These are the stores I can recommend based on my personal experience as a customer or those that people I trust have had great things to say about, whether you’re from the Houston area like me or searching online for the greatest plant-mail around. Please tell them Andrea sent you from Sucs for You!
As I discover additional locations that offer lovely, healthy plants and excellent customer service, I’ll update this post. For information on the materials and tools I use in the garden and where to acquire them, be sure to visit my Supplies page.
Online
Garden Mountain Crest One of the best retailers online, MCG offers high-quality succulents, air plants, and more in addition to having a very educational website. Fast and reasonable shipping. (I was one of their initial affiliates; as a result, if you use this link, Sucs for You will be supported. Thank you!)
Fairyblooms
The best online retailer for the most colorful and attractive succulents is Fairyblooms, although they also carry some unusual varieties. About as amazing as it gets is opening one of their boxes!
Smoley’s Bob
This mom-and-pop nursery, which is based in Florida, offers an intriguing selection of succulents, cacti, tropical plants, and other oddities you need in your life. The website is a little dated, but it serves its purpose, and you can contact the owners easily if you have any questions. They also provide worldwide shipping!
Houston-area
Succulents and other beautiful plants can be found at Buchanan’s, a higher-end alternative in the Heights.
My church, Cactus King. Locals need not hesitate to visit the magnificent domain that is Cactus King, even though ordering online is NOT advised. You’re going to want to stay here for a while, so bring some water and a food. Cash only, no refunds, but if you know what’s going on, it’s definitely worth the risk.
Hong Kong Food Market is a sizable Asian market with a small but distinctive range of bamboo, tropical plants, herbs, and vegetables. It is housed inside the Hong Kong City Mall on Bellaire.
(Seasonal sales) Houston Cactus and Succulent Society Boy… I’ve only attended one of these sales, in the spring of 2017, but it was absolutely incredible. The HCSS sale featured plants from locals that are really on top of their succulent game, despite the fact that it was modest in contrast to sales in other cities. To maximize your haul, take some boxes and cash.
Without a doubt, my favorite local nursery for native and succulent plants is Joshua’s Native Plants. Prepare to hand over all of your money to them. Excellent customer service from a team in the Heights. At this moment, Mondays are closed.
There are two JRN facilities, but I’ve only been to the one in Alief. JRN 2 Nursery Spend some time at JRN visiting the greenhouses to see anything from bonsai to plants for water gardens. If you know what’s good for you, bring a truck since we have gorgeous and reasonably priced tropical plants as well as an interesting collection of succulents and cacti.
Are succulents able to thrive in Houston?
Approximately twenty years ago, a student gave me a little pot filled with a variety of seedling plants as a semester-ending gift when I was a writing instructor at University of Houston-Downtown. Even now, many years later, I still own two of those plants. They have survived my relocation through several apartments and into my suburban home, as well as the attacks of numerous cats, dogs, and my toddler. They have also flourished while I was away for days or even weeks at a time for business travel.
What made them last so long? they are succulents, after all. They are built to endure and even flourish in less-than-ideal soil with scant water. They are some of the easiest plants to grow and are ideal for our region’s mild winters and the drought conditions that are becoming more frequent.
Numerous plants fall into the category of succulents, which are distinguished primarily by their water-retaining stems and rubbery leaves. Succulents come in a wide range of hues, dimensions, and forms. With their pointed edges and sharp edges, many of them resemble cactus. In reality, all cacti are succulents, however the group includes much more than just cactus. Succulents’ leaves range from being lengthy and spiky to being spherical and ruffly. Some leaves have a hard, rigid shell, while others have a fragile, almost delicate, shell. Additionally, the colors—purples, pinks, reds, whites, greens, and variegated—on both the leaves and the blossoms can be exquisite.
They are highly self-sufficient once given the right environment, which makes them simple to grow. The majority of the moisture the plants require is stored in their fleshy leaves, so they don’t require soil that is constantly being replaced with organic matter. Succulents will flourish if you feed them a balanced fertilizer, such as 10-10-10, once or twice a year, as long as the potting media drains effectively. The majority of succulents thrive in direct sunlight, however they can also tolerate dim light. In the Houston area, they do well indoors or outside year-round since they enjoy warmer temperatures.
Aloe vera, sometimes known as the medicine plant, is one of the succulents that is most well-known. It was a plant that my student gave me, and it now lives in a container on my doorstep. Every year, I pluck bits of it that have outgrown the pot and place them in barren spots in my flower gardens or punch them down into little pots to give as gifts. And when I burn myself on the stove, I do break off a piece: I split the leaf open and rub the slimy insides on the burn. Aloe vera is used in a lot of skin care products because the vitamin E in the plant promotes quicker, scar-free healing.
The snake plant, commonly referred to as mother-in-tongue law’s (sansevieria trifasciata), is another popular succulent. This plant’s long, variegated leaves have a pattern resembling snakeskin, and they have a dramatic vertical presentation both in the ground and in pots. Pots of snake plants are strategically positioned in cubicles and office lobbies all across Houston to spruce up entrances or add some color. Before toppling, snake plants will extend their compact clusters of leaves up to a height of over 2 feet. When planted in a vertical, vibrant pot with decorative pebbles on top of the soil, they can provide the ideal home décor in a corner or other vacant space.
Aloe vera and snake plants are only two options available to gardeners who genuinely want to succeed with succulents. The jade plant (crassula ovate) resembles a little shrub for a tabletop. Many greens, yellows, reds, purples, and even borderline blacks are available in the variations of sedum, along with a variety of shapes, from thin, limp branches that fall gracefully over pot edges or hanging baskets to more conventional-looking bush or shrub-style plants. A fascinating import from Madagascar is the panda plant, a member of the kalanchoe family with thick, green leaves covered in tiny silver hairs that give the plant a velvety appearance and give it a pale green or gray-blue hue, with the exception of the leaf tips, where the tiny hairs are brownish-red. A few types of succulents known as “hens-and-chicks plants” develop a primary plant (the mother hen) as well as smaller offshoots (the chicks) next to the main plant. The majority of cultivars feature leaves that can be more rounded or pointed and arrange themselves in a rosette form.
