The other day, a friend asked me why I like succulents so much more than other plants.  First, a clarification: I like lots and lots of other plants.  But I don't like growing them nearly as much as I like growing succulents.  Here are my top five reasons, in no particular order:

1. Otherworldliness.  Plants like echeveria etna, crassula moonglow, and haworthia maughanii look like they've been beamed down from Neptune.  Their unapologetic weirdness charms me.
2. Nearly infinite propagat-ability.  The idea that I can reproduce an entire plant from a single leaf still blows my mind.  It's also amazingly cost-effective for those of us who are, say, full-time graduate students writing dissertations, working on the side, and making student loan payments.  Just hypothetically. 
   
3. Sheer variety of shapes and colors.  If you're reading this page, I doubt I have to convince you of this one!
   
4. Amnesty for my neglect.  I'm a busy gal, and sometimes I can't get to my plants for two days...  or three...  or four.  When I had a vegetable garden, this was problematic (note that I'm using the past tense).  With the exceptions of seedlings and very young plants, succulents actually seem to prefer it when I neglect them for a little while.  
5. Collective fanaticism surrounds them.  Maybe this is true of lots of things, but I adore the photos, writings, and community that surrounds succulents.  Succ-ers are a lot of fun, and getting to know other succulent gardeners and attending events like the Succulent Celebration has been awesome.  There is SO much to learn, and I never seem to tire of it.

How about you, fellow, succ-ers?  What do you like best about succulents?

First of all, I wanted to thank all the new readers who are following Gardening Succs!  I really appreciate it.  This blog has gone from zilch, zip, nada to about 200 visitors each day (with a high of 800!), and the Gardening Succs Facebook page has over 1000 "likes."  Thank you!

Next, a confession: I suffer from propag-addiction, one of the most common succulent ailments around (more info on specific ailments soon--I feel another infographic coming on...).  Sooo, following the growers at Lone Pine, I decided to start using flats for the plants I both (1) already have several of and (2) would like to grow more of.  But since I don't have enough of any one type to fill a flat, I used two different kinds to fill a flat:

In the next flat I made, I used four different kinds.  (So far, I've only made these two flats.)

What am I going to do with the new plants?  Sell them?  Give them away?  Propagate more plants and see if I can get on "Hoarders?"  I have no idea.  Most likely, I'll try to trade them with other succulent aficionados for plants I don't have yet.

For many of my plants, though, I only have one or two specimens.  Or three.  Or four.  (Whatever--don't judge me.)  Here's a shot of the inside of part of my greenhouse.

And lastly, just for fun, two random pictures I took in my backyard the other day.

Thanks again for being awesome, and for sticking around to watch this blog grow.  I promise you, it'll only get better!

I several agaves, three of which are the gorgeous hybrid known as "blue flame."  Two of my three blue flames, though, have recently become plagued with a few little brown spots on their lower leaves. 

Any idea what's going on with this?  There's nothing on the back of the leaves--no bugs or anything.  And so far it's just the lower leaves.  It's also only my younger blue flames (maybe 8-10" across) that are affected.  My big one seems to be doing fine...