S & J Tree Farm and Nursery’s
Succulent Plant Selections
for Northeast Florida Gardens
What makes a Plant a Succulent?
Succulent plants have thick fleshy stems, leaves and or roots that are designed for water storage. That’s it! Simple isnt it. Those unique fleshy stems, leaves and roots set them apart from other plants in many ways. The most commonly utilized advantage that the succulent plant has to offer is its extremely drought tolerance. Succulents take advantage of those thick fleshy water storage parts during the hot dry months and can last for extended periods of time without rain and or supplemental irrigation. Making them the prefect plant for dry sandy soils where other more tender plants fail to thrive.
Extreme drought tolerance also makes them ideal for well drained planters in areas that will not receive a lot of specialized attention to their care. As gardeners lives get busier, the interest in plants that maintain themselves with little help from the gardener continues to grow. Succulent plants can be an easy care option that come in a surprising array of colors shapes and sizes.
The second most utilized advantage of succulent plants is their fire resistance. Which thankfully we don’t have to to think of often here in our subtropical climate zone, but in areas like Arizona and California, these plants don’t add as much “fuel to the fire” as many other options would, a much needed help in hotter drier climates than ours here in Northeast Florida.
Here are a few succulent selections for Northeast Florida that will tolerate our dry sandy soils in non irrigated spaces, thrive in raised beds and container gardens, and may even find a happy home indoors
near a sunny window.
