(bright music) - Welcome to "The Best of Oklahoma Gardening".

Today, we take a look back at the development of the hearty, succulent garden.

We start at the beginning by evaluating the existing features of the rock garden, then head to OSU Landscape Architecture Studio to see the design process.

We learn how the students propagate succulents and then look at the finished installation.

Underwriting assistance for our program is provided by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, helping to keep Oklahoma green and growing.

So if you're looking for an easy, low maintenance, perennial.

(bright music) Have two different types of flowers on one plant.

(bright music) That gives the pepper its heat.

(bright music) If you've ever visit us here at the Botanic Garden at Oklahoma State University, you probably have seen our rock garden.

Well, it's been here for several years and it's come to a point where we wanna sort of give it a new life again.

So joining me is Professor Cheryl Mihalko, who is one of our landscape architecture professors, Professor Mihalko, so you're gonna help us with this project.

Tell us a little bit about where do we go?

'Cause I think a lot of homeowners probably have a similar situation.

- Yeah, it's always great to think about a new garden, to plan a new garden.

It's really exciting, but we before we do that, the site of the existing garden can really tell us a lot about how that garden did, and potentially, how our new garden will do.

So I think really looking at the site, we can really see the bones, and maybe it'll help us make decisions for the new garden.

- [Casey] So when you talk about the bones of a garden, are we talking about the hard scape, the soil, and hard scape being any structures, rocks, stuff like that?

- Right, right.

Those things that, usually are hard scape.

Sometimes we talk about the bones of the garden in terms of per permanent planting.

- Okay.

- So when we look at this garden, it's not just the actual site where the rock garden was existing.

It really is important to take a look at what's surrounding the site and what affects the site.

And so we have some really interesting features to consider about how we then bring into the new garden.

So the black walnut that covers this garden doesn't interfere with any of the light because we have this beautiful south exposure.

That's why the rock garden did so well.

But when we look at it, it's, of course, any shade in Oklahoma is always appreciated, but it's time that it just needs a little work too.

- Okay.

- So we are bringing in an arborist to take a look at just living it up a little, maybe bringing it up so that when you look at the new garden, the leaves aren't in your sight line.

- Right.

- And then also over time, there's been some, of course, ice storms that have broken some limbs.

So we're gonna get all that cleaned up.

- Okay, so it probably just needs a little bit of maintenance on it.

- Just a little bit.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- So what's kind of the first step?

I mean, it can be intimidating, especially for somebody who is not a professional architect.

Like, how do I approach this?

Do I just start digging and pulling plants or what?

- No, I think it's important to know where you're going.

You know, you have to have some idea about it, that'll really help out.

So in this case, what we're gonna try to do in this garden is gonna be to introduce some new cactus and succulent, really cold, hearty ones.

And this is the perfect site because it's already been a garden that is on a slope, that has not been supplementally watered.

So we're looking carefully in this garden to see what we can reuse in terms of plant material.

- Okay.

- And there are some things, so your design theme of a hearty, succulent garden, sort of was inspired by the fact that it was previously a rock garden, right?

- Exactly.

- So it's not, like, you're gonna change this all of a sudden to an azalea garden that needs really high, or low pH or anything like that.

You're keeping the intention a little bit similar.

- Exactly, we're really just tweaking it.

There's been a lot of interests in cold, hearty cactus and succulent.

I know the ambassadors here have been very interested in it.

Of course, our cold winters and just the variety.

So we're going to, we are collecting plants now.

We're looking at plants as far away as Taos, New Mexico, trying to find native cactus.

So we're getting all those ready.

But as we look at this garden, some of the things that we can include are the yuccas that are existing.

And even in this case where the yuccas are planted, we're gonna go ahead and just leave them there.

- Okay.

- And design around them.

There's some other small plant material, like, some of the euphorbias.

I think we're probably gonna dig those up and pot 'em up until we plant.

But everything else will come out.

And when we do that, we will probably, any stone that football size or a little long, a little bit bigger, we'll go ahead and pick those up and put 'em off to the side, stockpile them, and then really see what we have under there.

- Okay.

- When this garden was built, because it was intended as that rock garden, we know we have really good drainage, but we really don't know what's all the way under there.

Was there some fabric or some plastic?

Is there something that we need to replace?

- [Host] So this is your opportunity to really dig in.

- Yeah.

- No pun intended, and actually invest or enhance that soil if need be.

- Right, and the idea behind a succulent garden, one of the things we know we can do to really help improve its viability is that we will actually build up.

