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Cacti & Succulents

Succulents in the ground - amending sandy soil

postquake_angela

9 years ago

I'd like to plant some succulents directly in the ground, and I've already got sandy soil. The thought of digging up my soily sand and replacing it with a sandy mix kinda kills me.

According to my jar tests and DIY soil tests, my garden "soil" is
80% sand,
15% silt,
5% clay.
pH 6.8
Nitrogen deficient
Phosphorus poor
Potash adequate

My questions are how can I amend this and and how deep should I go? I'm thinking some lava gravel for sharpness and ligthness and maybe some Turface? Maybe a handful of compost? FYI, the plants will not be in a raised bed.

Also, I'm on the coast in northern california (san francisco).

Thanks,
Angela

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Comments (7)

hablu
9 years ago
Hi Angela,
For many years I plant some of my succulent for the summer in the garden. Now it is the time to dig them out for the winter to come.
I'm not making a big deal of the ground. It's a mix of our local ground; some stoney sand and for the drainage some stone. (it can be very wet here and it is not to hot - never more than a few days 30 C.)
Practicly all do fine and grow sometimes like weed.
In the picture a E. lilicene that has been in the ground from april till this afternoon and it looks fine to me.
I don't know your weatherconditions, but I would not worry to much. (Maybe shade is needed in California???I don't know about that) Plants -if healthy - are strong.

greets
Harry
bouldergrower
9 years ago
Have a look at:

http://smsf-mastergardeners.ucanr.org/Elkus/Planting_a_succulent_garden/
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Vinca is a thug here. Impossible to curtail once it takes hold. Since you want a stunning garden, I would talk to several nursery people to avoid future headaches. I would also double check on any recommendations from them!! Remember that fast growers can need more maintenance after they establish. You want to check mature size. Erosian cloth is often used with new plantings. It helps control weeds too. Ajuga, Asarun caudatum - needs water, Alchemilla, Epimedium, Galium odoratum - can become a pest, hardy Geranium, Gaultheria procumbens, Lamium, Pachysandra terminalis 'Green Carpet', Phlox divaricata, Ranunculus repens 'Pleniflorus' - can be invasive, Sarcococca hookerana humilis, Vaccinium vitis-idaea ~~~~ these are some suggestions from Sunset's garden book. You might consider ferns. For a very mat surface, I use Baby Tears. Poor stuff needs more water than I allot. Some Ajugas have good bronze tones and will take some sun. The ones I use send out runners to establish new plants. About 8" high.
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Crenda 10A SW FL
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I, too, have sandy soil. The difference being that I get 30-35 inches of rain between July and September. So good drainage is a must!

I have amended my soil pretty much like the example BoulderGrower posted, building up the beds some. I did mix the sand back in for some areas. All of my landscaping slopes down to the lake or down to the road, so I worked with that terrain as well.

I also have a raised island that is Florida sand and something black, maybe old loam or topsoil, layered in. When I plant anything out there I dig a large hole and fill it with a gritty mix. This has worked well for me.

I can't grow some of the nice plants that you can grow due to the soggy summers. Echeveria and Aeonium really struggle. But aloes, agaves, sedums and similar plants do very well with this plan.

Good luck!
wantonamara Z8 CenTex
9 years ago
Looks like you could mix in some crushed granite or pea gravel and a touch of compost and call it a day.
whip1 Zone 5 NE Ohio
9 years ago
Put the plants in the ground, and see how they do. you might not need any amendments. The money saved on amendments could be spent on more plants........

Rob
postquake_angela
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for the input everyone! I feel better about not re-creating a sandy mix from scratch to replace my native garden soil. Sounds like Harry and Crenda are doing well with using existing soil as a baseline.

I think I'll add a mix of stuff I have lying around: perlite, cactus pot mix, and a little compost. Probably 1 part mix to 4 or 5 parts garden dirt.

Thanks again
wantonamara Z8 CenTex
9 years ago
I would use pea gravel or some chunky rock instead of perlite. It will float to the top or away with time..I use a small crushed granite.

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