Top 11 Most Popular and Easy to Grow Succulents
AGAVE, AMERICAN ALOE, CENTURY PLANT
MORE THAN 450 SPECIES OF AGAVE have been identified, and several make excellent houseplants provided you can give them abundant natural light.
This is easy in summer, when agaves love to be moved outdoors, but they need bright light in winter, too.
The easiest agaves to keep indoors are small ones, such as little princess agave (A. parviflora) and A. victoriae-reginae, both of which grow into 10 in/25 cm, ball-shaped plants packed with spiny leaves.
Many people love the widely spread, wavy leaves of variegated American agave, which grows so slowly that it can be kept as a houseplant for about 10 years.
After that, it must be set free in a garden, where it is hardy to about 15°F/-9°C. Only garden-grown or wild agaves produce flowers, so don’t look for blooms on indoor plants.
The sap of all agaves can cause skin irritation, so be careful when handling.
SPECIFICATIONS
Light: From late spring to early fall, direct sun at least 5 hours a day. In winter, keep in a bright south window, where temperatures cool off at night.
Temperature: From late spring to fall, very warm (70–90°F/21–32°C). In winter, cool (50–60°F/10–16°C).
Fertilizer: In spring and summer, feed monthly with a balanced houseplant fertilizer. In fall and winter, do not feed.
Water: In spring and summer, use warm water, and water plants before the soil becomes completely dry. In fall and winter, provide only scant moisture.
Soil: Regular potting soil amended with pebbles or sand to improve drainage.
Repotting: Repot only every few years, to refresh the soil. These plants are slow growers, and are best handled as little as possible.
Longevity: 10 to 40 years, depending on species. When grown in open soil in warm, arid climates, plants often live for 50 years or much longer.
Propagation: Seeds, offsets. Agaves grown as houseplants seldom need to be propagated, which is best done in a greenhouse.
Selections: Named varieties of A. victoriae-reginae require a little less light than other agaves, so they are often the best choice if you live in a cool or cloudy climate.
Display tips: Grow agaves in a stout, heavy pot with a wide bottom, because plants are prone to toppling if planted in small, lightweight containers.
ALOE, BURN PLANT
IT IS NO WIVES’ TALE that the sap of the aloe plant cures minor burns and other skin problems. It really works.
The most medicinally potent species is pretty, too, with plump, elongated leaves that fan out from a central base.
Aloe is easy to grow, and can be kept indoors year-round or moved outside in the summer.
Just be sure to make moves gradual ones. Aloe sunburns easily when moved from low indoor light to bright sun too quickly, and the plants sulk when moved from a warm, sunny porch to a dim room.
When grown outdoors in mild winter climates, aloe often blooms in late winter or spring. Aloe rarely blooms when grown indoors.
SPECIFICATIONS
Light: Bright light from an east or south window.
Temperature: Average room temperatures year-round (65–75°F/18–24°C). Aloe can adapt to higher summer temperatures outdoors, and does not mind a cool winter rest.
Fertilizer: From spring through fall, feed plants monthly with a balanced houseplant fertilizer. In winter, do not feed.
Water: From spring through fall, keep soil lightly moist. Plants may dry out quickly on hot summer days. In winter, water less, but do not allow the soil to become completely dry.
Soil: Any good potting soil.
Repotting: Repot every other year in spring, or as needed to refresh the soil and give plants more room.
Longevity: Many years if propagated from offsets.
Propagation: Cut off pups (offsets) in spring or early summer. Allow the cut roots to dry for a day before potting them in clean containers.
Selections: In addition to medicinal aloe, two species are valued for their good looks. Partridge-breasted aloe, also called tiger aloe (A. variegata), forms a tight rosette of beautifully patterned leaves that grows only 6 in/15 cm tall. Lace aloe (A. aristata) is smaller, with thready leaf tips. It offsets freely, and has been hybridized with tiger aloe.
Display tips: Find a place in or near your kitchen for a small aloe plant. The more quickly a leaf is split open and placed on a minor burn, the better the burn heals.
JADE PLANT
THE TREELIKE FORM AND SHINY LEAVES set the jade plant apart from other succulents, and it is easy to grow in homes and offices.
When grown outdoors in frost-free areas, jade plants grow into 4 ft/1.2m-tall shrubs. Indoors, they seldom grow more than 24 in/60 cm tall over a period of many years.
Plants more than 10 years old may flower in winter, though blooming is uncommon in indoor-grown plants.
Purchased plants often consist of up to five cuttings that have been rooted and grown in a single pot, which allows little room for growth.
Divide crowded pots in spring, transplanting each plant to an individual container, or keep them in groups of no more than three plants in a 6 in/15 cm pot. Plenty of light and fertilizer improves the leaf color of jade plant.
SPECIFICATIONS
Light: Four hours of filtered sun daily year-round. Plants can be moved outdoors to a shady spot in summer.
Temperature: Average room temperatures (65–75°F/18–24°C) year-round. A 6-week cool (55–60°F/13–16°C) rest in winter improves the chances that older plants will bloom.
Fertilizer: From spring through fall, feed every 2 weeks with a balanced fertilizer mixed at half the normal strength. In winter, do not feed.
Water: Allow soil to become almost dry between waterings, but watch for shedding leaves or brown spots on leaves — signs that the plant needs more water. Water less in winter, but do not allow plants to dry out completely.
Soil: Regular potting soil or African violet soil.
Repotting: Repot young plants annually in spring. With plants more than 10 years old, repot every 2 to 3 years to refresh the soil.
Longevity: 10 years or more, or indefinitely if propagated from tip cuttings every 5 to 10 years.
