Hello,
I am new to DG and am enjoying all the boards. I have a new interest in succulents, which has spilled over into semps and sedums and the like. I live in Austin TX. I am preparing a new bed in the front of my house, full sun. Into the native clay I am working decomposed granite, cotton bur compost, and some other amendments- dry molasses, corn meal, lava sand, green sand, cottonseed meal, zeolite. The bed will be raised, in some areas more than others. I plan on planting agaves, cacti, native perenials, a small tree.
I want to plant my semps and sedums as well. My questions for you are: Would you plant in the fall? Should I pot them up and plant in the spring? Should I plant them at all when summers are in the 90s to 100s? I expect to lose some plants, but hope to find some hardy ones.
Should I have certain spots in the garden for the rock plants and amend the soil differently?
My plants come from an order from Squaw Mountain Gardens. They are bare rotted at the moment and I need to do something with them quickly. I sure most of your are familiar with this nursery, but if you are not, you should check them out. my plants are amazing and an incredible bargain. No, I do not work for them.
Thanks,
David
New rock garden
Welcome David! Will you have a few weeks or more of warmish weather?
I certainly could not plant 'em out here but my ground is frozen now. Do you
have any pictures to share?
Tam
Your new bed sounds intriguing with all of those amendments. I'm sure it will be the perfect medium for those plants.
Did Squaw Mountain give you any hardiness information? Some of my succulents definitely can't take frost or extended periods of rainfall. If you plant them in fall, you'll soon learn which plants are more fragile and then you can avoid them from now on or bring them inside in the winter. Summer temps in the 90's and 100's shouldn't hurt sedums and semps. I would isolate them in specific parts of the garden and amend the soil accordingly. Most of them don't do well in rich soil.
Good luck!
We have had one freeze one night. Recently the lows have been in the 40s.
I wish I had pictures to post. I am not that technically advanced.
For plants that do not like rich soil, but like well draining soil (my clay gets pretty mucky), what would be recommended to add to the clay?
Thanks for the replys.
David
Zuzu,
I forgot. I did not receive hardiness ratings with my order. I will have to check their website.
David
The easiest thing to do is to make a raised bed I suspect. Have you checked
out the North American Rock Garden Society website? They have a lot of
information on their site:
http://www.nargs.org/gardening/rockgardening.html
You can add grit or gravel and any kind of sand that doesn't stick together. Avoid builder's sand. I use aquarium sand because it never cakes.
Your zone isn't included in your post information, but I don't imagine you're in a very low zone. You're probably in 8 or 9. My temps are already in the mid-30's every night here and I occasionally have temps as low as 25 degrees, but I've never lost a sedum or a semp to the cold. Drainage can be a big problem, though, so incorporate as much grit as you can into that clay, or just deposit a thick layer of cactus mix or regular potting soil mixed with lots of gravel and sand on top of the clay and plant your babies in that layer.