Cacti & Succulents
For the landscape designer who is looking for low maintenance and drought resistant plants, cacti & succulents are the way to go. Known as "xeriscaping", you will be creating a landscape that is suited for our drought susceptible area. As you can see in the Weather & Average Temps table, Las Vegas has an average percipitation of ZERO for the entire year!
Cactus vs. Succulent, What's the difference?
People usually use the term cacti & succulents interchangeably though this is incorrect - scientifically. All cacti are succulents. The difference between a succulent & cacti is where the plant stores it's water.
Succulents are plants that store water in their stems, roots, body and leaves. There are about 5 dozen plant families within the group of succulents which include sempervivum, haworthia, aloe, sedum, and...cacti. Cacti are fleshy plants that store water in their bodies therefore making them part of this group. Hence, cacti are in fact succulents.
Cacti are a sub-category of the succulent group. In order for a plant to be condsidered a cactus, it must have the distinguished organ universal to the cactus family, an areole. The areole is generally an oval or circular raised cushion that is usually covered in hair. This is where the flowers, leaves, branches and spines arise.
Succulents to consider that generally fare well in the Las Vegas outdoor lndscape include:
| Agave / Century Plant | Aloe | Blue Agave | Cassia |
| Cassia Desert Shrub | Desert Spoon | Golden Barrels | Gopher Plant |
| Green Desert Spoon | Grey Desert Spoon | Mexican Bird of Paradise | Ocotillo |
| Prickly Pear Cactus | Stonecaps | Verigated Agave | Weeping Yucca |