Plant succulents in pots directly into the ground

[NC_Palms]

I have been having issues with root rot in my outdoor succulents so I was wondering if this is possible. I was thinking about planting my agaves in separate pots with fast draining soil and then planting it directly in the ground. Is this theoretically possible for growing cacti and succulent species? Thank you 

[Silas_Sancona]

47 minutes ago, NC_Palms said:

I have been having issues with root rot in my outdoor succulents so I was wondering if this is possible. I was thinking about planting my agaves in separate pots with fast draining soil and then planting it directly in the ground. Is this theoretically possible for growing cacti and succulent species? Thank you 

If they're still in a pot, planting plant in a pot in the ground is pointless. since the pot will still restrict root growth ( -to some degree- ..though the roots will eventually expand beyond any drain holes. ) and hold moisture around the root zone / bases of any Cacti and / or Agave longer than if simply planted  -pot free-  in the ground..

Most of my Cacti / all of the Agave i have atm are in pots.. Aside from sun related issues here during our summers, ONLY time i have ever had cool season root rot issues / any such issues at all  are when plants are planted into the wrong soil mix.. Usually something containing too much organics,  ESP. Peat.


 

[hinovak]

Wherever your spot is with the succulents, if you can form up a berm for them. Or you can use stone, 12” tall steel plates, whatever you want and make that section raised if you can make it fit with the landscape; but berms are usually cool looking in the landscape, regardless of design style and if you use a faster draining soil mix, you shouldn’t have any issues, it will dry out twice as fast and ground level soil.

[TropicsEnjoyer]

Do you water supplementally or they get root rot with no intervention?

[NC_Palms]

6 hours ago, TropicsEnjoyer said:

Do you water supplementally or they get root rot with no intervention?

They rot with no extra water. I do not have the best soil for growing xeric plants to begin with.  And like Florida, it rains here a lot 

[NC_Palms]

18 hours ago, hinovak said:

Wherever your spot is with the succulents, if you can form up a berm for them. Or you can use stone, 12” tall steel plates, whatever you want and make that section raised if you can make it fit with the landscape; but berms are usually cool looking in the landscape, regardless of design style and if you use a faster draining soil mix, you shouldn’t have any issues, it will dry out twice as fast and ground level soil.

I have been considering doing this for some time now. I think this would look very nice in the garden to have a raised succulent bed. This is what the botanical gardens do here iirc 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

1 hour ago, NC_Palms said:

I have been considering doing this for some time now. I think this would look very nice in the garden to have a raised succulent bed. This is what the botanical gardens do here iirc 

probably the smarter option

because as others said, in the long run a pot underground won’t do anything.

[Rivera]

Some kind of raised/mounded planting bed is the ticket.

When we got hit with some "atmospheric river" events here in California, I lost some Dudleya to rot. It actually probably wouldn't have been a problem if they were planted in unadulterated soil, as we're on ocean dune sand, but the last property owner had a lawn, which I smothered in redwood and fir bark and further adulterated with displaced soil from a job site where I had a small contract (bad idea). I had added sand and made mounds, but drainage was inadequate.

After that, I re-did the whole bed, dry-stacking the borders with larger stones and filling the mix with whatever coarse material I had (pea gravel, coarse sand, etc) and very little organics. No problems now. 

The mounded area also puts these plants above the moist depression where I'm growing three Howea belmoreana, which obviously have much different watering needs.

It may not look like it, but the dry stuff is mounded more than it appears. Dudleya and Haemanthus are also relatively shallow rooted plants. 

[Darold Petty]

Howeas are looking good, Chris ! 

[Rivera]

9 hours ago, Darold Petty said:

Howeas are looking good, Chris ! 

Thanks Darold, the closest one in the last picture is widening considerably at the base. 

The neighbor's Streilitzia nicolai has perked up too, now being within reach of something approaching hospitable conditions!

[NC_Palms]

On 2/7/2025 at 1:53 PM, Rivera said:

Some kind of raised/mounded planting bed is the ticket.

When we got hit with some "atmospheric river" events here in California, I lost some Dudleya to rot. It actually probably wouldn't have been a problem if they were planted in unadulterated soil, as we're on ocean dune sand, but the last property owner had a lawn, which I smothered in redwood and fir bark and further adulterated with displaced soil from a job site where I had a small contract (bad idea). I had added sand and made mounds, but drainage was inadequate.

After that, I re-did the whole bed, dry-stacking the borders with larger stones and filling the mix with whatever coarse material I had (pea gravel, coarse sand, etc) and very little organics. No problems now. 

The mounded area also puts these plants above the moist depression where I'm growing three Howea belmoreana, which obviously have much different watering needs.

It may not look like it, but the dry stuff is mounded more than it appears. Dudleya and Haemanthus are also relatively shallow rooted plants. 

This is really inspiring. Thank you for sharing