Succulents for Las Vegas Gardens

Q. I have a succulent garden which is under our patio cover.  Periodically a plant that seems to being doing well suddenly goes sour. I use a moisture meter and try not to overwater.

When propagating plants from seed or cuttings sanitation is very very important. These are babies just getting started!!!

A. All cacti are classified as succulents but not all succulents are classified as cacti. What we consider succulents from our deserts usually require more care than cacti from our deserts. This means they usually need more protection from the sun, wind and a bit more water.

Sanitation

I am a firm believer in keeping everything as clean as possible. First is the potting soil. When potting soil is reused, sanitize it or get new potting soil.

            Do this easily by putting the moist soil, or the entire container a few days after an irrigation, in a clear plastic bag in full sun during the summer. Make sure there are no air leaks. Let it sit like this for about three days. Heating up everything to about 160F. for at least 30 minutes sanitizes it. This method is called solarization. 

            Sanitize or sterilize all of the equipment with 70% ethyl alcohol: particularly anything with a blade.

            Sometimes the plant part (seeds or cuttings) were not healthy or strong enough until they grew roots. Some older fungicides, namely Captan, Thiram, Zineb (dust, powder or wettable powder), were available to protect the roots until the plant got established in the ground. We would put a small amount on the flat end of a wooden toothpick in a seed packet and shake it (seed treatment) or dip cuttings to protect the roots until the plants were established.