Growers Secrets: What’s the Best Soil for Succulents? June 7, 2010

A really excellent question was sent in from our website today regarding kinds of soil.  The individual had been reading online and had gotten several different answers as to what kind of soil is best for succulents, and there was some confusion.  Here’s the secret:

Succulents will perform best in a well aerated, well drained potting mix with no fertilizer built in.  These soils are especially crucial in container gardens (our preffered planting type for succulents).  There are even several commerically available “cactus soil” mixes, which will work just fine.

All soils should contain the following:

• Peat moss or well rotted manure as organic matter,
• Peralite or Vermiculite for aeration,
• Sand for drainage,
• and something like fine chipped wood for bulk.

You’ll notice this mix doesn’t contain black dirt or “garden soil/top soil.”  Very few commercial potting mixes contain any black dirt content anymore and almost all are reffered to as “soiless” soil mixes (a term that still makes me giggle!).  This lack of black dirt is to stop the spread of agricultural diseases that could be dormant in the soil.  If you are harvesting your own black dirt for use in your own potting mix, this isn’t a problem.

No matter what soil mix you are using, always allow succulents to dry down completely between waterings.  A mix that is rich in peat moss or manure will hold more water and take longer to dry out than a comparable mix with more bark or sand.  Refer to our article on watering on our website for more useful information.

New Website Section: Grower’s Choice Top Picks April 7, 2010

A new section has been added to the JadePoint Succulents website to help identify the top choices of our growers and container gardening experts.  Chosen for their unique colors and growth habits, this group of succulents is available for sale individually for shipping to your door!  Succulents listed in this new seciton include:

2 spreading Crassulas with amazing burgundy and varigated colors

2 different Aeoniums including the popular burgundy species Velour

Golden Glow Sedum (burnt orange on gold in full sun)

and a beautiful powder blue Echeveria Imbricata

This upgrade to the website was also added along with a change in the layout of page.  Every information page now has two full columns of products to choose from to allow for more efficient searches and to give you more selections faster.  We know you’ll love the new layout!  Check us out any time at www.jadepoint.com!

Secrets of Succulent Care: Watering April 2, 2010

Sucuclents like Aloe, Jade Plants, and Echeveria are all native desert dwellers and as such they are very tollerant to drought, but that doesn’t mean NO WATER.

The best way to water a succulent planting in a pot is to check the pot using your finger as a “dip stick” or using a water meter.  Always insert your finger half way between the base of the plant and the edge of the pot.  When the soil is thoroughly dry approximately two to three inches down, water the succulent garden thoroughly until water is running out the bottom of the pot.  For pots with no drainage (not recommended) less water is used.

For in ground succulent plantings in flower beds, check for water in the same way, with your finger or a water meter a few inches away from the base of the plant or plants.  If it’s dry down in the soil, water thoroughly.  Watering in ground plantings can take patience as water tends to soak laterally and each plant needs water to penetrate down to where its roots grow.  Water each plant until water sits on the surface of the soil, allow that to drain into the soil, and repeat the process at least two more times.

Checking for water should be done on a weekly basis but plants may not need water for several weeks depending on outdoor temperatures and local rainfall.  For more information, please visit our webiste.

Perfect Plants for Container Gardening March 31, 2010

JadePoint Succulents delivers the perfect plant material for your container gardens right to your door!  Succulents are the perfect plants for containers because of their low water requirements and their tolerance for drought.  As many container gardeners know, pots, especially unglazed clay tend to dry out quickly and require frequent waterings in the heat of summer.  This watering situation is prefect for succulents like aloe, crassula, echeveria, and others!

When choosing a container there are a few considerations.  Always choose a container with good drainage or enough depth to add a drainage layer of pea gravel or crushed (non-match light/instant light) charcoal.  Shallow containers will dry out faster than deeper ones.  Unglazed terra cotta will dry out faster than glazed pots or plastic pots.   And, dark colored finishes on pottery hold more heat than light colors.

JadePoint Succulents Container Gardening Experts reccommend our Designer Succulent Collections for your own pot or container.  They have been selected to grow together for maximum color and texture excitement!  Each Designer Succulent Collection also has a planting diagram you can download for a suguested plant arrangement.

JadePoint Succulents Delivers Individual Echeveria March 23, 2010

Many people world-wide admire Echeveria for thier unique colors, their strong rosette shape and their beautiful foilliages.   JadePoint Succulents is proud to deliver a wide array of Echeveria including single headed species, crests, and clustering varieties. Echeveria range in color from pure green to many different variations of blues, silvers and pinks and purples.

Echeveria Violet Queen for example is a beautiful tight rosette of leaves with a blue green base and a pink tip.  It features a clumping growth habit that forms a mound of color in a pot or flower bed.  It truely puts on a show!

Our entire selection can be found on our website at http://www.jadepoint.com/category_s/46.htm .

JadePoint Succulents Offers Designer Succulent Collections March 17, 2010

JadePoint Succulents, your source for online shopping for succulents and low-water plants, offers succulents for purchase in two ways:

1) individual succulent species are available in single pots for the collector or for the adventurous gardener to experiment with new varieties, textures and colors of this easy-care plant material.

2) as designer collections of individual pots to be planted in your own container or flower bed.   This option is perfect for the gardeners who want some of the work of choosing combinations done for them.  Each of the Designer Succulent Collections offered on www.jadepoint.com are chosen based on grown compatibility, combination of shapes, colors and textures by our container gardening experts.

Either way we know you’ll love JadePoint’s Succulents delivered to your door!

JadePoint Succulents Echeveria Breeding Program March 15, 2010

JadePoint has started with a nice section of succulents, but over time it will propagate many, many more varieties from the collection.  Jadepoint also has an active succulent breeding program, focusing, in part, on the Echeveria family.  In the future there will be many exciting introductions from JadePoint’s in-house plant breeder.

Dr. Robert Campbell, Ph. D., has long worked in plant breeding and genetics in the United States and Europe.  In 2005 he was hired by Lowe’s Garden Center to head the new breeding research project that will feed new varieties to JadePoint Succulents.  Dr. Campbell has published research in multiple languages and is currently breeding new and unique echeveria species.

Each new echeveria is first tested in pots in the lab, then outdoors in a test field before selections are made based on hardiness, color, shape and size.  New species are then retested a second year to ensure that their color and quality stays consistent.  A final selection is only ready for introduction as a JadePoint succulent after it has passed this level of rigorous testing.  The first batch of new introductions is expected during the 2011 growing season.