In our last post on hobbies to consider, we look at Penny’s newly adopted hobby of growing succulents. This is a perfect activity for our desert landscape. 

–Blog Advisor Zachik

By Penny Andreas, Middle-School Blog Correspondent

Through these months of a very hot summer, I’ve done pretty much nothing but stay inside all day. I eventually (it took me three hours of sitting on the couch on a long summer day) came up with an idea of a hobby to keep me busy. I did a little research, and I found an interesting little plant called a succulent. There are over 60 species of succulents and about 1,000 different colors, textures, and sizes (ftd.com). Many succulents grow happily in the desert such as Graptopetalum paraguayense, or the ghost plant, and the pencil plant, which mainly grows in high drought landscapes. One of my favorite succulents is the Apus echeveria. which is pictured here.  

Apus echeveria rely on a lot of sunshine, so they like to live near a window. If they are not getting sun, they will grow towards any light they see, and that will lead to a weak stem and poor growth. Make sure to give a succulent the right amount of water; if they are overwatered, their leaves will start to look like shriveled fingers that have been in a hot tub for too long. If they don’t get enough water, their bottom leaves will start to shrivel, so pay attention just in case your succulent starts to die. Apus echeveria can live anywhere as long as three years up to a couple decades! Hobbies are very important, so go find one yourself!