Succulents for the home garden willamette valley or
1. Succulents for
the Home
Garden, Willamet
te Valley OR
Linda R McMahan, botanist
and horticulturist, Oregon
State University
Extension, McMinnville, OR
2. Succulents for the Home
Garden – What We Will Cover
Some Techniques and some cautions
Plants that do well in Oregon’s Willamette
Valley
A few final words
Questions – during or after
3. Major Strategy—Use Pots
Why?
Succulents like
good drainage
Raising above the
ground raises the
temperature a little
4. Kinds of Pots
Many different
kinds will work
Troughs (cement or
rock planters)
Regular pots
Mounded soil
5. Soil?
Ifdirectly in the
garden, add
organic matter
and mound up soil
to provide
drainage
In pots, you can
add sand or rocks
to the soil and
make sure
drainage is open
6. Rockeries and Rock Walls
Many will also do
quite well in
rockeries (rock
gardens) and rock
retaining walls
This picture is from
California, but it
provides the idea
7. A newly constructed and a
mature Rock Garden --
The basic structure
is rocks—the soil fills
in the holes
A pile of rocks or
rocks placed in a
garden are not
usually considered
to be a rock
garden
8. A Fool-Proof Sedum
Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’
Grows well in a
sunny border—no
special
requirements
Readily available
Attractive
butterflies
Bronze fall color
9. The Best Sedum
Sedum spathulifolium
Native to Oregon
Prefers drainage but
open ground may
be OK
Does not die back
during the winter like
non-native sedums
Widely available
Many color forms
available
15. Hens and Chicks, Echeveria
species and cultivars
Many cultivars
available
Nearly foolproof it
they get enough
drainage
Native Mexico and
southward in the
New World Echeveria elegans photo:
Wikipedia.org
17. Brittle pricklypear, Opuntia
fragilis
Native to Western
U.S.
Have seen grown
in pots or raised
beds in the
Willamette Valley
Several related
Opuntia may be
available
Al Schneider @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS
Database