I often ponder why so few companies provide certain services or particular succulents when I’m asked where to find them. After all, money can definitely be made! Please hold on, as I’m about to correct any ignorance on your part or that of others who could cause these things to occur. By the way, I’m pleased to promote anyone who provides the services I’ve described here.
Note that the majority only exist in southern and coastal California, from the Bay Area south, because they involve in-ground succulent growing. Mail-order plants will probably need a greenhouse.
#1: Upkeep of a succulent garden. Unlike mowed-and-blown-over yards, succulent gardens require seasonal maintenance (three or four times a year). How to earn money: Similar to a gardening service, but with a lot more clients and much less frequently. Charge at least twice the hourly fee of services like lawn mowing and hedge trimming because it is a highly sought-after specialty that is only sometimes required. You only need: a truck, physical stamina, and tools, as well as a full, practical understanding of the care and management of all varieties of in-ground succulents. Note: This might be combined with #2 and #3.
REVISED SEPTEMBER 2018: I’m putting together a list of specialists in succulent garden upkeep so I can give it to homeowners in CA. Candidates must hold a business license or work for a reputable garden-related company in order to be considered. They must be knowledgeable about general gardening and succulents in particular, and they must be able to produce at least three client referrals for gardens they have maintained for at least a year. Send me pictures of your gardens, information about the area or city you focus on, your rates, and anything else potential clients would need or want to know if this is something that interests you.
#2: Free installation, trimming, and succulents. Large succulent gardens produce a lot of trimmings and pups for their owners. They are pleased to give them away because it seems wasteful to transport them to the landfill. How to earn money: Make plans to deliver cuttings from overflowing gardens to underpopulated ones. Charge for carrying, cutting, excavating, and/or planting, as well as for soil preparation. All you need is a little truck, some muscle, and some gardening equipment.
#3: Expert in succulent firebreaks. Wide expanses of succulents have been demonstrated to stop the spread of wildfire because the plants cook and collapse instead of catching fire. (Aside from being stunning and incredibly sensible.) How to earn money: Set a fair price for the creation and installation of gardens. Offer this to your clients if you are currently a landscape designer or are already performing #1 and #2. You only need: A truck and tools; common succulents (jade, aloes, agaves, elephant’s food, and firesticks) obtained as cuttings; or buyers willing to pay for large amounts of nursery plants.
#4: Spineless opuntia provider. I have nothing but praise for this smooth-leaved succulent, which is now hard to find. It makes a good backdrop, offers pleasing repetitions of form (those oval pads), gets by on rainfall alone (if there is any, sigh), thrives in poor soils, is a good firebreak (pads are as thick as oven mitts), can serve as a hedge or security fence (although not at all treacherous, trespassers assume it is), is edible (nopales), and is high in nutrients (including cancer-fighting antioxidants) (including cancer-fighting antioxidants). How to earn money: The plants should be grown, then combined with suggestion 3. You only need: A source of the pads, a place to grow the plants, and enough time for the plants to mature are all required (three years).
Note: It would appear simple enough to plant spineless opuntia as a firebreak, then cut off and sell the fresh, young pads after their spring growth spurt. However, how can you become a vendor? You must be zoned for it in order to have guests come to your house. You could set up a stand at garden shows and farmer’s markets, or you could arrange to deliver the pads to customers. Alternately, if you own land zoned for commercial crops (often, citrus or avocado orchards), you could get into a contract with a business that will take care of harvesting and sales. (Admittedly, I’m unaware of any, but it’s still early. Perhaps start one?
Owner of the Cactus boutique. As succulent enthusiasts become more sophisticated, they value simpler, geometric designs and spines that gleam wonderfully under backlighting. Small cactus are very sought-after. How to earn money: Develop exciting new design ideas, hold seminars, and grow and sell specimens (particularly spherical ones) at farmer’s markets, online, and garden exhibits. You only need: A keen eye, imagination, a nearby wholesaler, a lathe house or greenhouse, and shipping supplies. Note: Check out my article titled “Is Cactus the New Black?
#6: Expert grower of echeveria. This is how cacti balance each other out. Because they resemble fleshy flowers, these rosette succulents are well-liked, and interest will increase as more astounding kinds become available. How to earn money: Grow your own elegant ruffled types (by beheading; it’s simple) and promote them at farmer’s markets, garden shows, florists, and nurseries, as well as online. Give club presentations and conduct workshops on echeveria design, maintenance, and propagation. Try to establish a reputation as “the echeveria expert.” All you need is a small outlay for beginning plants, a lathe house or greenhouse, some time for offsets to mature, soil, pots, tools, and shipping supplies.
