How to Grow and Care for Mexican Fan Palms Washingtonia robusta
06.12.2023 - 15:35 / finegardening.com
While these plants can take the cold, they may need special care to thrive in certain environments. Follow these guidelines to ensure that your hardy cacti and succulents last for years to come.
• Provide full sun
The plants in this article are cold hardy to at least Zone 5 and want full sun during the growing season. They are all heat tolerant except for ‘Greenii’ hens and chicks, which, like other hens and chicks, relishes some afternoon shade when the weather is both sunny and hot.
• Well-draining soil is crucial
Good drainage and dry conditions year-round are the keys to success in growing these plants. If you have a heavy-textured soil or even a rich loam, planting in raised beds or berms will help improve drainage and benefit your plants. These plants fall into two categories—cacti and noncactus succulents. The noncactus succulents are more tolerant of heavier soil types than most of the cacti, and also of moister conditions, whether delivered by clouds or a hose. In moister climates, gardeners have had success planting cacti under the eaves of their houses, which keep much of the rain and snow off them. Too much rain can be problematic for all of these cacti; persistent snow cover can be bad for all but Simpson’s hedgehog cactus and spinystar cactus.
• Consider amending the soil
If you want to grow cacti in dense clay soil and/or a moister climate, amend the soil with scoria (also called cinder), which is a porous, light-weight volcanic rock that has been graded or ground to the size of pea gravel. Also, maximize sunlight and heat during the growing season by choosing a southern or southwestern exposure, ideally on a slope facing those directions. Rocks and gravel mulch or any sort of reflective hardscape
How to Grow and Care for Mexican Fan Palms Washingtonia robusta
There’s nothing quite like the feeling of handing someone you love a beautifully wrapped Christmas present. And though the gift itself represents your generosity and love, the presentation is the ultimate finishing touch, letting the receiver know just how much time and thought you put into making their gift extra special. But if you’re not careful, your lovely wrapping job can come at a price—and we don’t just mean the price of the supplies.
Last week Kathy Sandel shared her former garden in Calabasas, California, and today we’re back visiting her current garden in Sacramento:
I have stored my seeds in many ways—in jars, in plastic storage containers, in used bubble mailers, in cute “binder” gift books, in Ziploc bags. Keeping seeds organized can be a challenge, especially when you grow an extensive vegetable garden. There’s the question of how to organize and categorize. But did you know that your seed storage conditions can also affect the viability and germination rate of your seeds? In this article, I’m going to share some tips on how to keep seeds and container options for storing them.
When to Plant Succulents in the Northwest
Seed saving is the art of collecting the seed from your crop and using it in subsequent seasons to grow new plants. Even if you save only small quantities of a few crops, understanding more about the life cycle, breeding tendencies, and botany of your crops will help you manage and care for them more effectively.
Collaborative post
Tips for Growing Strawberry Geraniums Outdoors
I often hear folks say that they hate heaths (Erica spp. and cvs., Zones 5–8) and heathers (Calluna vulgaris and cvs., Zones 5–8), their earlier blooming cousins. The most common complaints are the woody, leggy shape they develop (mostly after years of neglect) and how they outgrow the space they’ve been provided rather quickly. The same people who complain about heaths and heathers admit they have no knowledge of how to care for them (Learn all about caring for heaths and heathers here). But while these plants do need certain conditions and annual care, they are not divas.
White Christmas Cactus, £11.99 from Hortology
While some may be familiar with Japanese sacred lily (Rohdea japonica, Zones 6–10), Rohdea pachynema is an uncommon species that is indeed a Rohdea less traveled. Found only in the Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan, it is an intriguing member of the Asparagaceae family that is slowly becoming more available to gardeners. It was formerly known as Campylandra sinensis or C. pachynema, but recent DNA work has moved it into the genus Rohdea, whose name commemorates German botanist Michael Rohde. We can find no documented common name for this species, so we have dubbed it “yellow thread rohdea” since pachynema means “thick thread” (referring to the colored central stripe on the leaves).
While growing plants from seed is less expensive, it does require extra steps when compared to growing plants or starts from your local garden center.