So we do wanna dig down, clean it out, see what's there, set those stones aside, and then when we put the plant material back in, we'll be specifically sculpting it in a way that the stones will help support the plant.

- Okay.

Cheryl, I always kind of think of it as like, somebody redoing their living room, right?

You're probably not gonna go and get a new couch, but you might go get new throw pillows, change the color of the paint, some of that stuff.

And so that's sort of like what we're doing here.

We're deciding what we're gonna keep and then what we need to change and then go forward with our plan.

Well, Cheryl, I know y'all have a lot of work ahead of you, and we look forward to actually following this through the season.

So we'll check back with you soon.

- Great.

- [Host] Thanks.

- Thank you.

(uplifting twangy music) - Today we are in the Landscape Architecture studio in Ag Hall where all the creativity happens, and joining me is Professor Cheryl Mihalko.

Professor, we've talked about the renovation of the rock garden to a hardy succulent garden, but if I looked at that space, I would be lost.

So tell us a little bit about the design process and how you get started.

- Right.

So we did look at the space and we saw that it had been previously used as a rock garden.

So we know it gets a lot of great sunshine.

It's on a slope.

It gets good drainage.

So with climate change, with a lot of new interest in cactus and really cold-hardy cactus and succulent, we made a decision to go in with a collection.

So we've been working on that, we've done some site demo, and so now it was time to begin to get a plan.

So what I did was go out and try to get something as-built.

Just really sketchy, sort of some of the major rocks, some of the existing plant material.

There's some wonderful yellow yucca that we'll keep.

Other than that, the only real goal that's important is to kind of screen off what really is this nice little Japanese garden.

So we'll do some planting to kind of screen that off and really, really work with this area.

- [Host] Okay.

- [Cheryl] So in terms of the plant material, just beginning to think about overall shape, overall masses, the plant material that we'd be working with.

Here's kind of a general plan.

So the stickiest and prickliest ones, of course, these wonderful cholla and opuntias.

Opuntias are the big paddle cactus, and there's a lot of them that are cold hardy.

So we'll sort of try those in the center here.

- [Host] So they're away from the public.

- [Cheryl] Yeah, right.

Not so much on the edge.

- [Host] Okay.

- [Cheryl] This area that's up towards the top, we wanna put a lot of really nice bright color that'll be eye catching as you walk up to it.

So those will be some of the Hesperaloe, which is the red yucca.

And then there's actually a wonderful little cultivar called stoplights that's also a deeper red hesperaloe.

And then mix that in with some of the Kniphofia.

- [Host] Which is the red hot poker plant?

- [Cheryl] Right.

Yeah.

- [Host] Okay.

- And we have some beautiful yellow ones as well as red for this area.

- So have you kind of used the color as sort of your... - Yeah, yeah.

This is kind of what... - Okay.

- There's a lot of beautiful pale greens.

Here's this kind of reddish color, a bit of yellow up here.

And then in this area, we wanna get close enough to really see them because a lot of 'em are quite small.

They're more of the barrel mammillaria or the Echinocereus, which is very much something like this.

They have a beautiful bloom, a bright, bright bloom, but you know, the rest of the year they're just kind of there, not really eye grabbing.

- So a little closer so you can appreciate the detail of 'em?

- Yeah, and we don't usually mask those.

They're harder to find, we don't have as many, we hope that they, you know, expand, but yeah, those will be in there.

And then on the edge, again a little bit of safety, but also lower so that it doesn't block the plant material in the center.

Again, this will be really built up because of the importance of drainage.

Quite a bit of the Sempervivum, which is the hen and chicks.

- [Host] Okay.

- [Cheryl] So just sort of basic, basic thinking.

And then the next stage is beginning to actually think about specific colors, specific layout, what those will be.

So this is just, you know, a quick, onetime generation beyond this plant.

- [Host] Okay.

And here it looks like you maybe incorporated some of the texture of the plants a little bit.

- [Cheryl] Right.

Those opuntia pads.

- [Host] The paddles, yeah.

- [Cheryl] And then the rocks are running through, these are the mammarias, and then this beautiful red yucca.

- [Host] So further help you visualize what it might look like.

Okay.

(Cheryl humming) All right.

- And so in addition to this, we're working on finding plant material, collecting plant material.

We have about half of what we need now.

It's stored away in the greenhouse.

- Let me interrupt you, how do you figure out how much you might need?

So you kind of know your space, right?

And then you know the spacing of the plants?

- You do and you, you know, it's really all over the board.