#7: Skilled rockscaping. Crushed rock, decomposed granite, and boulders don’t catch fire, don’t require irrigation or upkeep, and provide plants with a useful, attractive environment. They also look wonderful forever (especially when artistically organized). How to earn money: Get a job with a significant rock supplier while pursuing a degree in ornamental horticulture (in the San Diego area: KRC, RCP or SW Boulder). Take an internship with a landscaper. Start your own company after a while. Different you need is time, effort, physical stamina, design talent, and the capacity to set up a site, move boulders of all sizes, and position them.
P.S. If the information above aids someone in discovering their calling, please let me know! ~ Debra
Is it against the law to sell and spread succulents?
With a plant patent, you have just purchased the right to utilize that plant. It is not permitted for you to spread it in any form.
You can’t actually take cuttings, trim your patented plant, or propagate it asexually, believe it or not.
However, boosting sexual reproduction, or pollination, would actually increase your earnings.
You see, when plants A and B sexually reproduce, they don’t create more of either plant. It produces plant C.
That is significant in the horticultural industry as well! You have consumed every single gala apple that has ever come from the “same” tree. The original gala tree supplied the branches that were used to graft gala apples onto other apple plants. Because it was pollinated by a blossom that wasn’t a gala apple, if you ever planted a seed from a gala apple it would grow into something similar but distinct from a gala.
All of that may seem convoluted, but the simple version is that pollination results in a completely new plant (which you could patent if you so desired!).
Is it lucrative to plant succulents?
Let’s start by discussing how we cultivate and spread succulents, along with the kind I’ve had luck with and perhaps a couple that I fervently desire.
Growing
Succulents appear to enjoy the fluorescent lighting I use to grow them in my basement. They don’t stretch as they always do when I have one just outside in my living room, but I imagine they would also maintain their tight rosette shape if you have a window that receives a lot of sunlight. Early in the spring, I start my annuals and perennials with T5 fixtures that are set on a timer to provide the plants a 16-hour day.
Succulents were initially being grown in 2-inch nursery pots, the kind that fit 32 on a typical tray. Since succulents have rather shallow roots, even though these pots are quite deep, I discovered that nearly half of the dirt was not being utilized. So I started arranging them in blocks when I acquired my new soil blocker. People adore it! In my opinion, they develop more quickly. According to the label directions, I mix an all-purpose organic fertilizer into the soil before planting, but in the past, I’ve also planted them in plain dirt with nothing at all, and they were OK. In our extremely dry climate, I don’t use a special quick-draining cactus soil; instead, I just use whatever potting soil we have on hand for our regular starts. You might need a quick-draining soil if you reside in a humid location.
It should be dry, warm, and bright for succulents. When I see that the plants are a touch floppy or that the leaves are not as firm as they should be, I water the plants. I don’t water on a regular basis; instead, I go by how often the plants need water. I water my new baby plants much more frequently than my larger plants, which appear to handle lengthy periods without water just well. I suppose I could probably wait 10-14 days between waterings. Because my water is so hard and causes mineral stains on the leaves that don’t wash off, I only ever bottom water my succulents because I can’t have that on the plants I use for weddings. I add an organic liquid fertilizer to the water around once a month and let them absorb it. I make an effort to use fertilizer that is high in nitrogen and low in potassium since I don’t really want the succulents to flower because those stalks would ruin the exquisite spiral shape. But the flowers are gorgeous and have a tropical appearance, and they may really enhance a corsage or boutonniere. They also endure eternally.
A plant will occasionally grow much further than I can use it. If this occurs, I just behead it and plant it again. I simply snip off the top where it still resembles a rosette and place it back into a pot with new, moist soil. Within a few weeks, it will begin to grow roots. The surviving leaves will then be removed from the stem and placed somewhere to begin producing new offspring. The severed stem will begin to produce new plants if I leave it in the soil. My “zombie mothers” are these people.
I didn’t have any issues with pests up until recently. I have had a few succulents die from root worms, and I do see little insects breeding in the dirt around their roots, but not many. One day I’ll merely notice the plant is dying, and when I take it out a little, sure enough, the decaying stem easily falls out of the ground. I merely get rid of the tainted dirt, bleach the container, and start anew. Some varieties appear to be more prone to this issue than others.
