Succulents offer winter interest in warm climates
Walking through the garden with camera in hand, looking to see what would catch my eye this morning, I kept coming back to succulents. Agaves are the big boys around here, and they tend to hog the spotlight. But smaller succulents, like this ‘Blue Elf’ aloe, add a lot to the winter garden too.
‘Blue Elf’ is a little cold-tender, but mine came through the recent cold snap in good shape, with only a sheet thrown over the pot and a warm location next to a rock wall to protect it.
It sends up asparagus-shaped flower buds in January, and by late February the coral-orange flowers should be in bloom—unless another hard freeze gets them. That’s always the risk at this time of year.
Ghost plant is new to my garden, and it looks terrific after the freezes, again with only a sheet to protect it.
This pink echeveria survived with no protection whatsoever. I had no idea they could endure a freeze in the mid-teens.
Same story with this blue-green echeveria. Its tips got a little burned, but I really love the flower-like detail on this winter survivor. Behind it, the promise of spring: winecup foliage is filling out.
More color can be found in the heightened winter coloration of ‘Bright Edge’ Yucca flaccida.
Not just a deeper yellow but also rosy pink appears on the cold-stressed leaves. Beautiful!
After surviving last summer’s heat and drought and this winter’s cold, these succulents are tried-and-true winners in my garden.
How about yours? Have any succulents thrived in adverse conditions for you this year?
All material © 2006-2010 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
I have to say I don’t have any outside succulents other than a miniature hen and chicks. The only hen and chicks I have been able to grow. They are in a shallow pot and have been there for going on the second winter.
I love hen-and-chicks, Lisa. It’s good to know they can be hardy even in your cold Indiana winters. —Pam
Hi Pam,
I’m still waiting to see what succulents have truly survived the deep long frigid temperatures that we had. There is a fair amount of blackened mush but I can see some new growth poking up from underneath it. I think I took a 50/50 loss on my Aeonium collection and some of the more tender Echeverias that were hybrids won’t be coming back such as E. Doris Taylor and a lot of those with super curly leaves.
But most of the Senecios, Sempervivums, Dudleyas, Crassulas, Agaves and Aloes have made it though with some minor to moderate frost damage. Most of the euphorbias are dormant so I expect those to pop up from the crown roots this spring. Same thing with the winter dormant Sedums.
It’s so painful to lose plants to unexpected cold. I pointedly didn’t take pictures of the plants that I was mourning as I walked around the garden this morning: two Australian acacias, a dyckia, a couple of Agave desmettianas, and a few aloes. Several other plants took big hits, but I think they’ll come back. —Pam
You told me that the Blue Elf aloe could handle a bit of a cold snap, but I took no chances when temperatures plummeted a few weeks ago. Mine are both in small pots, and easy enough to drag inside. Both of them are sending up buds, though! It looks like our plants synchronized their watches with one another.
I’m glad that yours are sending up buds too, Rachel. It’s a glorious sight to see one in full bloom so early in the spring (or late in winter, depending on how you look at it). Inevitably, it seems, we get a hard freeze or two while the plant is in bud. Since my pot is too heavy to move, I put tall bamboo stakes in the soil and drape a sheet over the plant, flower stalks and all. Usually it’s enough to protect the tender buds, although one year I lost them. —Pam
You are lucky. Even in the green house I lost my aloes, and they were beauties. Also all my graptopetalum. I had massive overhanging clumps and a wall planter filled to the brim. Boo Hoo.
Boo hoo, indeed, Jenny! I’m sorry that you lost so many lovely plants, even in a protected location. It goes to show how much colder it got in your garden just outside of town, I expect. —Pam
Hi Pam,
Your succulents are beautiful. I love your ‘Blue Elf’ aloe and your echeveria. More reasons why I love succulents…
There are lots of good reasons, aren’t there? —Pam
Pam! You are singing my song in perfect pitch!
Like you, I ADORE A. ‘Blue Elf’. I have a few pots scattered in my container garden, and they add so much! I’ve also recently put them in the ground, mixing them in with Euphorbia ‘Stix on Fire’. I can’t WAIT to see what that looks like. And I LOVE the pink blush of the graptopetalum. You having them next to the picture of Yucca ‘Bright Edge’ gave me a fantastic new combo idea – I love subtle color echoes! Thank you!
