Maria has joined the succulent craze. This hardy, odd group of plants have been rising in popularity since 2007.

According to a survey completed in 2017 by Garden Center Magazine, succulents now account for 15 percent of garden center sales in the Midwest. They are believed to be soaring all over the country.

I started buying them for Maria in our local grocery store a couple of years ago. I was drawn to their strangeness.

Succulents are not just sold in garden stories.

You can buy them at grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and even clothing stores. These plants have become popular for multiple reasons, but primarily for the one stated by biologists  – you don’t have to water them very often, and each one has its own shape and identity.

Christopher Enroth, writing in the University of Illinois magazine Illinois Extension, offered this theory about the succulent moment:

‘Perhaps the catalyst for succulent popularity was the Great Recession. This may seem like an odd market driver, but there is a hypothesis shared by some of those whose job is to think about the home garden market. Upon, entering or attempting to enter the job market during the recession, many millennials struggled to earn a living. They often had to move back in with their parents or with friends. Home décor can be expensive, but succulents are relatively cheap and the maintenance, as was mentioned, doesn’t amount to much. Succulents were a great option for emerging young adults to turn a house, apartment, or basement room into a home.”

The pandemic could only have added to this new succulent popularity.

Succulents are a plant that has thick fleshy leaves or stems adapted to storing water. “Succulent” is a very broad term that can include many plants.

Some of the common succulent plants are called hens and chicks, jade plants, aloe plants, holiday cacti; there are scores, if not hundreds,  of others.

According to Illinois Master Gardener Specialist Candice Hart, succulents thrive on neglect and dry soil. The easiest way to kill a succulent is to overwater it.

Succulents have taken over the windowsill gallery windows. Maria loves them, so does her fellow artist and friend Emily.  I admit I’m catching the succulent itch.

Yesterday I went online and bought three exotic and rare succulents to surprise her. I’ll put up photos when they arrive.