This beautiful and whimsical planting of the succulent plant Sedum morganianum AKA burro's tail is growing at a friend's house. It is healthy and one of her pride and joys. She has carted it around as she moved about the country and tended it lovingly for years.

Succulents should grow well here in Florida and some do. It is sunny, hot in the summer, warm in the winter (at least in South Florida) and dry - well for 6 months of the year. Great conditions for most succulents; it's the other 6 months of the year the rainy season when most of the 55 to 60 inches of annual rain falls that causes problems for succulents.

Most succulents have plant tissues such as thick waxy or hairy leaves, swollen stems and trunks and thickened roots for storing water. Some have spines which are modified leaves and serve the plant in many ways. Spines can deter predation; few animals want a mouthful of ouch! They can shade the plant, serve as a point for condensation to occur and direct water to drip back towards the plant or on the root system. Succulents are mostly adapted to growing in dry or desert-like conditions, though there are some species that originate in areas of higher rainfall. Wet conditions can cause rots.

The venerable Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami-Dade County, Florida has a collection titled the Lin Lougheed Spiny Forest of Madagascar (www.fairchildgarden.org/livingcollection...). I found it fascinating; particularly in the way the plants are installed to survive South Florida's annual rainy season. Succulent beds are possible in wet humid areas with beds constructed to drain well and rapidly.

Rock gardens have been popular for centuries and have a history all their own. However, in humid wet areas, beds for succulents are built a bit differently. I have often railed against the use of raised landscape beds here in Florida. We are topographically challenged and such beds are often hot and dry and normal landscape plants suffer when planted on one.

Raised beds which are made for dry gardens are the way to go for succulent gardens in humid rainy zones. Such beds place the plants so the roots don't grow into saturated soil or the high water table and make drainage of tropical rains faster. The base should be of construction or hard rubble and/or rocks which may emerge out of the bed. The growing mix should contain about 6 parts gravel or poultry grit, 2 parts coarse sand and 1 to 2 parts peat and/or potting soil. This mix should drain very quickly but be able to hold some moisture and nutrients. The whole bed should be topped with inorganic mulch such as pea gravel. Though it pains me to say this, organic mulch should be avoided, many succulents are prone to rot if moisture accumulates or is held against the trunk or stem.

There is a lot of work to building a succulent bed where it is humid and rainy, but most of the work is up front. Once built and established, the usually slow-growing plants need little care. However, the beds must be hand weeded religiously.

Too much work? This is where my friend's sedum comes in; she grows her succulents where they are protected from the rain so the amount and timing of water application is controlled. Such an area can be as simple as under house eves on the south or west - just be sure water doesn't drip into the pots. Or it can be a protected area on a covered porch, deck or patio. Greenhouses are also suitable for protecting succulents from the rain. In short, growing areas for dry-loving succulents here in Florida and other tropical zones should be sunny and dry.

There are many advantages to growing succulents. The offer fantastical looking forms, many have showy blooms or leaves. The plants tend to be pest-resistant and if the beds are constructed well, are water-saving and require little care.