Monday, June 25, 2012

Cacti & Succulents for Cold Climates

Timber Press is on a roll, releasing book after book that I can’t wait to get my hands on (of course it helps that succulents continue to be the “it” plant and I adore them). The latest is Cacti & Succulents for Cold Climates, 274 Outstanding Species for Challenging Conditions by Leo J. Chance...


It was somewhat fitting that while reading this book I visited the Hillside Desert Botanical Garden in Yakima, WA (zone 6), and went to re-photograph a cactus garden here in the Portland area (check back tomorrow for pictures of that one). Both of these gardeners are doing what Mr. Chance is writing about, growing cacti and succulents in locations not normally considered to be “cactus country.”

The forward for the book was written by Panayoti Kelaidis, the Senior Curator and Director of Denver Botanic Gardens Outreach. I had the good fortune to attend two talks by Mr. Kelaidis last year, where he shared some of his plant hunting adventures and photos of his own garden as well as the Denver Botanic Gardens. When he says the author has acquired “an exceptional private collection of plants and designed outstanding gardens in which he has tested and observed many of these plants in various conditions and microclimates.” I believe he knows what he’s talking about.

Yucca at the entrance to Denver Botanical Gardens, photo by Leo Chance

Mr. Chance lives and gardens in Denver, a zone 5 (-20 F/-28 C) garden. In his words: “My fascination and eventual passion for gardening with cacti and other succulent plants began over thirty years ago. At that time I took a trip with my wife, Ann, to Southern California, and everywhere we went my attention was drawn to cactus gardens…Driving home through Arizona and New Mexico we saw many more cactus and succulent gardens. It was then the idea of creating a scaled-down cactus garden in zone 5…using cactus and other desert plants, started to develop in my mind.” In an interview on the Timber Press blog Mr. Chance admits there was also a tinge of the good ole’ “I’ll show you!” spirit behind the birth of his garden… “When we got home every nursery in the area said it couldn’t be done here. Something in my rebellious nature had to prove them wrong.”

Agave neomexicana, photo by Leo Chance (and I believe the same Agave as on the book's cover)

For this book Mr. Chance draws on his years of experience to write about best practices for selecting, planting and tending desert plants. There are many photographs from his garden and maybe even more from the gardens of individuals and families who have generously opened their gardens and shared photographs. If I had a criticism of this book it would be that many of the photos are small. I find myself wishing I could “click to enlarge” but I’d rather they were included small than not included at all. I bet rounding up suitable images was a challenge.

Topics covered include:
     Understanding Hardiness
     The Right Way to Water
     How and Where to Plant
     Growing Plants from Cuttings and Seeds
     Cold-Hardy Cacti
     Cold Hardy Succulents
     Companion Plants

In the chapter on Understanding Hardiness there is a section on The Influence of Provenance. Just a few years ago the importance of this topic was lost on me, but now I get it. I wish every plant came with a QR code you could scan and see where it was born (I know…very big brother, maybe I don't wish for this?), that that way you’d know if it came from a location with wet cold winters or somewhere that gets very little winter moisture. This information can mean the difference between success and failure in the garden.

Notocactus sellowii, photo by Leo Chance

The second half of the book is given over to plant portraits with detailed information on various cacti and succulents. This section is information rich and contains valuable pointers for anyone interested in growing these plants, for example we learn the Notocactus sellowii shown above is found Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. The author cautions this plant needs cover over the winter months, as well as protection from harsh midday sun during the growing season. It also requires more moisture in dry climates than rain alone can provide, sounds like a possible candidate for my garden! I do wish there was zone hardiness listed for each plant, but I suppose with 274 plants included (many of which are not mainstream) that type of research could have been cost, and time, prohibitive. Besides if they are growing in the author’s garden then they should be hardy to zone 5 right?

Finally, at the back of the book is a two-page spread listing sources for plants, most of them new to me. I’m going to have some fun looking up these nurseries and learning more about them!

I leave you with another quote from the Timber Press blog. Timber asked “If you could give only one piece of advice to a cacti or succulent grower what would it be?” Mr. Chance replied: “Top of the list is to consider plant placement. Think about the ultimate size of spiny, dagger-tipped plants when they are placed in the garden. These plants can be more enjoyable to see than to touch.” To which I’ll add “careful, you could poke an eye out”…

(disclaimer….I received this book free, as a review copy from Timber Press. They didn’t bribe me in any way to write a review (no free lunch, no gift certificate to my favorite nursery) nor did they threaten me harm if I didn’t write a review. It's all my honest opinion folks!)

22 comments:

  1. wonderful review. I was thinking about ordering that book so I really appreciate reading this. I think I shall add it to the book shelf!

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    1. I realize I've been assuming our climates are basically the same. Are they? Or are you in a slightly drier location?

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    2. For the most part I think its the same. But believe it or not we get colder and often are much wetter (making Portland by far superior!). Luckily, our yard is mainly on a south facing hillside with nearly 100ft tall trees to the north. Their limbs hang over most of the back yard making it much drier than normal as well as preventing frost from settling as much as nearby areas. Most of the Fraser Valley suffers from cold dry wind during arctic events that make it seem much colder than it otherwise is but we have trees to the East of us making for a pretty fab micro climate.

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  2. I'm in the midst of reading this book and I agree that it looks to be an invaluable resource for succulent lovers in colder areas. The one gripe I have is that the photos are much too small, and there aren't enough of them. Typically Timber Press books are lavishly illustrated, and in that department, this book falls short.

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    1. I had the same issue with the size of the photos, I assumed it was simply that they weren't a high enough resolution for print. It's a shame because what photos there are in the book are great...

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    2. I agree! I love the photos themselves. It's just the size and the relative scarcity of photos, esp. in the section on companion plants.

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  3. GREAT post ! thank you for the info, really useful

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  4. This is so helpful. It's the kind of book I would likely order, sight-unseen, but due to your thoughtful review, I'll wait to take a look at it personally before I buy (it's a reasonable price for a reference like this, but I'm on a fixed budget these days!)

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    1. I love checking books that I'm considering buying out from the library (or the HPSO!). If I don't want to give it back then I know it's one I should buy.

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  5. This sounds like a great book for those interested in expanded their knowledge and growing of cactus and succulents. I have to say, those plant types are become quite en-vogue as water becomes more of a hot topic. Cheers, Jenni

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    1. It's so weird for me to think of all the people who want/need more water for their gardens and here we are drowning in the stuff. I have only watered my tomatoes once this year...

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  6. Thanks for the review! Very thoughtful and insightful. Bummer about the photos.

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    1. Lucky for us in this day and age if a plant that you like the sounds of isn't pictured in the book it's pretty easy to find a photo online.

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  7. Did you get the Starr Agave book? Now that one looks gorgeous...

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    1. Yes Ma'm just started reading it. Plant porn for sure....

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  8. I'm so excited to check out this book (just wrote a little post about it too) and venture into the world of cacti. Your blog has really given me the bug!

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  9. MUST BUY THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW!!! Maybe I'll find a few more plants that I can try in my Zone 4 cactus patch...

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  10. Denver is actually considered USDA Zone 6a

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    1. Portions of western Denver are zone 6a, the rest, including Denver Botanic Gardens is 5b.

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  11. AnonymousJuly 03, 2016

    just a very belated comment — Leo Chance is not in Denver, he's in Colorado Springs, and has been for many years; that's about 70 miles south and 800 feet higher than Denver, and perhaps most importantly, it's one climate zone colder

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    1. Thanks! Additional info is never late.

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