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Stylish Succulents—A Trio for Your Windowsill
Plants & Gardens News Volume 17, Number 4 | Winter 2002
by Jennifer Williams
When creating an indoor plant display, I concentrate on foliage rather than flowers. This is only logical, since the tropical and desert plants best suited for the inside of our homes are generally characterized by persistent leaves but short-lived and sometimes insignificant flowers. For me, the key elements of a good indoor design always include foliage form, texture, and color.
Here is a simple display that will last for years. It's ideal for a south-facing window and features three succulents with contrasting habits and leaf shapes. The trailing donkey's tail (Sedum morganianum), with its small, cylindrical, greenish-blue foliage, serves as a foundation for the upright panda plant (Kalanchoe tomentosa), with its scalloped, red-margined, furry gray leaves, and for the centerpiece aloe (Aloe), with its long, spiky leaves.
1. Aloe species (Aloe)
2. Kalanchoe tomentosa (Panda plant)
3. Sedum morganianum (Donkey's tail)
A number of aloe species will work well with this design, including the lace aloe (Aloe aristata), which has 4-inch-long, lance-shaped, white-toothed green leaves, and the partridge-breasted aloe (A. variegata), which has 6-inch-long, triangular, white-banded green leaves. To echo the blue-gray color theme of the sedum and the kalanchoe, use hedgehog aloe (A. humilis), which has 4-inch-long, blue-green, white-toothed leaves.
Pot the sedum first and then carefully place the aloe into the container wherever it looks best. (Some of the fragile leaves of the sedum will no doubt drop off or get damaged, but don't despair—the plant will recover quickly.) Pot the kalanchoe last; you may need to trim some of its branches or stems to make it fit.
All the plants have similar cultural requirements: well-drained soil, generous light, and good air circulation. From spring through autumn, water them thoroughly, but only after the soil dries out. Water very infrequently in winter. Keep cool in wintertime, at around 50°F.
Jennifer Williams is the curator of interior display plants at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
Illustration: Paul Harwood