Plant Care Guides / Outdoor & Coastal / Succulents
Indigenous | Easy Care | Succulents
If there is one plant every coastal garden in St Francis Bay should have, it is spekboom. It is one of the toughest, most versatile and most ecologically valuable plants in South Africa.
It is a fleshy-leaved succulent shrub that stores water in its round, jade-green leaves and thick stems, and it handles drought, wind, salt air, poor soil and neglect with complete indifference. It also absorbs more carbon dioxide per hectare than most tropical forests, which has made it famous in conservation circles. The standard green form grows into a substantial shrub or small tree. The Aurea (golden) and Variegata (cream and green) forms add colour. It is ridiculously easy to propagate: push a cutting into the ground and it roots.
1 to 3 m in a garden, depending on age and conditions. Can reach 5 m in the wild.
Moderate to fast.
Hedge, screen, mass planting, slope stabilisation, container, succulent garden, edible landscape (the leaves have a tart, lemony flavour and are used in salads and stews). One of the most versatile plants you can own.
Full sun to semi-shade. It grows in both, though it is most compact and colourful in sun.
Any well-drained soil, including poor, sandy and rocky conditions. It does not need rich soil. It grows naturally in Albany thicket on this coast.
Extremely drought-tolerant. Water young plants a few times while settling in, then it needs virtually nothing. It survives months without rain.
None needed. It thrives in poor soil.
Clip to shape as a hedge. Otherwise, prune only to control size or remove damaged growth. Cuttings root easily, so any prunings can become new plants.
Ask about availability. WhatsApp us to check what is currently in stock, or visit the nursery and we will help you choose the right plant for your spot.
