I love using succulents in my landscape designs, especially in tough situations or with clients that don’t like to do much maintenance. Succulents will withstand drought and poor soil and keep on growing. The only risk in Florida during the summer is extreme rain with flooding because succulents do not like wet feet. Above are a few of my favorite “perennial” types of succulents. I call them perennial because an extreme summer of rain could do them in but in general in my experience they will last 2-3 years. From left to right is Sedum ‘ Lemon Coral’ This makes a beautiful yellow mound when planted in a garden or trails over the edge of a pot. It likes full sun to part shade and is very low maintenance.
The next picture is a bed with Aptenia cordifolia or Variegated Baby Sun Rose mixed with Evolvulus glomerata or commonly known as Blue Daze and Foxtail Ferns. The picture on the upper right is Foxtail Fern with Aptenia cordifolia, Baby Sun Rose. This is the straight green variety of this plant. Both have small red flowers.
The picture in the middle of the bottom row is Euphorbia milii or Crown of Thorns. The new varieties that are now available of this plant have bigger leaves and flowers and make a really beautiful show in the garden. They are a succulent so they are very drought tolerant and take little to no care. They come in a variety of colors such as red, yellow, salmon and creamy white. They prefer full sun and do well in the front of beds, along walkways or in garden beds.
The last picture on the right is Clusia. There are several varieties of Clusia which can be used in the landscape. Clusia guttifera has succulent-like, paddle leaves and can be planted as a specimen or as a larger growing hedge. This variety can be kept at 5-6’. There is a dwarf variety, Clusia rose ‘Nana’ that only grows 2’ tall and can be used in a succulent garden or as a low border. Both varieties are very drought tolerant and will tolerate full to part sun.
For difficult spots in your yard or areas that require low maintenance, try using one of these very interesting succulents. Enjoy!
