Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Foliage Follow-up: Mostly succulents

I managed to get out and about with my camera yesterday morning to capture photos for Foliage Follow-up, the monthly meme hosted by Pam at Digging, but I didn't get my act together to get my post up until this morning.  Most of my shots were of succulents but I have to start with a photo of Echium candicans 'Star of Madiera'.  It doesn't usually bloom until April but it's already taking on a starring role in the front garden with its foliage alone.

'Star of Madiera' loves this spot and its variegated foliage makes a strong statement here


The succulents on the west-facing slope below the Echium are also looking good.

There are too many different species to name individually here but the star in my view is the Sedum adolphii at the center of this photo.  A lot of what I planted in this area, including the Aeonium arboreum, Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi', Kalanchoe luciae, and Senecio vitalis, were cuttings.  

The Agave attentuata at the center of this photo was also a cutting, as were the Aeonium arboreum and Oscularia deltoides (the blue-ish plant in the foreground with the violet stems).  The grass is a California native, Festuca californica.


Elsewhere in the garden, several other succulent vignettes caught my eye.

I showed another shot of this area in my recent lath house update but I love it and so will include it here too.  The plants include more of my old standbys, Senecio vitalis (rear), Aeonium arboreum (middle), and Aeonium 'Kiwi' (foreground with Crassula lycopodioides).  An Aeonium 'Sunburst' and Lomandra 'Platinum Beauty' provide touches of white.  The area could perhaps use some stronger color to contrast with all those green shades but, now that the area has greater sun exposure (due to the neighbor's removal of a dense oleander hedge), perhaps that almost invisible Euphorbia 'Sticks on Fire' cutting will bulk and color up.

Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' is doing a good job here dressing up 3 Hesperaloe parviflora 'Brakelights'

On the other side of the path an Agave gypsophila is trying to hold its own against 2 spreading rockroses, Cistus x skanbergii and C. 'Sunset', which have already partially swallowed up a few Euphorbia rigidia.  I may be forced to move the agave eventually but I'm still hoping that in time it'll gain sufficient size to stand up to the sprawling rockroses.

I've been telling myself I need to cut the heads off these 3 Aeonium 'Sunburst' and replant this pot but the Aeoniums are so exuberant in this spot (even if they hide most of the succulents behind them) that I haven't had the heart


I'll conclude with a look at some of the plants in my bromeliad pocket garden.  Although planted just last October, the bromeliads, most of which were pups of larger plants in pots, and their companions, many usually grown as indoor specimens, are holding up well.  Planting bromeliads in the ground is new for me but the plants are showing no apparent problems in adapting to their new setting.

The bromeliads here include Aechmea 'Mend' (the pink-edged plant), Nidularium wittrockia leopardinum, and Vriesea ospinae var gruberi.  The bright pink upright plants in the upper portion of the photo are Dracaena marginata 'Colorama'.  Other "house plants" included here are Peperomia caperata 'Rosso' and Scindapsis pictus argyraeus (aka silver splash pothos).


For more Foliage Follow-up post, visit Pam at Digging.


All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

24 comments:

  1. All of these succulents scream warm weather to me. Delightful to see all the green and sunshine. I wouldn't be able to mess with the Sunburst Aeonium either. It is so pretty as is.

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    1. Our weather has been warm, Lisa. We've had temperatures of 80F during the past week. That's ridiculous for January, even here.

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  2. Beautiful post and your combination of succulents is magnificent! We can only grow hens and chicks, yucca and a native variety of cactus here, so I always admire seeing gardens with warm climate plants.

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    1. I'm pleased that some of my succulent combinations are finally coming together, Lee. I usually start with small plants (and lots of cuttings in the case of succulents) and they do take their time to bulk up.

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  3. Your garden's foliage is as magnificient as its blooms! It's sweet to see so many succulents growing happily in the ground.

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    1. There's not much chance of the succulents drowning here, Peter! In addition to the general lack of rain, it turns out that my soil has a high sand count.

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  4. Oh, your photos are bringing to mind visions of a more reasonable winter climate than what we've been experiencing here in Austin. It was down to the teens here last night, which is quite unusual for us. I'm swooning over your Echium, but it all looks lovely.

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    1. The warm temperatures are pleasant enough but the lack of rain in the extended forecast is alarming, Pam. Some gentle rain that doesn't exacerbate the problems in the burn areas would be welcome.

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  5. Sunburst Aeonium really is stunning, I understand your hesitation. 'Star of Medeira' makes a wonderfully bold statement - such a beautiful plant.
    80s sounds really good to me right now, but I know whenever the weather is out of normal range, it is disconcerting. You can't help but worry what's to come.

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    1. I'm sure you'd love to be working in your garden in shirtsleeves as I've been doing right now, Eliza. It's the lack of rain that's the worrisome aspect - if the extended forecast holds, we'll end up with less rain than we got at the height of the drought in 2015.

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  6. Oh my goodness--you have me longing for S. CA with your lovely foliage photos! Look at all those awesome succulents! And the Star of Madeira--that plant really makes a statement. I remember seeing it a botanical gardens during my travels. Thanks for sharing your bounty through your photos!

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    1. I imagine you'd enjoy SoCal right about now, Beth! Stay warm!

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  7. Love it! You had beautiful even light when you took these photos. I dream of being able to plop bromeliads into the ground like that!

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    1. Light is often a challenge here when it comes to photographing anything, Gerhard!

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  8. Even just a little rain does magic, doesn't it? Great foliage, especially 'Sunburst'.

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    1. I've decided I need more 'Sunburst'. It's not been so easy to find, though, and my plants seem slow to produce offsets.

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  9. I love the amount of subtle color you're getting in the bromeliad pocket. Also that Festuca californica (I could so use a well-adapted festuca); it looks fabulous with the agave. No comment on your lovely Sedum adolphii, which I can barely keep alive though it's supposed to grow here...
    PS How do you like the "Brakelight" hesperaloe? Does it stay smaller than the species, do you know?

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    1. Festuca california has worked well for me, Amy. It's definitely worth a try in your area. (I got my plants from Annie's Annuals & Perennials by mail order.) I haven't grown anything but the 'Brakelights' Hesperaloe so I can't draw comparisons to other cultivars. It was slow to settle in here but seems to be coming into its own now.

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  10. I don't always envy your climate but with the cold winter we are having this year with more days that aren't even sunny I crave some warmth and sunshine (I'm sure I'll regret saying this when the weather is too hot in summer. I really appreciate that you consider your foliage as much as your flowers and you have a fantastic quantity of both!

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    1. I'm sure cold and gray gets old quickly, Christina. We remain sadly lacking in rain, though. We were supposed to get another trifle today but it's not looking good at the moment.

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  11. Your succulent plantings are beautiful! So many different sizes and textures. I especially like the ones with tints of pink and purple.

    The Echium looks great too! I didn't realize an Echium could also be a striking foliage plant.

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    1. Most Echium have rather dull green foliage and are only really exciting in bloom. 'Star of Madiera' is the exception.

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  12. Succulents are the way to go, I guess. I've never seen an E. candicans with variegated foliage before. Lovely garden pics.

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    1. I'd very few succulents in my former garden but then drought wasn't much of an issue then. And, once you start collecting them, it becomes addictive.

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