Succulents easy to grow indoors

By Ted Schaaf
Gardens on Spring Creek

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I often marvel at how carefree the succulent collection at The Gardens on Spring Creek is to maintain. So what are succulents, you may ask? They are some of nature's most fascinating plants.

Succulents have evolved to survive during long periods of drought by storing water. They thrive with minimum fuss, flourish with little care and require very little of our precious water.

When most people hear the word succulent, they tend to think of cacti. While all cacti are succulents, not all succulents are cacti. Although cacti are native to the Americas, other succulents can be found in many parts of the world.

There are three basic types of succulents, which are identified by where they store water. They are the stem type, the leaf type and the root type. Cacti are stem-type succulents. Many, such as the barrel cactus, are native to Colorado. They are a joy to come across when hiking in our foothills. Aloes are some of the most notable leaf-type succulents, and the ponytail palm, a root-type succulent, falls into the final category.

Here are some of my favorite succulents.

The aloe is perhaps one of the best-known succulents. This great medicinal plant is filled with a sappy fluid that is secreted from its leaves. This fluid can be used to treat burns, as well as provide relief for sunburns. Aloe plants send out offshoots from their base. These babies can be easily separated from the parent plant and repotted in new containers. One of the aloes I like best is called 'Blue Elf'. Its narrow, upright leaves are steel blue in color.

Kalanchoes are familiar succulents noted for their intense, long-lasting flowers. The kalanchoe that gets the most attention in our succulent garden is the panda plant. Children love to pet its fuzzy leaves. Although all succulents produce flowers in the wild, many of them cannot flower inside due to low light conditions. Kalanchoes, however, are some of the most reliable succulents for blooming indoors. I've had a good deal of success with them in the greenhouse, where they often start blooming in late winter and continue to bloom throughout the spring.

The jade tree is by far the most impressive of the succulents. It combines two types of water storing devices, leaves and stems, on the same plant. The jade tree can reach an impressive 4 feet indoors. Tiny pink or white star-shaped flowers are regularly produced on mature plants in the winter.

Succulents have very shallow roots. They are at home in a small shallow dish garden. I like to use clay pots as they allow soil mixes to dry out quickly. At The Gardens, we are fortunate to have a large raised planter that we converted into a succulent garden. We amended the soil with both pea gravel and breeze to provide the well-draining soil succulents need to survive. The garden began to take shape after Patrick Wiley, my assistant, added rocks, creating planting pockets for the plants. We purchased plants that gave structural impact, as well as bushy succulents and a number of ground covers. Several of the kalanchoes began blooming right after we installed them.

It's been four months since we planted our succulent garden. Many of the plants have already put on new growth and are beginning to flower. I water them weekly and fertilize them once a month. When growing your own succulents keep in mind that, like living sponges, they take up water when they need it. Soil that is constantly wet quickly spells death for succulents. Most succulents are actively growing during the months of March through October. After this time they like a winter rest. Cut back on watering and don't fertilize them again until March.

Succulents are fun to work with. With so many varieties there is something for everyone. Fort Collins Nursery has one of the best selections of succulents in town. Succulents make excellent gifts, even for those without green thumbs. Unlike foliage plants, they take well to the less than ideal conditions found in most of our homes.

Enjoy these jewels of the plant world. Give them a sunny window that receives at least four hours of direct sun each day, and they will reward you with years of enjoyment.

Happy gardening!