Grangetto's has a symbiotic relationship with nurseries, which---as Kevin noted--- "Hannah sourced to create a beautiful display.”

 Watch Kevin and Hannah's KUSI interview.

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Should You Water Aeoniums in Summer? Amazing tips

Conventional seasonal care advice for aeoniums is to "withhold summer water," info I've routinely passed along. But it's always bothered me. My own experience and observations indicate otherwise.

For over 20 years, I've cultivated a dozen or more types of Aeonium in my garden NE of San Diego. It's Zone 9b---dry inland foothills with a slight maritime influence. Summer rainfall is seldom and temps soar into the triple digits from late-August through mid-September.

Above: Aeoniums thrive in dappled shade in my garden. Center: A. urbicum. In back: A. 'Sunburst'. Far right: dark A. 'Zwartkop' and below it, A. 'Kiwi'.  Variegates can be susceptible to sunburn. Darker aeoniums fare best; more pigment = better sun protection. Learn more on my Aeonium page.

 

The genus Aeonium is native to the Canary Islands off northwestern Africa, where the climate is among the best in the world. Temps are mild year-round and days sunny. Rain is minimal and falls December through February. If that sounds familiar, it should: It's similar to coastal CA from the Bay Area south.

It seems counterintuitive, but...

Aeoniums don’t do well in other "ideal" US climates like Hawaii and Florida. The reason is those regions' heavy summer rains and humidity. If aeoniums sit in soaked soil and and stay damp, stems and roots rot---especially if the plants are dormant.

However in CA, where rain falls mainly in winter and humidity is low, rot is unlikely even after drenching winter rains.

When you should do something

Did you lose your aeoniums to rot? Need to refresh existing specimens? See how to take cuttings from firm, healthy top growth and start them in my video "How to Plant or Redo an Overgrown Succulent Garden." 

I lazily leave aeoniums alone unless I want to snip cuttings or to redo an overgrown bed (every 3-4 years).

What does kill aeoniums

Seems the only thing that kills these super-easy succulents is flowering. After individual rosettes elongate into bloom, they'll die (i.e. they're “monocarpic.”)

Not all rosettes in a colony bloom at once, and it takes years for most aeonium rosettes to flower. Enjoy the show, then cut the stalks where they join the trunk.

True, aeoniums that get no water look like they're at death’s door by September…which is when my neighbors’ gardener yanks theirs. Oh, if he'd only wait! Aeoniums that appear moribund will bounce back in a few months!

The bottom line

The conclusion I've come to is that if you're in CA, you can choose whether or not to water your aeoniums. Those of mine that get irrigated along with everything else look fine all summer. I don't water those that have gone dormant.

But how to tell if an aeonium is dormant?

If you're wondering how to tell if an aeonium has gone dormant, because you're worried you'll overwater it, no worries. It's a non-issue. Growth does slow after the spring spurt, but you can safely assume that aeoniums that are getting regular water and look healthy are perfectly fine.

As for my no-water ones---those beyond the irrigation system---they begin losing their sheen in July. By end-August, leaves have shriveled, and rosettes resemble closed purses. This smart, moisture-saving tactic reveals naked stems, which make plants look truly sad.

My Aeonium haworthii in September, after six months with no water.

The same aeonium in the spring, after winter storms. This drought-then-flourish cycle happens every year, and the plant keeps getting bigger.

What if you do water them?

So, should you water ratty, sleeping aeoniums in summer? Sure, if you want to. They might not look better afterwards, but it could help keep small, heat-stressed specimens alive---especially those out in the open that are baking in dry, shallow soil. In any case, if they don't sit in water for days, it won't harm them.

And if you don't? Roots may desiccate, but if they still anchor the plant, it'll regenerate new roots during winter rains.

If the roots of a neglected aeonium like this one haven't dried completely, some summer watering will likely hydrate them. But please don't stress over how to tell. It's fine to let sleeping aeoniums lie. 

Debra's Seasonal summary for Aeoniums

Note that these changes don't happen overnight. They're so subtle, you may not notice until they're well underway.

In Southern and Coastal CA:

• SUMMER: July-September. Aeoniums begin going dormant as the weather warms. Those that receive no summer irrigation are completely (and clearly) dormant by late-summer heat waves.
• FALL: October-December. Aeoniums begin to awaken as days shorten, temperatures drop and rains return. Now into mid-winter is the best time to take and start cuttings.
• WINTER: December-February. Growing season; aeoniums look better and better. Roots in rain-soaked spread in preparation for fueling spring top growth. Cuttings started in fall root quickly.
• SPRING: March-June. Few succulents are so lush and lovely as rain-revived aeoniums. Spring is when they flower, so do enjoy the show. Deadhead spent blooms to keep the plants tidy.

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