weed supression with succulent ground covers

[watertrade]

I hate weeds around my cacti and I really don't have the energy to pull them all out. my new approach is succulent ground covers.

it works well and the bees love it when they flower. the two big ones here are sceletium emarcidum and a delosperma species.

if anyone wants to trade for some more varieties let me know.

somewhere under the sceletium are several TBM.

[Psyentist]

That actually looks really nice mate!

[Change]

Thats a great idea

Im so sick of fighting the never ending battle with oxalis

[paradox]

Looks great WT

A species well worth mentioning is Callisia repens. its one i use a lot of for this purpose. it's really pretty even when it isn't in flower, is really hardy & easy to establish, develops a thick solid layer & the roots don't appear to interfere at all with other plants. will get some pics sometime.

edit: another good thing about this method is with the right species it moderates soil moisture & temperature & prevents excessive evaporation

Edited September 13, 2015 by paradox

[Yeti101]

So much sceletium I am jealous as I don't have any since I last moved.

Aptenia cordifolia is good - and edible. I've got an un-identified Delosperma that's super rampant as well - nothing's growing through that.

Edit: Un-ID'd plant probably Drosanthemum floribundum

Edited September 13, 2015 by Yeti101

[watertrade]

edit: another good thing about this method is with the right species it moderates soil moisture & temperature & prevents excessive evaporation

I am a little worried that the succulents around teh base will encourage rot. I guess I will find out

[paradox]

Yeah, that's the possible flip side to that.. Most of the year where I am moisture retention is a good thing but certainly might not be the case in more humid climates!

Callisia, though it's technically a succulent, it's related to commelina & tradescantia ( wandering dew) so not a succulent in the same way delosperma is.. I've never worried about it being too moist or anything.. Again that may be different with higher humidity..

[Strontium Dawg]

Wt, in your climate and soil profile, I don't see rot becoming a major issue. The d00d also has some major sceletium ground covers going around his cacti beds. I took his lead and planted some around mine this year.

[watertrade]

So much sceletium I am jealous as I don't have any since I last moved.

you are welcome to ask much of this as you would like.

cheers

[2XB]

Here in the subtropics it encourages corking and a nice habitat to breed scale :-)

[paradox]

Yeah you'd have to be careful I'd say.. ^that may be species dependent.. & could possibly be moderated through diversity of species, integrated pest management design, proper drainage & choosing a location with adequate air flow..

Theoretically anyway.

[theuserformallyknownasd00d]

I love my scelly groundcover. So good to look at and doesn't let any of the creeping oxalis or onion weed through. I was took worried about rot but hasn't been an issue for 12mths now.

[Etho]

Personal favourite is 'pig face', ground succulents make great cover, beautiful flowers, low maintenance if it becomes invasive chop it up for compost!