Oh, my heart breaks for Jenny! I can’t stand it. I KNOW as gardeners, we have to accept these losses, but … AAARRRGGHHH!!!
XOXOIvette!
Blue Elf will look so cool with Sticks on Fire, especially when it blooms. Great idea, Germi! —Pam
Pam, your plants look better than mine. It looks like I totally lost some sedums and aloe even though they were covered. The injured include ponytail palms, a lemon trea and some butterfly iris again all covered. I cut most of the injured back today in hopes that they will put on new growth. My other citrus in large pots must have been covered very securely because they weren’t damaged at all. The micro climates around the property helped and maybe hurt in some cases but anything that was blocked from the cold wind did a lot better than the plants out in the open. At least we know the score now as I can’t imagine the temps below 18 degrees very often.
Neither can I, Shannon, and I hope we can go another decade without seeing freezes that cold again. I’m sorry for your losses, but spring will bring new planting opportunities for us, won’t it? —Pam
The only succulents that I can speak of are the ones not under snow. That is a small category at my place, just one Aloe I keep as a houseplant. It’s alive, but then they thrive on neglect, right? I just read a book (Hardy Succulents) by Gwen Kelaidis that has me excited to broaden my cacti/succulent horizons even here in Alaska.
Christine B.
A sunny windowsill is about all they need in the winter, Christine. I have a little one on my windowsill too. Thanks for dropping by! —Pam
Interesting what shrugged off the cold Pam. My larger aloes are mush for about the top third. I “pulled” the tops off a couple and immediately got slimed in aloe juice, I thought what a waste and scoured my hands for anything resembling a burn, I could have captured enough to keep us going all next summer!
Ghost plant, one of my favorites, I keep spreading this all over the place, such a ghostly trooper, and what a fitting name. All mine made it through with no cover and they are in the ground and in containers, can’t beat that. They did “shrink up” during our Mars spell though, still, what didn’t?
Cheers.
ESP.
Yes, we all nearly dried up last summer. And now we’re having this winter! It’s keeping us on our toes. Good thing so many plants, like ghost plant, can handle both extremes. —Pam
Love your photos! That yucca is amazing. Did you have to cover it? This winter’s freeze has made me a big fan of sedums. I had no idea they were so freeze-tolerant! Now I’m going sedum-crazy. I picked up at least seven different varieties this past weekend, along with my first echeveria–a pink Ghost Plant! My aloes appear to be goners – although the centers remained somewhat firm, I expect this weekend’s freeze will finish them off. One aloe even has a tiny little bloom stalk just starting up, Big Noisy Sigh.
No, I didn’t give that yucca any protection, Caroline. It’s pretty cold-hardy. Some sedums are more cold-tolerant than others. For me it’s been trial-and-error to figure out which ones will make it and which won’t. It’s tricky because succulents are often not even labeled when you buy them at nurseries. But if you can get them cheaply enough it seems a worthy gamble, and if you plant the tender ones in spring you at least get a long growing season out of them, like annuals. It seems a good bargain. —Pam
Your succulents look just great and there are some surprises there for sure. I only lost 2 aloes and one Agave – the desmettiana, which we knew would probably bite it. I may replace it and put it in a pot for *ugh* moving into the greenhouse next year. Just love it too much to give it up. I was surprised my Sedum and some other echevaria made it, too.
I will have to replace my desmettiana too, Diana. It’s too pretty not to have one! The surviving nurseries should make a killing this year in Austin, eh? —Pam
I am so glad you have these survivors, and hope there are more that could withstand the cold onslaught with minimal damage. We have the yuccas, and have found them to be completely cold and heat hardy and xeric to boot. The flower on the aloe is a favorite, that orange is delightful.
Yuccas are the dependable cold-survivors in the succulent family of plants, aren’t they? I used to disregard them, but no longer! —Pam
Small sedums are okay, Pam, but various aloes were killed outright – even with layers of covering & grouping with other plants against the house wall. Bulbines are questionable. I guess 13F was just too cold.
You & ESP are making that Ghost Plant look like a good choice for Austin!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
My aloes really took a beating too, Annie, aside from the ‘Blue Elf.’ But my Aloe saponaria and A. striata came through with little to no protection. I should do a post on my aloes, the winners and losers after the cold snap. —Pam