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What Are Some Good Hardy Succulents for Colorado?

“What succulents will grow outdoors in Colorado ZIP 80021, Growing Zone 6?” Question from Joe of Westminster, Colorado.

Answer: I love hardy succulents and have written about them extensively because they are beautiful and easy to grow in many areas of the country, with good bed prep. I see that Westminster has an average rainfall of 17-inches per year, a good bit lower than the 38-inch-per-year national average, so you live in dry country. Thankfully, there are loads of hardy cacti and succulents beautifully adapted to your Zone 6 Cold Hardiness. Here is a very small sample of my favorites.

Agave

Parry’s Agave (Agave parryi): This amazingly cold-hardy agave can survive winter cold to Zone 4, as long as the winters remain quite dry. It is compact and has tough, silvery foliage with sharp black tips. Plant it in very well-drained soil.

Havard’s Agave (Agave havardiana): This super bold agave forms very large rosettes of grey-green foliage and is hardy to Zone 5, where winters are dry.

Cacti

Orange Chiffon Prickly Pear (Opuntia ‘Orange Chiffon’): This amazing cactus is hardy to Zone 5.  It is one of many beautiful prickly pear hybrids with fantastic spring flowers. This one is also nearly thornless.

Claret Cup Cactus (Echinocereus triglochidiatus): This super hardy hedgehog cactus has spectacular orange-red flowers, and plants will survive to Zone 5 in a raised rock garden. It is a real beauty that’s well worth growing.

Fragile Pricklypear (Opuntia fragilis): This low, creeping pricklypear is an alpine native of Colorado and bears lovely pale yellow flowers in late spring.

Sedums and Sempervivums

There are so many amazing sedums and hens-and-chicks to grow it is hard to know where to start, but here are a few beautiful varieties of various sizes to consider.

October Daphne Sedum (Sedum sieboldii ‘October Daphne’): This pretty 9″-12″ tall sedum has rose-edged, blue-green nickles of foliage and clusters of rosy flowers that bloom in fall. It is hardy to Zone 5.

Cliff Stonecrop (Sedum cauticola): This hardy (Zone 4) low-growing sedum has dusty purple foliage and deep rosy pink flower clusters in summer.

I cannot choose a single variety of hens-n-chicks, so I suggest you view this expansive list of them for sale at Mountain Crest Gardens. All are hardy.

For a good list of tall sedums, click here for an article on the subject. Also, if you want to propagate any succulents that you have on hand, check out this article.

Succulent Sources

It’s important to mention that you have a very good source for cold-hardy cacti and succulents close to you called Cold Hardy Cactus. It offers an excellent list of beautiful and unusual succulents well adapted to the drier regions of Colorado.

For a cool succulent rock garden design, check out this succulent seaside rock garden that I created last year. It is chock full of very hardy succulents from Mountain Crest Gardens. For gardens like this sharp drainage is a must, so I added Black Gold Cactus Mix to the pebble base in addition to Black Gold Garden Compost Blend.

I hope that these tips help!

Happy gardening,

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

When in Drought, Choose Succulents

Barrel cacti, agave, and echeverias are all bold succulents for droughty landscapes.

Whenever there are statewide water cutbacks in California, everyone has to rethink some of the plants in their home landscapes. Rather than viewing this as a tragedy, make it an opportunity to dive into some of trendiest plants filling gardens of the rich and famous.  If you’ve always wanted that great, clean succulent garden look, there is no better time to make the change.

In the past, most gardeners planted annual flowers for pockets of color.  Instead, plant these same spaces with exciting and colorful succulents.  This is a great idea for high-profile areas around outdoor living spaces, pools and spas, or courtyards where you can enjoy their diverse beauty up close and personal.  Be prepared to treat them as annuals, if you live in a frosty climate. You can also overwinter them indoors. Just dig and pot them up at summer’s end to green up indoor rooms all winter long.

The Best Soil for Succulents

The single biggest problem with succulents in traditional gardens is too much water caused by over irrigation in slow-draining clay ground.  Too much water rots succulent roots and stems—killing plants quickly.  Solve the soil dilemma by creating pockets of Black Gold Cactus Mix potting soil to improve rooting conditions. Do this with larger succulents by replacing the soil one hole at the time.  You can provide even sharper drainage by amending mixes with additional Black Gold Perlite.

Sometimes succulent pots need extra water-holding amendments, especially when irrigation cutbacks start drying out your planters. Black Gold Cactus Mix has just enough water-holding capacity to keep roots growing well.

 

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Jewel-box succulent container garden

Planting Succulent Beds

Once your soil and pots are prepared, its time to bring the vibrant echeverias, festive flapjacks, and ever-popular black aeoniums into your yard.  If you’re planting a six-inch potted specimen, dig your hole twice as wide and half again as deep as the nursery root ball.  Puncture the natural soil at bottom of the hole numerous times with a piece of pipe or rebar.  Go as deeply as you can to provide miniature sumps that encourage filtration and keep water from accumulating at the bottom of the hole.  Then fill with potting soil, and plant away.

Planting Succulent Containers

BG_CACTUSMIX_1CF-FRONTIf you have a built-in masonry planter, create a close-range jewel-box garden.  This term is used for the vivid succulent gardens that are as colorful as the contents of grandmother’s costume jewelry box.  Here you can plant a lovely rainbow of kalanchoes, flowering aloes, and geometric crassulas.  When you add hardy sedums and sempervivums, they’ll survive through the coldest winter to anchor next year’s display.

Remove the top foot of soil in the planter and replace it with cactus potting soil, then arrange your colors in drifts or swaths of small bright plants.  Accent them with sparkling slag glass, driftwood or special rock minerals and crystals for an exciting jewel-box look.

Although this California drought is a disaster for many, it may be the catalyst you need to replace water-intensive plants with exciting new succulents.  In the beginning, you may not know their names or their ultimate forms, but over the coming months, you’ll learn to recognize them and get a feel for how each grows. Though we are often averse to change in life, it’s often the doorway to our greatest accomplishments.