pieces. Interior decorators find them an alterna-tive to orchids. This increases winter sales poten-tial and year-round interior plant markets. Theyprove valuable in the transitional periods whencolor is hard to come by.

Flapjacks. Commonly called flapjacks, large flatdisk-shaped leaves of Kalanchoe thyrsifolia are amodern designer’s dream. Near perfectly roundblue-green leaves are edged in vibrant red thatgrows more pronounced in cooler temperatures.

Aeonium. There is no shortage of blue-tintedsucculents, which provide light values whenpaired with less common dark red and bronzeaeoniums. The top choice is deep purpleAeonium atropurpureum hybrids. They are thesucculent counterpart to the deep purpleheucheras and are used much the same way incolor compositions. These make outstandingadditions to succulent color bowls or when com-bined with traditional short stature annuals.

Firesticks. Celebrity landscape designers lovefiresticks. Their fine texture, upright habit andadaptation to garden soil has made them perma-nent plants in warm winter regions. Elsewherethey are outstanding choices for pots and troughs.This is a brightly colored cultivar of the largergreen “pencil tree,” Euphorbia trucalli. Firestick‘Rosea’ grows far brighter in the cooler tempera-tures and short days of winter. Growers producethem in small 3-inch pots that make ideal jewelbox candidates or for streamlined modern garden

design. Firesticks offer high con-trast dynamics against large-leafgreen backgrounds in tropicallooking settings.

Agave. The big movers andshakers are the striped forms ofAgave americana. These are cher-ished for their very large pottedspecimens in trendy BBC gardenshows and in upscale British gar-dens. Nearly all agaves bloom butonce at the end of their life span.While other rosette succulentsare spoiled by bolting, you cancount on agaves to retain theirform for 20 years or more.

If there is a looking glass world of horti-culture, it is surely the realm of succu-lents. You can spend your whole life inthe plant business and still know littleor nothing about them. And yet, these

are the darlings of designers who look for season-long color without flowers. Their striking huescoupled with exciting geometric forms havereturned succulents to the landscape as indis-pensable seasonal accents.

No longer relegated to hothouse or desert cli-mates, succulents are in demand both in groundor pots, indoors or out, treated as annuals orperennials. They are the crowning glory ofThomas Hobbs’ fabulous book, The Jewel BoxGarden, providing a dry, frost-free arid climate isnot essential to success or interested customers.

Cold-hardy alpine species of sedum and sem-pervivum have long been a part of the rock gardenplant palette. They remain hotter than ever but ina new context. The star performers in gardens likeHobbs are the succulents that offer bright colorand striking forms.

VARIETIESEcheverias. The hot spot of jewel box gardens

are the echeverias. Their vivid hues offer season-long color without the benefit of blooms. Of thelarger varieties, E. imbricata produces vivid red col-oring and ruffled edges. Many of its resulting cul-tivars with progressively redder hues overall makeoutstanding specimens in gar-den shop compositions. But likeornamental kale, many echeve-rias bolt and bloom, and whilethis spike is exotic in its ownright, the rosette is spoiled. Thatunderscores their value as a sea-sonal annual that belongs in out-door bedding plant displays afterlast frost. Gardeners are nowcombining them with traditionalannuals to achieve the lusciousjewel box effect.

While echeverias make finegarden plants, they have becomevery popular for table center-

P R O D U C T F O C U S G R E E N G O O D S

Jewel Box

Succulents

Top: Rich displays of high-color bedding succulents can be visuallyirresistible to customers looking for unique additions to theirsummer compositions. Middle: Clean form and vivid red marginsmake this Kalanchoe thyrsiflora ‘Bronze Sculpture’ popular withgardeners and interior decorators. Bottom: Many colorfulsucculents such as these Aeonium atropurpureum change formwhen they bolt to flower; (Photos courtesy of Maureen Gilmer)

7 4 L A W N & G A R D E N R E T A I L E R J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 5

Is it a cactus or a euphorbia?Nick the plant. If it bleedswhite latex it is euphorbia. Thistoxic latex discourages forag-ing wildlife. It may even causeskin rashes on human skin, sohandle firesticks and othereuphorbia species with care. Ifit’s a cactus, the plant bleedsclear or green juice.

By Maureen Gilmer

There is a whole world of succulents out there that are not just for the desert anymore.

A wide range of gold tinted sedums provide perfect materials forhanging baskets and trough gardens.

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J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 5 L A W N & G A R D E N R E T A I L E R 7 5

The combination of vivid golden-yellowmargins and bright green leaves make A. amer-icana ‘Variegata’ a graphic feast. It’s smaller,but more architectural cousin, A. americanamedio-picta, is a soft blue-green with wide cen-tral variegation in creamy off-white. Its smallersize and graceful arched leaves make it anideal potted candidate.

