IJ Archive

Succulents are one of the most ideal plants you can add to your Marin County garden. These resilient plants come in every shape and size as well as in a variety of textures and colors.  Much appreciated by busy gardeners, succulents are drought-tolerant, don’t mind some neglect, and readily adapt to Marin County’s dry and Mediterranean climate. 

For best results, select succulents that will thrive in the microclimate in your garden.  Most prefer about six hours of full sun and warmth, but some prefer partial shade.  Check out the requirements, expected size, and shape of your succulent choices so you know their preferred environment and how best to maintain them in a healthy state.  Most remain compact and 2-4 feet tall while some grow to 5-7 feet. 

Most succulents thrive in bright, indirect light or in a south-facing window if grown indoors. Move them outdoors once nighttime temperatures are consistently above 60^oF; protect them from heavy rain.  Transition succulents to the outdoors by placing them in a shady place for a few days and then slowly move them to a sunnier location.  Avoid outdoor sites that receive intense, hot sunlight during midday.  Move your succulents to another location if the leaves yellow or look droopy.  Bring plants back indoors before fall chills set in.

Succulents store water in their thick fleshy leaves, stems, and roots, so they are able to survive equally well whether planted in the ground or in a container.  Excellent drainage is essential.  In Marin County, watering succulents once a week during the warmer months usually works well, i.e., water only when the top inch of soil feels dry to the touch; pour water directly into the soil, not on the leaves.  Choose terra cotta pots with drainage holes, as terra cotta dries faster than plastic. Use a succulent and cactus potting mix that contains sand, perlite, or pumice to prevent soggy roots.  Cut back on watering in winter when water needs are markedly reduced.

Repot only when your succulent outgrows its container.  Most succulents have adapted to nutrient-poor soils, so a rule of thumb is to only feed with a fertilizer if your specific succulent type requires it.  If your plant becomes leggy, prune it back to fresh growth in early spring.

Aphids and mealybugs are their most common pests.  Insecticidal soap works best as a defense against aphids.  In more severe aphid infestations, a pyrethrin-based or neem oil insecticide is effective.  Mealybugs are sometimes more difficult to manage; a Q-tip dipped in rubbing oil and swabbed across all visible insects kills them.  Avoid overwatering to help prevent the onset of a fungal disease. Also, if plants are grown indoors, ensure good air circulation.  Keep leaves clean by gently wiping away dust; remove damaged or dying leaves. Most diseases in succulents are caused by overwatering or incorrect sun exposure.  

Many varieties of succulents can be propagated by stem or leaf cuttings and offsets.  Offsets occur when root tissue forms leaf buds which sprout at the base of the mother plant.  Once the offsets are big enough and have established roots, they can be separated and replanted in small separate containers. It takes at least a month for cuttings to develop sufficient root growth to be successfully repotted into more permanent settings.  Leaf cuttings take longer to mature than stem cuttings.

Join us for the Succulent Sale!  The Master Gardeners are hosting their annual succulent sale on Saturday, May 30, from 9 am to 12 pm at the Falkirk Cultural Center’s rear parking lot on Mission Street in San Rafael.  There will be individual plants, potted arrangements, and bromeliads for sale.  Experienced Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer your questions. For more information, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKZbJItCz0I.

Whether you are new to gardening or a pro, this sale offers a chance to get expert advice on selecting beautiful, drought-tolerant, easy-care, and mostly pest-free succulents for your garden.   

By Martha Proctor, May 23, 2026

Gardening with children is a total win/win.  You get a great way to spend quality time together doing a hands-on activity, and you can make a big difference in fostering their curiosity, patience, love of nature, and an understanding of how and where we get our food and flowers. Gardening with kids not only fosters a green thumb, but also promotes physical, social, and emotional health. 

Kids generally love to be outside and playing in the dirt, so it is pretty easy to get them going.  You don’t need to be an experienced gardener or have a large garden.  Learning garden basics together can be a fun way to explore the process from beginning to a yummy and beautiful result. Successes and failures will happen along the way, providing an important life lesson.  Nature is resilient and forgiving and will always give you another chance.  

Any space can work.  Any size garden can become a place for kids to learn critical thinking, biology, ecology, entomology, ornithology, climatology, planting for wildlife, pollination, and soil and water science.  A container is a garden, and, for kids, it is often better to start small to accommodate their interest level.  Kids can learn water conservation, learn about the importance of organics and natural fertilizers, and observe how your kitchen scraps can become valuable compost.  This is not only the beginning of them learning that they can have an impact on their own space, but also an understanding of how they can make a positive impact on the planet.

Before you all get started, let’s talk safety.  Sunscreen and a hat can protect you all from the sun.  Gloves are great for kids reluctant to touch soil or anything that they may find in it, and they come in all sizes.  Adult tools are too big for small children to use.  There are kits of small tools available that are safe for them to use and will give them a sense of responsibility and a chance to teach care of their belongings.

