Should you find yourself where I did a year or so ago, with your windowsills, shelves and spare tables covered with plants, you may be wondering what the next step is in your crazy plant lady journey. Allow me to assist.
First of all, you are not alone. There are many, many others with the same plant collection/hoarding issues, and it’s okay. As I frequently remind my husband, there are worse things. But the more plants you get, the more you have to take care of, and the more you’ll be wondering how do I take care of these?
Knowledge is power, as they say, and these fine folks have been kind enough to share their experience and insight with the rest of us:
Debra Lee Baldwin
Baldwin is a writer who hails from California and has spent her career learning and writing about succulents. Water-wise succulents are the only plants that can really tolerate her drought stricken neck of the woods, and she has written extensively about them in landscape use. She also is pretty crafty herself, and teaches a class on Craftsy about these popular plants and several projects you can do with them. Not only is she an engaging (and delightfully quirky) teacher, but I left her course feeling far more confident about succulent care in general. Watching her throw cast-off plants over her shoulder taught me a pivotal lesson about not worrying so much about ruining the plants.
You can take her class on Craftsy Stunning Succulent Arrangements and read her informative book all about succulents here (affiliate link):
Succulents and Sunshine
Try searching for a photo of an over-watered succulent on Google Images – it doesn’t exist. The internet only wants to show you pretty pictures. So, I am grateful for Cassidy Tuttle’s time and effort to post troubleshooting photos on her blog, Succulents and Sunshine. She posts tons of free advice, but also has written several e-books on specific topics, plus offers an e-course that goes even more in-depth. I have taken her course and can highly recommend it – it’s worth the investment if you plan to grow succulents for the long term. She shares literally everything she has learned about growing plants indoors. Sure, there’s a lot of advice on the internet, but her course gets right to the good stuff and includes a lot of bonus resources as well, including a super handy guide to individual succulent varieties with lighting needs, a dormancy table and detailed care instructions. It’s incredibly hard to find that sort of information in one place. If you’re not ready to commit to the online course, her e-books are an excellent resource as well (affiliate link):
Succulents and Sunshine also hosts a Facebook group, where you can go to connect with succulent lovers from all over the world!
Garden Answer
Laura LeBoutillier hosts a popular video series on YouTube called GardenAnswer, all about her gardening pursuits and projects. She has quite a few informative and accessible videos on succulents. She’s especially great at putting together really beautiful arrangements. She grew up at her parent’s garden center, so she has quite a bit of experience to draw on, but presents it in a conversational format. I love that she shares what works for her, not necessarily the official expert advice.
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