Echinocactus. Cacti constitute about half of allsucculents, but these plants are not nearly as color-ful out of bloom. The exception is the golden bar-rel cactus, Echinocactus grusonii. This plant has longbeen coveted in Southwestern gardens, but themarket for it has exploded in Asia. Its goldencolor is thought to be lucky, and if grown in thehome, the cactus brings prosperity. Where thereare strong Asian communities, golden barrelseedlings are an easy sell. The large specimens arehighly prized for potted gardens and interiors.

Sanseveria. Two forms of mother-in-lawtongues are surging again as the next big planttrend. The bright yellow variegated Sanseveria tri-fasciata ‘Laurentii’ is well known as a houseplantbut is now summer garden color for shade withextraordinary linear form. Equally exciting is thesilvery blue S. trifasciata ‘Moonglow’. It is a mid-century modern signature plant and traditionallygrown in terra cotta pots in Spanish gardens.Both make equally good houseplants to extendsales in the off-season.

GETTING STARTEDGetting started in succulents begins with chang-

ing the way you mentally group these plants. In thepast they were nearly always displayed with cacti.The jewel box approach is to see them as ephemer-al sources of color in the summer garden.Choosing more brilliant hued varieties is betterthan more intrigu-ing forms of lessbrilliant speciesbecause it’s thecolor that sells.Those cultivars ofaeonium, crassula,echeveria, sedumand sempervivumwill be perfectlysized to fit intocolor bowls and bas-kets with beddingannuals.

If there is onecultural require-ment for thisgroup of plantsit’s drainage. It is wise to stock potting soil for-mulated for cactus, which ensures fast watermovement through pots. Encourage customersto use pot feet or spacers to keep drain holesfree and clear. Discourage overly generous potsizes because succulent plants do not need asmuch root space. Wet soil at the bottom of adeep pot can lead to rot.

The emergence of succulents as color bed-ding plants has created a new sector that offersfresh opportunities for sales. In some gardencenters the interest has grown far beyond coloras customers become enchanted by this distinc-tive group of plants. A decade ago cacti andsucculents were the realm of desert rats andplant collectors, but this has clearly changed.Today they are visual jewels freshly appreciatedfor their exotic, mysterious uniqueness thatultimately sells.

Maureen Gilmer is an author and tv personality in PalmSprings, Calif. She appears regularly on Do It YourselfNetwork’s (DIY) “Weekend Gardening,” a program featur-ing weekend projects for the intermediate gardener tomake gardens thrive. She can be reached by E-mail atmo@moplants.com.

P R O D U C T F O C U SG R E E N G O O D S

Top: Temperatures and exposure, as well as individual plants, cancause variations in the hues of Euphorbia trucalli ‘Rosea’. Middle:Vivid golden yellow margins make this old specimen of Agaveamerciana ‘Variegata’ a stand out against bold background colors.Bottom: Designers use golden barrel cactus in large colonies tocompound the color and create dramatic effects.

Combo pack The Garden JoyCombo Pack is newpackaging with multi-ple color combina-tions. Packages con-tain two varieties ofbulbs individual lypacked. This item canalso be sold as a giftpackage. De VroomenHolland. (847) 395-9911. Write in 1592

Beaded basket This year a new Glass BeadedBasket, woven with wire, in whiteand two pastel colors wi l l be

offered for 2- and 4-inch pottedplants. It is easy to ship, light

weight and unbreakable.Holtkamp Greenhouses,

Inc. (800) 443-2290.Write in 1595

Plant CD The Library of Aquatic and

Marginal Plants is the secondspecialty l ibrary in theHorticopia ProfessionalLibrary series. The newlibrary features more than800 photographs for morethan 450 plants used inponds, pond margins and

bogs. Horticopia. (800) 560-6186. Write in 1596 ➧

FURTHER READINGThe Jewel Box Garden byThomas Hobbs, Timber Press

Succulents For TheContemporary Garden byYvonne Cave, Timber Press

Succulents: The IllustratedDictionary by MaurizioSajeva and MariangelaCostanzo, Timber Press

Rose Available in spring2005, the double-blooming DoubleKnock Out ‘RADTKO’rose PPAF is compactand upright, withpetal counts of 18-25.Double Knock Outpresents a rich cherry-red inf lorescencefrom June to frost and green foliage almost year-round. ForZones 5-10, it offers disease and pest resistance, droughtand humidity tolerance, winter hardiness, shade toleranceand self-cleaning. It works well for single plantings or ascompact borders. Novalis. (800) 845-2065. Write in 1600

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