YOU MIGHT THINK that a humid, rainy environment like Southwest Florida would make it difficult for cacti and succulents to thrive. But two local gardeners prove that these plants can flourish outdoors when the right species are selected and cared for properly.

Heather Shields, arborist and project manager for the city of Naples, started her cacti and succulent gardens as a pandemic project while spending more time at home.

“People always say, ‘You must have the most amazing yard,’” Ms. Shields says of homeowners she consults with about their trees. “But have you ever heard of the shoemaker’s wife who didn’t have any shoes? I didn’t want to come home and do the same thing.”

She initially planted annuals she purchased at local big box stores, but several died within six months. A vegetable garden got eaten by local wildlife.

Then a friend gave her a pot with a half-dozen succulents and said to put it on her porch and water the pot every once in a while. Ms. Shields was hooked at the low maintenance and the success.

Mother of thousands succulent Kalanchoe Daigremontiana

She prepared an 8-by-8-foot area with cacti and succulent soil purchased at a home improvement store, got plants donated from friends and started buying plants she thought looked interesting.

“I learned that cactus and succulents are extremely easy to propagate,” she says, noting that friends would often give her a leaf to plant. Because everything grew so well, she expanded that area to 12-by-10 feet.

But it was set so far back from their house that she and her husband couldn’t really see and enjoy it. So, Ms. Shields created a second cacti and succulent garden along the front of their house and started putting individual plants in interesting containers. By now, she knew what she liked best, so she concentrated on smaller succulents and plants that flower.

Altogether, she has about 150 plants representing about 140 species.

“I don’t know what they all are,” she says, explaining that some pots simply said “cactus” or “succulent” when she purchased them. “But I love them just the way they are, so I don’t care what their names are.”

She buys from big box stores, local nurseries, wholesalers on Florida’s east coast, and online from Etsy.

Her favorites include firesticks that, when stressed from lack of water or heat, change colors that include green, yellow, orange and red, as well as a flapjack that is usually green with white throughout the leaves but gets a bright pink edge when stressed and creates tiny flowers that look like little bells.

She likes her traditional and variegated prickly pear plants, which she says are easy to root from the “paddle” of an existing plant, and other variegated plants that reflect light differently.

Other varieties she likes include Madagascar, which looks like a little palm, a short and round barrel cactus, whale’s tale, corncob, agave, string of dolphin that looks like the animal, and mother of thousands and mother of millions that generate lots of babies she can plant or give away.

Trailing jade succulent Senecio Jacobsenii

“I adore them all,” she says of her collection.

Mike Brewer, horticulture business manager and gardener for the cacti and succulent garden at Naples Botanical Garden, had a cacti and succulent garden for 10 years before he got his job.

He and his partner, Jason Di Palma, had enjoyed gardening while living in New York but were intrigued by the tropical plants they could grow outdoors year-round in Naples when they moved here in 2009. Mr. Brewer began volunteering at Naples Botanical Garden, and a perk was receiving starter plants or seeds. He initially created a 20-by-20-foot raised area in the couple’s backyard; when they moved recently, he found a spot against their house that allows water to drain down the hill. Their cacti and succulent garden is now about 12-by-4 feet.

Because he manages cacti and succulents for a living, he knows what thrives well locally. He says agave and aloe have root systems that tolerate our rainy season and can be planted in the ground. He especially likes aloe because it will flower (many cacti and succulents don’t).

Flapjack succulent, Kalanchoe luciae ROBIN DEMATTIA / FLORIDA WEEKLY

Many types of euphorbia, also known as spurge, do well in the ground and in pots. He recommends stepelia plants, frosty tipped and other varieties of echeveria, and hanging pots of hoya.

Mangave, a cross between manfreda and agave, is becoming popular, Mr. Brewer says. Some have spots, some are wavy and some are very thin.

Prickly pear cactus is common but, he says, “not for the faint of heart because it has a lot of thorns, but you get beautiful yellow flowers.”

Starfish cacti sound pretty until you realize they are also called carrion flower. “It gets this beautiful big flower but smells like rotting fish,” Mr. Brewer explains.

Some of the most unusual varieties that Mr. Brewer owns include the Medusa euphorbia that radiates from the center with branches that look like snakes, shark tooth aloe with little thorns on the edges, and a ghost cactus that is white.

Mike Brewer at the cacti and succulent garden he and his partner created in their backyard. COURTESY PHOTO

Both Mr. Brewer and Ms. Shields recommend the low-maintenance plants.

“It makes for a very relaxing hobby,” Ms. Shields says. ¦

Heather Shields at her front garden. ROBIN DEMATTIA / FLORIDA WEEKLY

The Hoya Hindu rope succulent produces clusters of star-shaped, waxy flowers. They can be found in solid green or with variegated leaves. MIKE BREWER / COURTESY PHOTO

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