Maintaining Low-Maintenance Cacti and Succulents
One of the best tips for beautiful Phoenix-area landscaping is to use low-maintenance cacti and succulents that provide unique visual displays year-round. These plants are already well-adapted to the desert climate, and as such they’re a staple of sustainable desert landscaping. However, low maintenance does not mean no maintenance. Here are some of the maintenance tasks that keep cacti and succulents healthy and beautiful:
- Space New Plantings Correctly: While it is tempting to plant so that a garden looks lush and beautiful right away, you need to know the mature size of the cacti and succulents to make sure the spacing will remain attractive and not cause overcrowding. As plants grow, you don’t want them competing with each other for water, nutrients and space.
- Plant shallow in well-draining soil. Cacti and succulents need to be planted at or above-grade to avoid creating a basin around the roots. Planting above grade directs water away from the roots, and planting in sandy soil allows water to drain.
- Trim Agave, Prickly Pear and Yucca: Damaged leaves on these plants need to be removed with a sharp blade. If they grow too large, you may have to trim or dig sections out to avoid liability issues and injuries caused by sharp plants hanging over walkways.
- Saguaros: Monitor for decay and signs of bacterial infections like oozing. Careful excavation of any decay must be done and then the area needs to be sanitized with a 25% bleach solution.
- Irrigation: As cacti and succulents grow, they need less water and need to be carefully monitored to make sure irrigation isn’t too heavy. Moreover, they need to be in well-draining soil that doesn’t cause them to be over watered during the monsoon season.
The best tip? Be sure to hire professional landscapers to help you select plants, design, and maintain your landscape to keep plants healthy. If you need help with home or commercial landscaping, the experts at Victor’s Landscaping, Inc. are happy to help.
