Succulents: An Illustrated Guide to Varieties, Cultivation and Care

About this book

This is an illustrated guide to varieties, cultivation and care, with step-by-step instructions and over 145 stunning photographs. It features a directory of over 50 varieties of succulents, including Agave, Aloe, Cotyledon, Euphorbia, Haworthia, Kalanchoe, Lithops, Sedum and Testudinaria. It features step-by-step photographic guidance on planting, repotting, propagation by seeds and cuttings, everyday maintenance, and common pests and diseases. For each variety, full botanical information is provided on growth, spread, size and flowering, as well as suggestions for other recommended species to try.

One of the great wonders of nature is the ability of plants to adapt and survive in the harshest of environments. Growing mostly in desert areas, succulents provide many fascinating examples of this. Among this plant group there is an astonishing variety of size, shape and hue to be found, ranging from Testudinaria elephantipes, with its swollen hemispherical wooden base, to stone plants such as Lithops, that are little more than a pair of swollen leaves. Succulents features 50 of the best varieties, and explains how to cultivate and care for them. Hardy and stoical, but also immensely varied, every grower will find a succulent to suit their tastes.

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Biography

Terry Hewitt was an experienced lecturer and writer, and he collected cacti and succulent plants for 40 years. For over 25 of those years he grew these plants commercially at Holly Gate Cactus Nursery in Sussex.