Happy Spring y'all! Sorry it has been a while. The weather has been beautiful here in South Georgia, and I have been dying to get my hands dirty in the yard! If you saw my garden tour last year, then you already know that I love plants. If you've read our blogs about potting succulents and repotting plants with my Dad, Terry, then you know that is where my love comes from!
It had been a little while since I paid my porch plants any attention and they were looking so sad! Over time, these little guys had become leggy and overgrown so it was time for a little rehab.
When succulents get old, they get a little ugly and out of control. It may seem odd, but cutting them back and starting fresh is the best thing you can do for them. You can see from these pictures that it was long past time for me to do it!
One pretty day this march I loaded up my sad plants in my little wagon and took them next door to my dad's house. He has a nice garage and shed, and was already set up with all the supplies I needed to get started.
My mom recently acquired this beautiful piece of vintage pottery. Its size and shape made it the perfect new home for a few of my plants that were needing a bigger pot. You can see that my pencil cactus can't wait to upgrade! I went ahead and played around with different pairings before starting so I would already have a plan of which plants I was using and where I would position them in the pot. When making a mixed pot like this, make sure you leave everyone a little room to grow! This way you will have some time before you have think about repotting it again.
This new pot did not have a drain hole so I filled the bottom with small rocks before filling the pot with my potting soil. This allows the soil to drain and keeps he plants roots from sitting in too much moisture.
Next, I gently removed my overgrown plants from their current pots. This is when you will take the time to harvest any babies before putting the main plant into the new pot. You will want to have a tray will potting soil ready for your harvest. All you have to do is stick your clippings in the dirt and give them a little time to develop some roots.
Here is the finished product and I think it turned out so cute! I can't wait for them to grow and fill in the space a little more.
My dad has been a busy bee collecting babies from all of his succulents and getting them ready for new homes. We will use some of them for events at our store, and he will get a whole lot of joy out of sharing them with anyone that will take one! Our mail lady, Miss Ann, showed up while we were working and left with three or four for her own collection!
We had a few hard freezes this year and, while I managed to cover and protect all of my other important plants, I forgot about my Mother-in-law's tongue. It has actually been forgotten for a while, you can see I never even got it potted!
If you ever have a plant that is damaged or caught in a freeze, don't give up on it immediately! You can see that when dad took this plant apart, there was new healthy growth that had been protected from the cold. We were able to recover four or five small plants before discarding the dead materials.
You can see how healthy and happy everyone looked once they had been freshened up and returned to their favorite spot on my side porch. Don't be afraid of your succulents! Clipping, cutting, separating, and repotting only makes them happier and grown even faster! It is also so much fun to share the babies with your friends and family. Happy gardening!