But a plague of monsters! Aphids have recently been a problem for me, consuming both old plants and brand-new sprouts. It is unpleasant! They spread unpleasant sticky gunk (honeydew) everywhere, can scar the leaves, and inhibit the plant from growing. They are little blue-gray spots that reappear every time I believe I’ve destroyed them. LAME. Since I started using Safer brand bug soap, it does kill them, but because they are so cunning, some always manage to escape. Next may be neem oil or lady bugs. Has anyone ever had to deal with aphids on their succulent plants?
There’s really not much to worry about with these hardy, lovely creatures—they just keep growing and giving—aside from the aphids.
Propagating
All succulents want to do is rule the world! It seems that all portions of the plant will develop a new one, if given an opportunity – all I do to propagate is establish the correct conditions and expedite the process. A leaf-propagated succulent takes between 9 months and a year to grow 4-5 inches in diameter, depending on the variety. In order to reproduce my succulents, I employ three different methods.
Leaf technique: I begin with the mother plant and select a fat, robust bottom leaf (or, I choose many fat healthy bottom leaves all at once). Larger leaves typically result in larger, more rapid plantlets. I wiggle the leaf back and forth until it comes free from the stem without tearing it or the stem itself. Some types are more docile than others, but occasionally I mess up and harm the leaf or stem. When I have my collection of leaves, I throw them into an empty apartment and give them a little light—they don’t require much—to keep them alive. I’ll apply rooting hormone in accordance with the directions on the package if I’m trying to propagate a highly prized or challenging-to-sprout type.
The development of the leaves’ tiny, scarlet roots begins at least two weeks later. Some plants begin producing new growth before they develop roots, while others never get around to doing so. Still other plants develop roots but never produce new growth. You should aim for both. I add some moist soil to the flat where the leaves are growing roots once they begin to do so, giving the roots something to hold onto while I wait for the plantlets to emerge. Once I can see there are lots of roots on a leaf with a sizable plantlet, I place the leaf into a soil block and simply nestle the roots down and snug them in. Until I can pull on the plant and feel resistance from the roots, I keep these flats well-watered. After that, they are essentially free to go home!
Stump method: I employ this technique for plants that are challenging to multiply via leaves since, on occasion, they just refuse to form roots or new plants. This technique was developed when we had enormous pack rats terrorizing our basement and biting the heads off of my most exquisite succulent plants before carrying them off to their dark den. However, shortly after being guillotined, the stumps of these succulents would start to produce small new plantlets. I only waited for these babies to reach a size where I could clip them off, and then I tucked them into a fresh soil block. This technique, along with the following one, creates clones the fastest since they are already ready to survive and have had the mother plant’s assistance throughout their growth, unlike leaves, which only have contact with a small portion of the mother plant. To remove a new plantlet, clean your cutting tool (I like needle-nosed snips or trimming shears with extremely thin tips), then cut the plant close to the mother plant’s stem. Create a small opening in the dirt block or other material, then carefully insert the stem in while pressing the soil tightly around it to ensure good contact.
The easiest method, the sucker method, yields excellent clones. Once they reach a particular size, the majority of succulents will start to produce suckers, sometimes from the main stem and frequently from below the soil line. Lifting up the bottom leaves of your elder succulents will reveal some babies likely hiding under their mothers’ skirts, simply waiting for a new home and some time in the sun. Simply cut them off and plant them in a fresh block of soil. They’ll get growing instantly. As they lack roots to support any height, be sure to only plant the rosette and not the extended stem. In addition to producing numerous plants, new succulent clones from leaves frequently produce additional plants that can be divided to increase your stock. When the plants are sufficiently large, cut off the biggest sister first because she has a lot of energy and can still assist the other sister with the roots she has already established.
Varieties
Echeverias and Sempervivums are the greatest rosette succulents, but there are many other species that create wonderful succulents for gifts and simply plain enjoyment. The zebra plant is actually my favorite, although it grows slowly and isn’t the best for propagation.
Although I always advise patronizing your local nursery whenever feasible, FairyBlooms has a terrific assortment in their online shop and is a lovely Instagram account to follow. Additionally, they occasionally have the “Compton Carousel,” the most sought-after succulent of them all. However, you’ll pay a fortune for it – upwards to $50 for a 4-inch plant. It’s rare!
Here are the succulents I now plant. I don’t know the names of many of my succulents, but I do know a couple.
I also develop, however I have no photos of:
How are succulents multiplied? What kinds do you prefer? What deity shall I invoke in order to be delivered from this aphid plague?