SoS: Creating a Succulent Garden (Part I)

My gardening six this week focuses on a new project to extend one of our succulent gardens and identify ALL the succulents. Research seems more labour intensive than the physical aspect of digging, moving rocks and planting. Is anyone else confused by all the different names?

1. Succulent Garden – Work in Progress

I originally started this rockery style cactus garden several years ago as a temporary home for some Aloe Nobilis.

I had not intended to extend the rockery,  however,  what started as a simple five-minute job to remove some weeds, evolved into a full-scale project to extend the area as a place to rehome the numerous succulent cuttings I’d taken over the last eighteen months.

The arrows in the picture below indicate where we will place further rocks to extend the area.

The brown slate style rock is found locally and creates and interesting backdrop for the succulents and cacti.

After a recent visit to a friend’s garden, I was inspired to use rocks and shale to cover as much earth as possible  to retain moisture in the soil during the hot summer months. He assured us using this method he rarely watered his garden once the plants were established.

So far we have sixteen different succulents (and counting) and two evil prickly cacti.

2. Sedum

I think this is a Sedum rubrotinctum (Jelly Bean Plant)?

3. Cotyledon Macrantha

I belong to a succulent FB group and I received two conflicting replies re identification.

UPDATE: I agree with Fred (see comments below) it is a Cotyledon Macrantha

4.  Euphorbia Firestick (Euphorbia tirucalli )

I  need to move this away from the edge of the rockery as it potentially grows a lot larger than I realised and the milky sap is poisonous if ingested and it will burn the skin.  And I’ve just discovered it is NOT a succulent it is a cacti.

Euphorbia Fire Stick – Euphorbia tirucalli

5.  Plectranthus Neochilus

The leaves on this plant smell so disgusting (like sweaty armpits) it deters mosquitos and other bugs.

6. Aloe Nobilis (Aloe Mitriformis – Crocodile’s Teeth)

Crocodile’s teeth: this is aptly named!

Is it just me or are cacti and succulents really difficult to identify?

So that’s it for this week and hopefully part two will follow next. In the meantime pop over to the propagator’s blog to check out other Six on Saturday gardeners.