A Winter Garden

BY GINA MULLINS-COHEN

What are succulents? Do you know or is it just a momentary thought - a question - occasionally jumping in and out of your head when you pass by rows of these tiny potted plants in the garden store? How many different classifications and species of succulents are there? Are they related to Cactus? Are Cactus succulents or something else? What is an Agave? Are succulent plants hardy? Can they survive through winter? How do succulents acquire such distinct colors, such as the variety of blues, pinks and purples that you see in the garden store?

I fell in love with succulents long ago. It was a long fall. These are questions I have asked myself as I stroll down the aisle at Plant Depot or Armstrong’s over the years. Since our Southern California winters are milder than most others in the country, and succulents do well in this climate, I decided to explore all the options of a succulent garden - my winter garden.

Now, with the assistance and high-level knowledge of the Information Architects and Editors at Britannica.com, let’s answer a few of those questions.

Succulent: A succulent is any plant with thick fleshy tissues adapted to water storage. Some succulents (e.g., cacti) store water only in the stem and have no leaves or exceedingly small leaves, whereas others (e.g., agaves) store water primarily in the leaves. Most succulents have deep or broad root systems and are native to either deserts or regions that have a semiarid season. Succulent plants are found in more than 60 plant families, with members of Aizoaceae, Cactaceae, and Crassulaceae being dominantly succulent. A number of these are cultivated as ornamentals and houseplants, including Aloe, Echeveria, Kalanchoe and others.

One common adaptation in many succulents is the timing of the opening of their stomata, which are small mouthlike structures on

the surface of plant leaves and stems. Stomata allow for the uptake of carbon dioxide from the environment and the loss of water and oxygen to the environment. Unlike those of most plants, the stomata of many succulent plants close during the day and open at night. As a result, the loss of water (transpiration) during the hot dry daytime hours is minimized and carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake occurs in the dark. These succulent plants, therefore, exhibit a modified form of CO2 fixation and photosynthesis called crassulacean acid metabolism.

So yes, curious reader, the Cacti is a succulent. Agaves are also succulents. There are over 10,000 types of succulents around the world. Often these plants are crossbred by nurseries introducing new cultivars at a prolific rate.

My favorite succulents are classified as Echeveria. There are about 150 species of succulent plants in the stonecrop family (Crassulaceae). These succulents are native to areas spanning Argentina to Texas. Often these are called hen-and-chicks due to how new plantlets, or their offsets, develop in a cluster around the parent plant. The usually broad fleshy leaves have waxy, velvety or powdery surfaces and are often iridescent and sometimes red-edged when in bright sunlight. Echeverias are popular with collectors of succulent plants for their compact symmetrical leaf rosettes and for the prominent stalked inflorescence (flower cluster), which usually rises high above the leaves. The smaller species, such as the wax rosette (Echeveria ×gilva), the pearl echeveria (E. elegans; also called Mexican snowball), and the plush plant (E. pulvinata), are beautiful planted in small pots or saucer gardens along with other succulent species. Larger echeverias, such as (E. gibbiflora), red echeveria (E. coccinea), and copper roses (E. multicaulis), are found in Mexican and in the southwestern areas of the United States. I also love the Aloe plant. Aloe, (genus Aloe), genus of more than 500 species of shrubby succulent plants in the family Asphodelaceae native to Africa, Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula. Several species are cultivated as ornamentals and houseplants and for their medicinal leaves. The majority of members from the Aloe genus have a rosette of leaves sprouting either at ground level or at the end of a stem. The leaves are usually

Certain aloe fleshy and often have sharp toothed edges. species retain Certain aloe species retain dense dead leaves around their stems to serve as insulation dense dead leaves against the heat of wildfires. The tubular flowaround their ers range in variety of colors from shades of white and yellows to reds. Many species are stems to serve pollinated by non-hovering birds, such as sunas insulation birds, and the flower clusters of such species are supported by tall sturdy stalks upon which against the heat of the birds can land. The seeds are produced in dry capsules. wildfires. Most succulents cannot survive extreme cold, so if you happen to be reading this article in front of a cozy fire in a place like Duluth, between November and April, you will want to create your succulent garden inside – it will not disappoint. No matter where you are, you can experience the magic of a winter garden with succulents. Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopedia (2020, January 23). succulent. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/plant/ succulent Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopedia (2020, January 27). echeveria. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/plant/ Echeveria