The world of cacti and succulents is vast, and includes more than 10,000 species. It’s also fascinating, if not downright bizarre, given the incredible diversity of sizes, shapes, textures, and colors. Even the names of individual plants spark the imagination, such as Baby Toes, Buddha’s Temple, Crinkle Leaf, Dancing Bones, Fairy Washboard, Flapjack, Shrek Ears, and Zebra Wart. 

But the best thing about cacti and succulents is that they’re incredibly easy to grow, particularly if you take a hands-off approach to caring for them. In other words, try not to kill them with kindness. Here’s what I mean.

From late spring to late summer, water indoor succulents no more than once a week. During the fall and winter months, water maybe once every three or four weeks. Except during extreme periods of drought, outdoor varieties rarely need to be watered. In fact, overwatering is the fastest way to kill them.

Truth is, succulents will be perfectly happy without any fertilizer, and if you feed them too much or too often, they’ll croak. At the most, fertilize once a month during spring and summer, and not at all during fall and winter.

Although most succulents are native to desert regions of the world, they actually do best outdoors in this area when protected from late afternoon sun. Too much light – combined with hot temps — can lead to sunscald. Indoors, they need at least a half day of bright, indirect light.

 Succulents respond well to annual repotting with a mix specifically blended for them. The best time to repot is spring.

Don’t fancy yourself a gardener? Try growing cacti and succulents indoors. Just follow the advice above and I’m willing to bet you’ll achieve success. And with success comes the confidence to explore other forms of gardening. Seriously, you can do this.

Yes, there are hardy succulents that grow great in our area, both in pots and in the ground. By far and away, the most popular are the Sedums, whose thick, fleshy leaves add both color and texture to perennial beds. Good drainage is a must, but they’re otherwise tolerant of most soil types. Closely related are the Sempervivums, which includes the ever-popular Hens & Chicks. And there’s the mat-forming Ice Plant (Delosperma), whose daisy-like flowers are available in several colors.

Equally diverse are the cacti, which are succulents worthy of their own category. And although not all of them flower — or may take years to do so — those that do are especially worth growing because their blooms are mind-blowingly beautiful. What I find most intriguing about cacti is their symmetry of form, but I must admit that I find their spines (which are actually modified leaves) pretty darn cool too. Never grown cacti before? Give them a go, but know in advance that collecting them can be addicting.

When potting succulents and cacti indoors or out, the right potting mix is critical. It needs to be fairly light and drain quickly to prevent root rot, which is the number-one cause of death in succulents. That’s why we’re sold on Espoma’s Organic Cactus Mix, and you should be too.

Summer doesn’t officially arrive until the 21st, but it’s sure been feeling like summer lately, and that means it’s time to focus on the special needs of just about everything that grows, from turf to tomatoes.