Cinderblock wall succulent planter still going strong
When I stacked and planted it in early March, I expected to get about 8 months of color and interest out of my cinderblock wall planter filled with succulents, and I have! All through our raging summer it held up really well with minimal water, even when I was away on vacation for two weeks in July. (Note: my wall receives only indirect sunlight, filtered through a live oak, which is key for tender succulents in hot, sunny climates.) The biggest threat to these plants has not been from heat or drought but critters: squirrels digging around in the little planting pockets, hoping to stash a few acorns; snails or slugs creeping up at night, nibbling away at fleshy leaves (a sprinkling of Sluggo around the plants took care of that); a cardinal nipping off succulent leaves (yes, I witnessed this! Why?); caterpillars gnawing the echeverias in spring. Ah well, that sort of thing comes with the territory when gardening. I replaced a couple of heavily nibbled succulents along the way, but for the most part they survived the occasional onslaught of animal attention.
Aside from the tender echeverias and possibly hardy sedums (we’ll see), I also tucked in a few diminutive agaves, like this colorful Agave lophantha ‘Quadricolor.’ I’m hoping they’ll overwinter because I’m terribly lazy about moving plants in and out when a hard freeze threatens. My garden has not seen its first freeze yet, but it won’t be long. And if we have a repeat of last winter, well, I’ll be cleaning up piles of mush.
Agave ‘Cream Spike’
But that’s OK. Eight or more months of beauty before having to pay the piper—Old Man Winter—works for me. Let’s see how long it can go!
If you’d like to learn how I constructed my wall planter, here’s the link. Here too is a look back at how my cinderblock wall looked in midsummer.
All material © 2006-2011 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Love those Agave! The nearest we have in the PNW that is hardy is Yucca ‘Color guard’, otherwise we have to consider them annuals. Such a shame.
Yes, agaves dislike being wet, especially in the winter. Yuccas are much tougher. I grow ‘Color Guard’ myself and love it. Have you visited Danger Garden, by the way? She’s in Portland and loves agaves and other spiky plants. She does keep a few of them in the ground, but most are in pots that she protects from the incessant rain in the winter. —Pam
I commented on your Facebook post, but had to stop by here as well and tell you again that this is great! In San Antonio, we had the same summer and man was it hard on the succulents! I’ve moved all my succulents under our newly covered patio on shelves, so this is a great use for my extra cinder blocks. Originally, I stacked them to make a multi-leveled area I sat my succulents on. They new homes, so why not create more space for more succulents!
I’m glad you like the wall, Mandy. Whew, this past summer was a toughie, wasn’t it? Thank goodness you had a covered patio to house your succulent collection. —Pam
I was wondering how the plants had fared this summer and it looks as though they did well. I think the secret has to be in the filtered sunlight. I have none of that here and my succulents would rather be in the shade than in the sun. Now they are in the house! I have a ‘quadricolor’ in my living room at the moment. The wall was a great idea. Hope they all survive the winter. Easy to throw a blanket over the whole thing.
I hope that’ll do the trick, Jenny. If we have a mild winter it should be fine. But another like last winter? Many will turn to mush. —Pam
I’ve been thinking about building one to create a little privacy in one area, but I didn’t consider how attractive it might be to the critters until you mentioned yours! My aloes suffered some serious munching by the eastern lubber grasshoppers this summer. And then there’s the squirrels… Hmm. But your wall looks great despite your critters. Hope everything pulls through for you this winter.
Thanks, Jean. Oh, those critters—they keep us on our toes, don’t they? —Pam
Such a lovely way to show off your succulents!
Thanks, Daphne! —Pam
Pam: What a great garden element! I can’t wait to come to Austin again and see it. BTW, How big would A. lophantha ‘Quadricolor’ get in the ground? How long will you be able to keep it in the wall?
Peter Schaar
Hi, Peter. Plant Delights says it can get 2 feet wide and 18 inches tall in the ground (zone 8 or higher). I’m just waiting to see if it’ll survive the winter in a fairly uninsulated cinderblock planter before I worry about how long I can grow it there. —Pam
Looks like you have sedum reflexum — mine survives the winter just great! Also, do you have Ghost Plant (graptopetalum) — mine survives winter in DFW in a container 🙂
Yes, those survived for me last winter too in a planter trough. Yay! However, in the succulent wall they have very little soil around them and they’re higher off the ground, so I think they may be more affected by cold temperatures. We shall see! It’s an experiment. —Pam
My sister-in-law grew pots of ‘hen & chickens’ to hang on the fence as bird food for the cardinals every winter. Cardinals also eat mine but I’ve not seen mocking birds eating succulents here.
How interesting! Now that you mention it, I remember that it was a cardinal, not a mockingbird, that I saw nipping leaves off my succulent (I’ve corrected my post). I had no idea they ate that sort of thing! —Pam
It still looks great! My car was a frozen block of ice yesterday morning and this morning doesn’t seem much better….
In Florida?? I’m out of touch with the national weather forecast. Hope you get back to normal soon, Darla. —Pam
I’d LOVE an answer to your ‘Why?’, Pam, re the succulent-eating birds. Both cardinals and mocking birds have eaten mine this year. I’ve stood and watched them do it. They like the tender ones. This, despite plenty of fresh water in 3 locations and plenty of food for them in 8 feeders. I’ve had them nibble before, but this year they nearly cleaned me out. I finally put wire cloches over some of my favorites and more expensive ones, but it was heart-breaking to see them devour several mature succulent dish gardens.
I guess more than ‘Why?’, I’d like to know ‘How?’ – How do I keep them from doing this ??? Any suggestions ?
I sure don’t have any answers, Sandy. I am mystified too. Maybe it’s their “salad?” —Pam
Pam, I love this idea. What a great way to turn something ordinary (concrete blocks) into something extraordinary. I hope your plants make it through the winter! Do the concrete blocks create their own microclimate? I wonder if they retain warmth.
Hi, Debra. Isn’t it fun? We’ve had two hard freezes in a row so far, and everything pulled through except a couple of echeverias. But January and February will be the test. I too wonder how much insulating power the concrete blocks have. The pocket of soil inside each one is very small, so I can’t imagine that helps much. Plus the plants are raised above ground level, which exposes them to the cold a little more. At any rate, it’ll be easy to replant as necessary in spring, and I’ve really enjoyed the wall’s unique look. —Pam