It's been 2 years since I put together a mini garden that lives outside. It's under a porch roof, so I control the water, but 2 cold winters have weeded out some less hardy plants.

What's survived is:
Graptoveria 'Opalina'
Sedum kimnachii & clavatum & rubrotinctum
Lithops gesinae
a Haworthia
Crassula tetragona & muscosa

I'd like to add more plants at this point, it's gotten a little too thin, even for a desert scene. Thinking I should explore other species in the above genera. What others have survived outside for you, from any genus?

TIA!

I left out in a pot this winter some oscularia. It did very well and would match your desert scene. I am impressed about the Lithops. I had no idea they could take freezing temps. I guess I thought they were more tropical.

TY! I'd never heard of Oscularia, TY for turning me onto it. Do you know which one you have? Saw a few diff leaf types on an image search. What a cute plants! Your avatar pic is really pretty, BTW!

I've been on the edge of my seat about the Lithops too, sure every time I go to check on them they'll be mushy, but so far so good. From meshing my yet minor experience with them to the anecdotes and advice out there, the key seems to be to make sure they are dry when cold.

And in general, there's SO much said about succulents and root rot, that I started combating that before adding any plants. The planter is made of wood, so I also don't want it to rot unnecessarily quickly from being too moist (a huge challenge in steamy south AL!) It's coated with urethane, has a TON of holes drilled in the bottom, and is on legs. I cut the sides off of a couple plastic flat-trays that 6-pack plants are sold in, and put those upside-down on the bottom. So in most places, there's a bit of a gap between the soil and the planter, or at least there was. This probably resulted in an uneven surface on the bottom, making it less likely for water to pool. Decomposition of the organic bits in the soil mix will probably lead to those spaces being filled with debris eventually. Whenever the planter does deteriorate, I'll find out!

Thanks for the compliment on my avatar. It was a fireplace bottom I had on my deck. It unfortunately fell apart while trying to move it in for winter one year. I am pretty sure my husband was happy it did. It was super heavy.

As far as the kind of oscularia I have I am not completely sure of the right name. It grows out and spills over the pot rather than the other kind that grows straight up. I saw a debate on a thread somewhere here on this site about it, but can not remember where that discussion was. I will do a little research tonight and see if I can get a picture for you.

I searched for a while tonight and now remember why I still feel unsure of what kind of oscularia I actually have. I still need to take a pic for you. I thought I had one but can not find it. Mine has 3 or more teeth on each side of leaf with red stems. As far as I know this is oscularia deltoids. If you would like being cross eyed read this thread ......

The thread "Same photos in two species. Lampranthus deltoids and Oscularia vredenbugensis" in Cactus and Succulents forum

This is not the thread I was thinking of earlier, but is a good example of why there is so much confusion. Sorry, if I had known this would be so complicated I would not have suggested it.

Finally found a picture. This is from last year. The picture does not show the new growth of red stems. It has been in severely neglected situations since I got it a little over two years ago as a tiny cutting with only three leaves. It has been in full sun all day and never watered except for the rare rain.. Has made it to 21 degrees for two days in a row as a small cutting. It will have much more vigor with actual care.

A visual reference supersedes the name when shopping by sight, and since plants are so rarely labeled. I think I would recognize this guy, TYVM for the pic! Sounds like just the kind of survivor that would make a good addition & the tiny foliage is just right. Interesting color too! I like that a lot.

Here's a few they grow at Smith College, z6a.

Those are all awesome! TYVM for posting the pics & links! I would have never dreamed any Echeveria would be so hardy.

This plant is leaning because the light is always on 1 side, but I think otherwise happy.

This pot was outside all winter. Looks like 2 little Sedums are still alive (with Sedeveria, I think, and Tradescantia sillamontana.)

Some updates from a few years later. Winters have mostly been lightly frosty with the lowest temp around 23. But the past week brought 4 nights in the teens and 2 days when the high wasn't above freezing. Pics from today, a couple days after the row of 4 nights in the teens.

Opuntia (humifusa I think) and Sempervivums have no trouble.


Francesco Baldi and friends in this pot are fine but some of the Sedum kimnachii around the edge got zapped.



The S. kimnachii in this mini garden feels OK.


Francescos are OK here but K. tomentosa feels limp, and a Sedum adolphi feels all limp.



Various Sedeverias in this pot seem OK.


Everybody in this area seems OK except the bright pink one sticking up in the middle. It feels questionable.


Watch-chain Crassula didn't make it this time. Lithops feels OK.


These guys seem OK.


Sometimes the result seems capricious and arbitrary. This little patch of K. blossfeldiana got zapped to the right, is OK to the left.

'California Sunset' lost a couple leaves but is otherwise OK. With the damaged leaves still on:



After removing them:


Cute little Opuntia & Sempervivum are OK:


Sedum 'Blue Spruce' doesn't seem to be damaged anywhere. Some of this S. kimnachi was, but most of it is still OK.

Aww cute

Tiffany - My sedum doesn't seem to ever get damaged from anything weather related. It's a pretty hardy plant for the south.

Yes, those sedum are very hardy

Thank you very much! Temps in the teens for 3 nights and 72 hours below freezing is a good test I think. That's pretty much the extreme of cold here.

This was killed in 2 spots outside:
Golden Sedum (Sedum adolphi)

I believe a significant time has passed, 2 months, to declare these as survivors. They were unprotected, and the only planning I could offer was to not water and let everything get as dry as possible before the deep freeze.
Mortality would be apparent by now.



'Francesco Baldi', jellybean Sedum, Sedeveria 'Sorrento'


more Francesco, Sedum kimnachii


blue spruce Sedum, Sempervivum, Lithops


ghost plant (Graptopetalum paraguayense)


jelly bean Sedum

Peperomia verticillata. I don't even remember having that in this spot last year, but there is some, somehow alive still after the awful winter.

Seemingly arbitrarily, these plants are no longer with us. I took these pics a couple weeks ago, but a couple nights in the teens have turned them to mush. That's strange because they survived a spell of colder weather last year, with 48 hrs below freezing temps.

Jelly bean Sedum.


'Blue Burrito'


I have more but didn't think these were in any danger. It would have been easy to snip & save those stems.

I didn't take pics but all of the 'California Sunset' seems to have turned to mush too. I'm not sure I have any of that in a pot inside somewhere. Oh well, not hard to find more if I don't but I'm surprised it also decided to die this time but not last time.

Jury is out on Lithops. Those always feel a little soft after a hard freeze so I won't know until it warms up, or the plants collapse.

The soil has eroded again enough that I was going to redo that mini garden soon anyway. I guess there won't be as many plants to place initially. It's always easier that way anyway. I just knock all the leaves off if I try to those types of plants too close.

The search continues for the missing degrees...