Sometimes it's because of budget.

You want it to be really full really quick, and then you edit out.

Of course, with the cactus, it's really great to propagate from them.

So you can plant full, and if it gets a little too crowded, you just really go and propagate away from that.

So yeah, it's a combination of allowing it to grow some and really just experience.

- Okay.

- I've done a lotta this kinda thing.

(host and guest laughing) - You are a professional.

- So in addition to this, installing the garden, over time here, we will have available on the website individual plants.

They'll be coded so you can look them up.

But we are developing a nice little booklet that tells you the native range.

It gives you a picture of the flower and the fruit.

So hopefully that'll be really useful to Oklahoma gardeners that really wanna try and move in this direction for their garden.

- Well, this is gonna be a valuable resource, and the fact that we'll have a display garden to kind of accompany that educational material will be fantastic.

Thank you for walking us through this process.

- You're welcome.

(light music) - Today we are here with Tanner Kyler, who's a junior in the landscape architecture department.

And while he enjoys designing landscapes, he also has a fond passion for succulents and cactus.

And you are actually helping with the design on the hardy succulent garden- - Yes.

- We're establishing.

But you're responsible for kinda developing some propagation for all of that, right?

- Yes, yeah, yeah.

- So tell us a little bit about what we have going on here that you're propagating.

- Okay, so here we have some Opuntias.

These are native to Oklahoma.

And here we have some Cylindropuntias, which means cylinders of Opuntia.

- Good description.

(laughing) - Yeah, good description, yes.

And they grow in similar climates, and they prefer arid soils or arid environments.

Meaning they need really well-draining areas to survive.

And they also are quite cold-tolerant.

Up to negative 20, negative 30.

- Okay, so we're finding 'em mainly on western Oklahoma side, right?

- Yeah, yeah, you do find native species.

Many of them are native to New Mexico and Texas as well.

- Okay, all right.

So a lot of times, we see these and the pads just drop off and propagate.

- Yes.

- So is it really that simple?

(host laughing) - Yeah, yeah, I mean, that's how they spread in the wild.

If it's not from seeds, they genetically clone themselves by dropping off a pad or an arm into the ground, and it naturally roots.

- [Host] Okay.

- [Tanner] And a whole new plant will form.

- So Tanner, where do we get our cuttings in order to propagate?

- Well, you can get them from a local nursery that sells cold-hardy cacti or cacti you would like to propagate.

Or you can get permission from a landowner that and go and collect a few of the pads off the plant.

This will not harm the plant.

It actually can benefit the plant by pruning it back a little bit.

But do not take the whole plant or the whole stalk from the ground, as this can cause damage to the native species that live there.

- Right, it can, if it dies, then there's no more- - Yes.

- To propagate from.

- Exactly.

- So okay, so you've got one from the nursery that we're gonna- - Yes.

- Propagate here.

Tell me a little bit what, how do we get these off and removed?

- All right, so right here along the base right here, we're going to just grab one of the pads.

And we're gonna just break it off.

- Break it off.

- Just like that.

- Okay.

- [Tanner] And then we'll pick it and we'll set it down here.

But this one here needs to wait 24 to 48 hours to callous over so it does not get a fungal infection here where it will be placed in the soil.

- Okay, so that moisture kinda makes it susceptible to that fungus, so.

- Yes, yes.

- Like potatoes, seed potatoes, you wanna kind of let those heal over.

- Exactly.

- So these guys have been sitting for a little while, right?

- Yeah, two to three months, actually, you can see- - Oh.

(laughing) - [Tanner] The callouses here and you can see roots actually starting to grow out of these Opuntias.

- [Host] Okay.

- [Tanner] And so yes, they're definitely ready to go in the soil.

- So when we're potting these up, Tanner, we don't just need regular soil, right?

- Yeah.

- What do we need?

- We need something that can drain well, because these species are from arid regions where they don't receive a lot of rain.

And if they receive too much, they will become susceptible to root rot.

- Okay.

- And so we wanna take a generic potting mix with plenty of perlite, and then we're going to mix that with about a two parts soil to one part sand.

- Okay.

- To make a nice, good draining mix.

- Okay.

Potting soil is what we're talking about, not topsoil.

- Yes.

- All right, so.

- Yes.

- [Host] Okay.

- And then we're going to lay this out flat here.

You only need around one or two inches of soil just to propagate these things, because they're not gonna be staying in here very long.

- Okay.

- And because they're cold-hardy, we'll be able to take these and move these out into the soil soon.

