I have always been honest about my lack of gardening skills. I often say that I have more of a “gangrene thumb” than a green one, so when we visited our Aunt Claudia recently and took the tour of her absolutely beautiful garden and nursery, I wondered if maybe it’s somewhere deep in my genes and I just needed to dig a little deeper to find it…after all, her brother (my dad) is a pretty proficient gardener himself. At the end of the visit I left with a pickup loaded with plants and the determination not to disappoint her by murdering the plants she so generously gave us.

Luckily for me the plants I like most are fairly low-maintenance, tough and resilient, like cacti and succulents, and when I googled caring for them, the cactus collection website advises that “Cacti and succulents, even though they are tough, adaptable plants, do not ‘thrive on neglect’. Rather, they exist with neglect, but thrive on tender loving care”, so with some tender loving care I am determined to transform my new babies into a modified version of aunt Claudia’s.

Caring for your cacti and succulents:

o Light: Some cacti and succulents can tolerate full sunlight. However, it is important to realise that during the hottest days of summer, all plants would welcome some respite from the harsh afternoon sun. Many cacti and succulents prefer to be positioned in an area that receives the morning sun, while being protected from the stronger afternoon rays.

o Water: Feel the soil at least one inch down and if the soil is dry, it is time to water the plant. Let the water thoroughly drain through the roots and out the bottom, making sure the entire pot of soil is saturated.

o Soil: Any good cactus and succulent mix, prepared and bagged, and available in many nurseries and garden shops, can be used for your cacti and succulents. Or you can use a high quality planter mix or humus. For this, add two parts perlite or pumice and one part washed building sand.

o Fertiliser: Add diluted liquid fertiliser to the water every second or third watering during their growing season.

o Transplanting: Your newly acquired plants are established in their present pots, but their root systems have not used all of the space in their pots. They should live and grow in these same pots for at least another few months to a year before re-potting will be necessary. When transplanting, choose one pot size larger. Excess soil in too large a pot may cause soil to sour before roots can grow into and utilise it. Gently tap the plant out of its present pot. Gently brush or scrape away some of the old soil around the root ball, taking care not to disturb the centre of the root ball or to break roots. Put some soil mix in the new pot and place the plant on top. Gently fill in around the sides; keep the plant at the same level as it was in the old pot. Let the plant stay dry a few days. This precaution will allow any roots that are damaged or broken during the transplanting process to heal and callous over before watering, avoiding rot of broken roots. When watering, let drain thoroughly.

The intention is to create a cactus garden, using a decorative pot, so a few months from now I’ll share my garden’s progress with you, but for now…here’s to Aunt Claudia’s beautiful garden!