Talk Quesada forum

We need advice. on plants for the outside. and would like to put some outside but the watering is a problem. so which can we plant. without having to be watered. regular. thank.

Nikon wrote:We need advice. on plants for the outside. and would like to put some outside but the watering is a problem. so which can we plant. without having to be watered. regular. thank.

Any cacti. They can be very attractive but watch what size they grow as they can have large trunks and roots...not all are prickly. .not to be mistaken for the normal idea of Cacti.
Oleander are pretty and need no watering once bedded in. (The sap can be toxic for dogs and children but only when cutting or pruning but if you don't have to worry about that they are ideal) They are the lovely flowering plants in the middle of most roads/central reservations in Spain and come in all colours - Known as the flowers of the desert!
Don't think about Bougainvillea they get totally out of hand...lovely to look at when they belong to someone else! LOL (Talking from past experience !)

I'm sure others will have even better ideas.

Lantanas come in lovely colours. Easy to keep tidy and flower for a long time.

We found that the first year we had our apartment that nearly everything we planted in pots died. The exception seems to be Yuccas, cacti and succulents. Last autumn we planted our new plants directly into the ground. We inherited a Lantana and I agree with Janjan, they are so easy to keep and look lovely all year. We also inherited a bougainvillia which we keep well pruned. We've also got a Nordic fir, 2 hibiscus, a strelitzia, an aloe, a lemon tree and an orange tree. We havent been there since July but as far as I know everything is still growing, at least I havent had any reports from our Property Manager to the contrary. This year we are also going to plant Rosemary and Lavender.

The only thing to remember is that all plants need water for the first few months to establish their roots, so this is the best time of year to plant.

You can plant a succulent in a pot then put it in the ground. It saves the roots getting too big and also spreading and getting out of hand.

Toni Tri, are your lemon/orange trees dwarf or large ones. I planted one of each dwarf ones about Feb in the ground, was there until late May so watered and fed them, just wondering if they survived, not long to find out as will be out in a few days

quizziecat wrote:Toni Tri, are your lemon/orange trees dwarf or large ones. I planted one of each dwarf ones about Feb in the ground, was there until late May so watered and fed them, just wondering if they survived, not long to find out as will be out in a few days

Hi Quizziecat. I'm not sure, I don't think so. The lemon tree was already there when we bought the place so I don't know how old it is but it hasnt had any lemons yet in the 20 months or so since we bought. The orange tree we bought last autumn and I suspect it was a couple of years old, it was about a metre high.

Considering you watered your trees for the first few months I would think they would be ok. Fingers crossed anyway, let me know when you get back out there.