Our September program title is “Success With Succulents in SW Florida”. Florida Master Gardener Joyce Laubach will share information gained from her years of experience growing succulents in our area of SW Florida. The primary focus will be on outdoor growing –  in ground and in containers, including information on optimal plant varieties, design considerations, tools and materials. Many online resources provide information most relevant to growing succulents in California and Arizona. You will learn that you CAN be successful in Florida, and Joyce will help you understand how “Right Plant – Right Place – Right Site Preparation” applies to a wide range of succulent plant types. Handouts with the information presented will be provided.

Joyce’s research into gardening in Zone 10A began even before the move. She excitedly anticipated the expanded opportunity to pursue her passion for succulents – being able to grow them outdoors as well as indoors. She arrived with a scrapbook of ideas only to receive some feedback from pro landscapers discouraging the use of many of the succulent plants that interested her.  Sample comments: too rainy, too hot, property too small! But her research indicated a path forward that she pursued – of course learning more along the way based on research, trial and error.

Joyce’s home is now surrounded by a wide array of succulent plants along with many varieties of Bromeliads, which became her second love in the garden. Having identified the succulent varieties best suited to the local climate, Joyce was able to expand beyond her own home to design succulent beds at the Punta Gorda Nature Park, the Master Gardener Demonstration Gardens and the Punta Gorda History Park. She has delivered presentations that share her developed expertise with audiences sponsored by both Charlotte and Collier County Master Gardener programs as well as teaching a class online for the Succulents and Sunshine.com community.

Her presentation will concentrate on the plants and techniques that are appropriate to having success with succulents in Southwest Florida outdoor gardens. She is now able to tell those pro landscapers that their original input was inaccurate as long as optimal knowledge is applied , and she delights in sharing that knowledge with others!