There are many more plants, but these will get you started. All of the succulents are typically grouped together on nursery shelves; just look for the cactus, and the others will be close by. Take in the vibrant hues, intricate shapes, and varied textures. The smallest ones resemble plants for elves or appear to have just been lifted from a Dr. Seuss book.
The most important thing to remember when growing succulents is not to let them sit in soggy soil or to overwater them. To maintain the soil porous and well-draining, add sand or small stones to it before planting, whether it’s in a container or directly in the ground. Before watering, let the soil totally dry out. Even then, the plant will probably be okay if you neglect for a further week or two. Try to keep them from freezing, but if they do, simply cut off the ice-damaged areas and leave the rest. They might very possibly return. Succulents can be grown alone in pots or combined with other plants to create a lovely arrangement that includes a main plant surrounded by lesser ground cover or draping plants. Succulents grow beautifully in strawberry pots; just be sure to move the pot occasionally to promote even development.
Every day I smile when I look at the ancient succulents my former student gave me. They have lived up to their reputation as robust, simple-to-grow, and neglect-tolerant plants. But I don’t ignore them any longer. Now that we’ve become old friends, I pay them the respect they merit.
Do Trader Joe’s have any succulents for sale?
At Trader Joe’s, we offer trendy clay pots filled with on-trend succulents in a variety of genus and species.
It’s impossible to forecast exactly what varieties you’ll find on your visit because availability depends on our growers’ yield.
Succulents: do they thrive in Texas?
That cliche from Texas
For Texas gardeners, the phrase “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes” can be a genuine pain. You run the danger of a stray late frost if you plant too early. If you plant too late, the summer’s oppressive heat may burn your developing garden. It makes sense that succulents have grown in popularity in recent years in Texas homes.
Beautiful tiny plants known as succulents flourish in the arid atmosphere of Texas. They lend subtlety to a native garden and are incredibly low-maintenance, whether they are adorning a kitchen windowsill, balcony, or apartment.
Succulents are a contradictory plant since they are small, delicate, and hardy at the same time. Many varieties can resist Texas’ unpredictable ice storms, intense heat, and rapid weather changes. They are thus the ideal approach to enliven your house in the winter.
Which month is ideal for planting succulents?
In most places, the spring and summer, when plants are actively growing, are the greatest times to plant outdoor succulents. You can plant outside at any time of the year if you live in a region without frost.
In Texas, how often should I water my succulents?
The location of your succulent or cactus is crucial to its health and survival. Make important to find out the environment your new plant prefers: full sun, part sun with afternoon shade, or full shade. If you’re still unsure, leave it in the morning light with afternoon shade and check back in a few days to see how it’s doing. Move it to greater shade as soon as you see that it is developing little spots or that the color of the leaves is fading. If you see that it’s doing well but you want to give it more sun, try a location that gets more sun and keep an eye out for any areas or leaves that are fading. If they are not prepared for the sun, even cactus can get sunburned. For a few days, mail-order succulents and cacti should be placed in complete darkness; after that, they should be progressively adapted to increasing amounts of light until you discover the ideal spot. Because plants are what we consume, just as us, soil is crucial. Your plant won’t grow as well as it would if it were in a medium that was rich in nutrients if you have it in non-nutritious soil. A soil that retains some moisture while draining quickly is what you would want. The simplest method for modifying standard potting soil to meet the requirements of your cactus or succulent is to add perlite, sand, or even old broken terra cotta pots to the bottom of the container.
People who like to conserve water or don’t have the time or memory to water plants might consider cacti and succulents. Your watering needs and schedule will change depending on the location of the plant, the size of the pot, and the soil type. Once you get to know your plant, checking to see whether it needs water will come naturally to you. Whether the pot is small enough, you can examine the soil with your finger to see if it needs water or pick it up to see if it feels noticeably lighter than after it has just been watered. Additionally, you can examine the plant to see if it appears sunken or raisin-like. If so, water would undoubtedly be beneficial. In the spring and fall, you would typically water once every week or two. Weekly watering is recommended when the summer heat kicks in. Move your plant to more shade so that it may receive relief from the heat and light and dry out a little more slowly if you see it is drying out quickly during the summer and you can’t water it once a week. Water should only be used once a month when winter comes. You might need to water even less if you move your plants inside. During this time of year, some plants lay dormant, and you can leave them alone until spring.
You can use any common plant food, such as Miracle Grow or Peter’s. Additionally excellent, organic materials renew the soil, which significantly improves the health of your plant. The best results were achieved with fish emulsion. My plants go crazy whenever I clean my fish tank because I use that water on them! It is incredibly powerful and nourishing.
Repotting those pointed cactus is a question that is frequently asked. The only thing you need to do is grab an old towel, a scrap of carpet, a piece of newspaper, or anything else that will serve as a cushion between your hands and their spines. With small, potted cacti, you can simply hold the buffer material in one hand while holding the pot with the other. Lay the cactus in its new location after twisting the pot off the base. To ensure that the leftover soil settles evenly and well, scatter it about the base and give it a good shake. To harden up the soil, press into it with a pencil or stick. The same principles apply to larger cacti, however you might need a helper or the ground instead of a table.
How hardy are succulents?
The season for succulents doesn’t end with summer. There are many of these lovely plants that can withstand the extreme cold of winter. Plant them outside for color all year long. They can withstand temperatures below zero as long as they have full sun and dry soil.