
Don’t let our average yearly rainfall of 60 inches, which occurs mostly during the rainy season from June through September, deter you from creating your own succulent garden right here in Southwest Florida.
My wife started planting succulents,

False agave

Pachypodium lamerei
Succulents are very hardy; they are able to survive drought, extreme heat, strong winds, poor soil and occasional cold weather. Sound familiar? They also have few pests and disease problems. In addition to their hardiness, succulents and agaves provide architectural appeal to gardens with their myriad shapes, sizes and textures. For this reason alone, I feel they’re worth a try.
One of the most impressive succulent gardens in Southwest Florida is located at our very own Naples Botanical Garden.

Agave attenuta
Hopefully, I’ve piqued your interest and you’re ready to get your feet wet with succulent gardening. Using larger, more mature plants will help with the success of your garden because larger plants of any species tend to establish themselves faster, leaving less time for a problem to arise. Most of these plants are armed with barbs, spines or downright deadly spikes, so gardening gloves are essential! Immediately after planting your new succulent garden, add a little water and fertilizer

Blue Agave
During the winter in Florida, it is very important not to overwater and to provide good drainage. Because of our cool, humid mornings, root rot and fungus are always big concerns with succulents as well as our lawns. Of course, once your garden takes over your lawn, like mine, you won’t have to worry about winter lawn fungus anymore.
Don’t be discouraged if Mother Nature fails to cooperative with your best efforts at arid gardening because most

Sea Lavender (Limonium perezii)
As water prices and restrictions continue to rise in South Florida, interest in arid gardening is growing. In addition to conserving precious water, your new succulent garden will also attract butterflies and hummingbirds. The flowers on the agave and yucca plants are particularly appetizing.
KEEP BUTTERFLYING!!!
Non-thirsty companion plants you can add to your succulent garden:
Coreopsis (tickseed)
Gaura lindheimeri (Whirling Butterflies)
Leonotis leonurus (Lion’s Tail)
Callistemon (Bottlebrush)
Buddleia davidii (Butterfly Bush)
Erythrina (Coral Bean)
Lagerstroemia (Crape Myrtle)
Lantana montevidensis (Gold Mound)
Euryops pectinatus (California Bush Daisy)
Tagetes lemmonii (Copper Canyon Daisy)
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