Where you start and what you plant will vary with the age of your children.  No matter the age, engage them in every step of the process, from choosing what to plant to watering, weeding, and harvesting.  A good place to start is by creating a garden with a salad in mind.  Salad greens, carrots, cherry tomatoes, radishes, and cucumbers are easy to grow and can bring pretty quick results, helping to keep the kids engaged.  You can start from seed or purchase seedlings from a nursery. Green beans are so fun to watch germinate as they curl their way out of the ground, and they produce heavily.  They will see that some veggies are above the ground, some are climbers, and some develop out of sight underground.  Strawberries are kid magnets.  

Flowers are also a fun grow, and some are super easy.  Nasturtiums have big, easy-to-handle seeds that germinate, spread rapidly, and, as a bonus, the organic flowers add color and spice to your salad.  Sweet peas also have good-sized seeds, and they fill your home with amazing fragrance.  Sunflowers are a kid favorite.  They come in so many colors and sizes. The seeds can be left on the plant to feed the birds, or they can be collected and dried for a kid’s snack.  

These suggestions are with our spring and summer seasons in mind, but it is fun and easy to make growing your garden a year-round activity, and it is actually healthier for your soil to keep it planted.  Here in Marin, fall is the time to plant spinach, snap peas, shelling peas, Swiss chard, broccoli, and cauliflower. 

Check your library for books on gardening with your children. They often have activities to enhance your experiences and crafts to explore with your harvest.  It is so much fun to see it all through their eyes.

By Dot Zanotti Ingels, May 16, 2026

A common bit of advice from Marin Master Gardeners is “mulch, mulch, mulch” to help retain soil moisture and suppress weeds. Mulch can be inorganic and noncombustible, like rocks used for paths and to surround structures. Within the garden, however, many homeowners prefer to cover bare ground using organic mulch like wood chips in various sizes, shapes, and colors.

But wood burns. 

If you live in a WUI (wildland urban interface) area, an area deemed to have substantial fire risk, or are simply concerned about fire, the best practice is to keep any type of wood mulch at least five feet from your house and other structures. In fact, new regulations will likely forbid wood mulch in this “zone zero” area. 

Elsewhere, though, gardeners can use wood mulch. But, which type? 

To answer that question, researchers working in Marin County evaluated the burn characteristics of two commercially available wood mulch categories: Composited and non-composited. 

Composited mulch is made from chipped wood and bark piled on the ground and repeatedly turned over for several months, and this turning brings soil into the pile as it composts. Typically, you can see chunks of decomposed bark and wood particles in the final mix, although it can approach the consistency of soil. 

Non-composited mulch is, as the name suggests, made of raw chipped wood and sometimes bark.

For the study, researchers sourced composited mulch from one provider in West Marin and another in San Jose. And they bought five types of non-composited mulch from Marin companies: Black Mulch, Forest Floor, Redwood, and two sizes of Fir Bark. Fir Bark A chips ranged from half to three-quarters of an inch. Fir Bark B, often called “Quarter-inch Fir Bark,” had chips smaller than a quarter-inch. 

The mulch study took place at the Marin County Fire Department Admin Headquarters at the San Geronimo Golf Course from October 10-12, 2023. Ten different mulch plots, five each of composited and non-composited, were placed into 30 circular, three-inch deep surrounds, with each mulch type replicated three times. After being left to dry and weather for four months, researchers ignited the material and instruments recorded flame length, rate of flame spread, and radiant heat.

The result confirmed an earlier, smaller study done in Nevada.

“Basically, we found that the composited mulch does perform better from a fire perspective,” says UC Cooperative Extension Advisor Emeritus Stephen Quarles. “The products tended to smolder, meaning there was no flame to speak of. If you had needles, leaf debris, twigs, etc., blown into an area with smoldering mulch, it could easily transition into flame, so it isn’t totally safe. But, it’s safer.”

As for the non-composited mulch, two types produced the highest flames and thus could be most dangerous to use: Black Mulch and large Fir Bark A. Forest Floor and Redwood mulch also produced worrisome flames, although not as high. Only the Quarter-inch Fir Bark B had insignificant flames.

“The Quarter-inch Fir Bark acted a lot like the composited mulch,” Quarles says. “Composited mulch would be my first choice when considering fire, but if you don’t like that aesthetic, Quarter-inch Fir Bark would be your next best choice.”

Because the small Quarter-inch Fir Bark particles compact well, there is a lack of oxygen in the mulch. The other four non-composited mulch types don’t compact as well, which means oxygen can get inside and around the chunks and pieces of various sizes. That produces flames and more rapid flame spread. 

“That’s what we worry about if you have mulch around vegetation,” Quarles says. “Flames igniting shrubbery and combustible siding.” 

Funded by the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority, the study was carried out by Quarles working with a team of other researchers led by Professor Michael Gollner at the Fire Research Lab at the UC Berkeley Mechanical Engineering Department. For more information check the FireSafe Marin website. 

By Barbara Robertson, May 9, 2026