- Okay.

- Outside.

- So I noticed you have some rooting hormone.

Is that necessary, and where do you put the rooting hormone, on the calloused end?

- That's a good question.

Yeah, with the rooting hormone, it's not 100% necessary, but it does help with preventing fungal infections near the calloused areas and regions of there.

And that's what we'll be putting it on.

- Okay.

- We're gonna put it right here where the callous is.

- All right.

- So we're gonna go ahead and open this up.

We'll just pour a little bit in here.

And we're just gonna take those and we're gonna give it a nice little dab in here around the base.

And this will prevent fungal growth, and it'll help promote root growth.

- Okay, and of course, you're wearing gloves.

- Yes, yes.

- Because even though there's not a lotta spines on that- - Yes.

- There are some.

- There's some little- - Hairs.

- Microscopic hairs, yes.

- Yes, yeah.

- [Tanner] And they'll get all in your hands, and they're a big mess.

So definitely use gloves with rubber- - Okay, okay.

- On the inside of them.

- And then we'll just take these, and we're gonna kinda bury the calloused portion in the base here.

And we're going to push this down and kinda just gently push the soil around like this.

- [Host] Okay.

- [Tanner] So we wanna make sure that there's plenty of contact on this pad to promote root growth from the base of it.

- Okay, now normally, I think of pads as being something like what you have over here, where it's on end, sticking in the ground.

- Yes, and there's nothing wrong with that form of propagation.

- Okay.

- But if you lay them on their backs here, they're going to form these, and this one already has started to grow one of its pads here.

And it'll form pads in a 360-degree angle around the pad.

- Okay.

- So it will.

- Versus here, you're only getting half of the surface.

- Yeah, so here, it will start, and it'll form its own little bushel here.

'Cause in nature, they just fall off.

There's no one there to plant them.

- Right, okay.

- So they just, they fall off, they lay in the ground, and if they can root, they will.

- Okay, and so kinda like the ones that you've got growing here.

- Yes.

- They almost sorta mimic nature in that they've fallen on the ground.

I know you planted them, propagated them.

- Yes.

- But they're kind of curling up.

And then, so will they start growing upright then or?

- Yes, yes, actually.

- The new growth?

- [Tanner] They're already starting to do that.

- Okay.

- These right here have roots already starting to grow, and we'll then pull one up to kinda show this.

And we have roots right here that have started to push out.

And once these roots start and the weather's nice outside, you can at any point take them outside.

Make sure you have well-draining soil where you put them, and they should take right off.

- Okay, so is there a best time to plant these, and also, when's the best time to propagate these initially?

- I find that propagating in the cooler months is better, whenever the plants are done fruiting and they're done flowering.

So you're not gonna hurt the plant.

Many of the pads and arms die throughout the winter due to the cold, so it's not gonna hurt to pick a few of the pads that are most susceptible to the freeze.

- Okay.

- And we'll, you take those around, I normally take them from like October to like December, whenever the weather starts to cool down.

- So after we've taken the cutting, what do we do with it and how long does it actually take for it to take root?

- So it'll vary species to species, but these Opuntias took about three to four weeks to start promoting roots into the ground.

And these have been in here around 2 1/2 to three months, so they've had plenty of time to develop some really good roots.

- [Host] Okay, so sort of an ideal winter project for gardeners- - Yes, yes.

- If they wanted to do that, take those cuttings in late fall.

- Yes.

- And it's low light in your house, so that's okay.

- Yes.

Yes, they don't mind the low light.

Actually, if you put them in direct light along the southern-facing window, it might be too much for them if they don't have roots.

They could end up drying up and dying.

- Okay.

And then they'll be ready to be rooted and everything.

- Yes.

- To go outside come spring.

- Yes so, I recommend an eastern-facing window is the best for propagating cacti.

- Okay, is there any concern about our spring rains that we need to be aware of when we're planting 'em out?

- Yes, well, with these species that are native here, there is no issue with them.

But if you are trying to plant a drier species that's more native to more arid regions of the American Southwest, you wanna make sure that you have really good, well-draining soil mostly composed of gravels and sands with very little clay.

- [Host] Okay.

- [Tanner] And this, with the clay, if they were to receive too much rain, they will perish due to root rot.

- Right, okay, well, thank you, Tanner, so much for this information.

- Yes, no problem.

- And we look forward to following the project.

(light music) Today we're back here at our new hearty succulent and cactus garden.

And joining me is Professor Cheryl Mihalko, who took this on as a class project last semester.

So what do you think?

