Fragrant & Long Blooming Succulents
Plumeria, a small succulent tree with fragrant flowers
In a time of drought, it certainly sounds reasonable to select species for your garden that require little, if any, water. Many of these species fit into the succulent plant category, which includes cacti, of course, but many other groups of plants as well. Nearly all of them are suitable not only for installation in the garden, but for display in containers too, whether kept outdoors on the patio or balcony, or maintained indoors as houseplants.
One notion that needs to be set aside is that succulents, although drought tolerant, are not to be recommended for fragrance or long-term flowering capacity. Plumeria, for one, possesses both of these qualities. Its highly fragrant flowers may be found expanding in any season, but show a solid bloom that starts in spring and may continue deep into the fall. Plumeria rubra, the species most commonly planted – whose varieties include flowers in a kaleidoscope of colors and bicolors – does go deciduous in winter but will often start putting out new flowers in early spring, even before leaves again appear. As for watering, in its early years, a good soaking once every week or two in summer will be needed, but as a plumeria puts on growth and begins to assume tree-like proportions, even less water is required.
The limiting factor to plumeria growth is cold, to which small, immature plants are much more sensitive than mature and established specimens. Small plants must be wrapped in canvas or festooned with Christmas lights to increase ambient heat when a cold night is forecast, although the duration of cold is more significant than the actual temperature; if the temperature dips to 32 degrees but only stays there briefly, your plumeria may suffer minor frost burn and nothing more. If you live in a colder climate, keep your plumeria in a container and move it into your garage when winter weather comes. Stop watering it until warmer temperatures prevail and you can bring it back outside.
A number of cacti produce fragrant flowers and these invariably bloom at night. Each one is referred to, here or there, as a “night-blooming cactus.” One cactus of this description is Hylocereus, known as pitaya, a dragon fruit-bearing cactus. The other fragrant night bloomers include orchid cactus (Epiphyllum hybrids), appropriate for outdoor planters and containers kept out of direct sun, as well as indoors when exposed to bright light, whose floppy stems are thoroughly nondescript, and hedgehog or Easter lily cactus (Echinops hybrids) that have thorny, classic cactus stems and an upright growth habit. On young plants, hedgehog cactus flowers are so large and prolific that they completely cover the stems. Both orchid and hedgehog cactus may be found with huge flowers that bloom in every color except blue. Last but not least, there is apple cactus (Cereus peruviana), the best-known night bloomer with its tall bluish-green stems and round pink or red fruit which are quite edible. Night-blooming cacti of all types are famously pollinated by bats and moths.
As for long-blooming succulents, three immediately come to mind. Crown of thorns (Euphorbia milii) boasts perpetual red, pink, yellow, or white bracts every single day of the year without exception. Bracts are actually leaf-type structures – also clearly seen on the related poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) – that surround a yellow flower center known as a cyathium. While Euphorbia milii only grows 2-3 feet tall, Euphorbia splendens can reach six feet in height. The most stunning crown of thorns are the Thai hybrids, which also grow tall. Their bracts are much showier than what you find on the previously mentioned, more widely available types.
Two other long-blooming succulents are florist kalanchoe (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana) and flower dust plant (Kalanchoe pumila). You can find florist Kalanchoe at your supermarket’s flower department throughout the year. Flower colors are yellow, orange, blush, pink, red, and violet. Often, the flowers have a shape of little interest but certain varieties’ flowers are doppelgangers for tiny roses. Given half a day’s sun or even less, florist Kalanchoe will flower outdoors for six months straight. As for flower dust plant, I saw a huge swath of it at the Getty Center Garden years ago. Whenever I visited, its pink flowers were showing off brilliantly against a background of soft grey foliage.