How's the summer treated it?

(laughing) - Well, it was a long, hot summer, but we're really happy with it.

We've had really good success.

We haven't lost any plants to the heat.

And we've had really good growth this summer.

- [Host] Yeah, so it definitely looks like it's starting to fill in.

You can see some of that new growth coming on, some of the cactus that are a little bit more of a tender, lighter color green.

So that's a good report right there.

Tell us a little bit about, you kept some of the old plants, right?

- We did.

We had the opportunity to work in a place that had the right soil, had a lotta these beautiful rocks, and had some of the yuccas.

And we left those en masse in the places that they were, and we've even begun to add some other things that are similar in form and texture, the Hesperaloes here and some additional variegated yucca.

So that's giving the garden a little boost in terms of it looking like it's a little bit established.

Of course, it's gonna take some years, but we're real happy with it.

- Right, and so tell me a little bit.

'Cause I always, I think a lotta times people think cactus are so different than a lot of your other landscape plants.

But when we're talking about spacing, right, 'cause I kinda probably think that they grow a little bit slower than some of our perennials, but.

- Some do and some don't.

I think the yuccas probably maybe seem a little bit slower, but you can see the new growth on the cactus and they're really just putting out new pads.

They're really, really happy.

Our vision is to sort of have it just completely be this wonderland of intermixed cactus.

And so when they get a little bit large for their spot, we have the opportunity to propagate by removing pads.

- [Casey] Okay, so just like any other plant, kind of space them based off of the requirement for that plant and give it some time.

Right?

- Mm-hmm, absolutely.

- [Casey] So you think in again about three years that would be the time?

I think- - Yes, I think so.

I think so.

We have to just, with our Oklahoma weather, we have to just see how it goes.

But I think we're in good shape with the selection of material that we got and also the way we've placed the stones.

So when it gets really cold, we should have plant material that survives into zone four, but the way the stones are placed, we'll give it that little extra heat in the winter.

- [Casey] Okay, all right.

So we've got plenty of hardy material, but we've also, 'cause we know we get those crazy Oklahoma winters sometimes, so a little extra protection there.

And I think that creates that little microclimate, right, that sometimes we neglect then we take advantage of more.

- Well, in Oklahoma we have to do everything we can.

So the other thing is that we know we've got a great soil, one that's really mixed in a real granular form, so the water's gonna drain right through.

So whereas we're always appreciating rain in Oklahoma, this of course is a plant collection that doesn't need a lot of water.

So hopefully when it rains it goes right through and it being in the sunny spot, we should be fine.

- Right.

South facing on a slope also helps with that as well.

So I know your class has been involved in some identification projects as well for these plants.

Tell us a little bit about that mapping.

- So this semester, the studio design class has come out already and we identified each plant in its location.

So they are currently developing an as-built plan, and that should be ready by the end of the semester.

So we'll post that where everyone can see, not just the name of the plant, but where it is actually located in the garden.

- Okay.

Excellent.

Well, that'll be nice for visitors also that are here and just for all of us to learn a little bit more about maybe some plants that we tend to not always give it's full glory.

So thank you so much for sharing this with us, Cheryl.

- Sure.

Thank you.

(bright orchestral music) - [Casey] There are a lot of great horticulture activities this time of year.

Be sure and consider some of these events in the weeks ahead.

(bright orchestral music continues) Join us next week on the best of "Oklahoma Gardening" as we brighten up your winter day as we highlight some colorful summer flowers.

Tell us a little bit about what your semester is like.

- So this- - I don't, wait.

Let me re-ask that question.

(chuckles) However, like all gardens and even some home designs, occasionally it's... Yeah, I don't even like what I'm saying.

(bright orchestral music continues) To find out more information about show topics as well as recipes, videos, articles, fact sheets, and other resources, including a directory of local extension offices, be sure to visit our website at oklahomagardening.okstate.edu.

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You can find this entire show and other recent shows as well as individual segments on our "Oklahoma Gardening" YouTube channel.

Tune in to our "OK Gardening" classics YouTube channel to watch segments from previous hosts.

"Oklahoma Gardening" is produced by the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service as part of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University.

The Botanic Garden at OSU is home to our studio gardens and we encourage you to come visit this beautiful Stillwater gem.

We would like to thank our generous underwriter, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

Additional support is also provided by Greenleaf Nursery and the Garden Debut Plants, the Oklahoma Horticulture Society, the Tulsa Garden Club, and the Tulsa Garden Center.

(bright orchestral music continues)