Propagation: Take 3 in/7.5 cm-long stem tip cuttings in spring. Allow the cuttings to callus for at least 5 days before planting them in a mixture of damp sand and peat moss.
Selections: Some varieties have leaves variegated with white or tinged with red. A closely related plant, money plant or silver dollar plant (C. arborescens or C. cotyledon), has flattened gray-green leaves covered with fine felt.
Display tips: Make the most of jade plant’s treelike form by shifting plants to individual containers when they are about 5 years old.
ECHEVERIA, HEN AND CHICKS
SPECIFICATIONS
Light: Bright light year-round, with some direct sun in summer.
Temperature: From spring to late summer, average to warm (65–80°F/18–27°C). In fall and winter, cool to average (55–75°F/13–24°C).
Fertilizer: From spring through fall, feed plants every 2 weeks with a high-phosphorous plant food mixed at half the normal strength. In winter, feed monthly.
Water: Provide water as often as needed to keep the soil lightly moist. Plants that dry very quickly in summer may need repotting. Water less in winter.
Soil: Cactus potting soil, or regular potting soil amended with one-fourth part sand.
Repotting: Repot every 2 years, or more often if plants outgrow their pots.
Longevity: Indefinitely, due to this plant’s ease of propagation.
Propagation: Remove offsets with a short stub of stem attached, and transplant them to new containers. Small offsets transplant more easily than large ones.
Selections: Choose plants based on their appearance, which varies between the red-blushed green leaves of ‘Painted Lady’ to the woolly felted rosettes of ‘Doris Taylor’ to some with frilled red edges, such as ‘Wavy Curls’. Most named varieties are interspecies hybrids.
Display tips: Grow several different echeverias together in a broad bowl kept on a sunny windowsill. They also mix quite well with other succulents.
TIGER’S JAWS
THIS INTERESTING SMALL SUCCULENT grows to only 6 in/15 cm tall, but the short green or orange-blushed leaves, often speckled with white dots, provide ongoing drama.
The edges of each short, triangular leaf bear incurved, soft spines that resemble teeth. The teeth interlock on young leaves, but as the leaves grow, they open until they look like dangerous jaws.
Tiger’s jaws gradually grows into a clump of ground-hugging stemless rosettes. Sometimes yellow flowers appear in fall, but only on mature plants that get at least 4 hours of strong sun each day all summer.
This plant likes warm to hot conditions during its active growth period, so consider moving it outdoors in summer.
In winter, do not allow the plant to be chilled by temperatures below 60°F/16°C.
SPECIFICATIONS
Light: From late spring to fall, partial sun. In winter, strong light from a south window.
Temperature: From late spring to early fall, warm temperatures (70–90°F/21–32°C). In winter, average room temperatures (65–75°F/18–24°C).
Fertilizer: From mid-spring to early fall, feed plants once a month with a high-phosphorous plant food. In winter, do not feed.
Water: From mid-spring to early fall, keep plants lightly moist. In winter, allow plants to dry out between waterings. In its natural habitat, tiger’s jaws collects water from dew, so misting the plant occasionally is a good practice when it is grown in a very dry room.
Soil: Cactus potting soil, or regular potting soil amended with one-third part sand.
Repotting: Repot only every 2 to 3 years, when the plant grows to within .25 in/.6 cm of the edge of the pot. Tiger’s jaws has very shallow roots, so it can be grown in small, broad containers.
Longevity: Indefinitely if propagated from offsets.
Propagation: Cut offsets from a parent plant in late spring. Allow the little rosettes to dry for a day before potting them up.
Selections: This plant is usually sold by its common name. A few faucaria species lack the characteristic teeth and have small bumps along the edges of the leaves instead.
Display tips: Tiger’s jaws makes an excellent centerpiece for a shallow dish garden featuring an assortment of small succulents such as echeverias and haworthias.
HAWORTHIA
COLLECTING HAWORTHIAS QUICKLY BECOMES ADDICTIVE to plant lovers who delight in small things, because haworthias are the smallest succulents of them all.
Many grow less than 3 in/7.5 cm tall or wide, while some columnar types may grow to 5 in/12.5 cm tall. This genus includes more than 80 species that offer endless variation in form.
Many resemble miniature aloes, a few look like tiny echeverias, and some are sedum look-alikes.
They have in common a tremendous tolerance for neglect, needing only sun and occasional water to prosper for many years.
A collection of several haworthias can be grown in an 8 in/20 cm-wide shallow dish kept in a sunny window.
It is important to repot them every year or two. Haworthias shed some of their old roots each spring, so refreshing the soil is necessary maintenance for healthy plants.
SPECIFICATIONS
Light: Bright indirect light year-round. If you move plants outdoors in summer, gradually accustom them to increased light, as indoor-grown plants sunburn easily.
Temperature: From late spring to fall, warm (70–80°F/21–27°C). In winter, allow plants a winter rest at around 60°F/16°C, if possible.
Fertilizer: In spring and summer, feed monthly with a balanced houseplant food mixed at half the normal strength. In fall and winter, do not feed.
Water: Allow soil to become almost dry between waterings. Because of their small size, haworthias require a little less water than other succulents.
Soil: Cactus potting soil, or regular potting soil amended with one-third part sand.
Repotting: Repot in spring at least every other year.
Longevity: Indefinitely if propagated from offsets.
Propagation: Propagate offsets when repotting in spring or early summer.
Selections: Choose haworthias based on forms and colors you like. The classification of haworthias is a matter that gives plant taxonomists serious headaches.
Display tips: Haworthias are so small that they can be grown in novel containers, such as little teacups or decorative tins. When using a container that lacks drainage holes, fill the bottom with 1 in/2.5 cm of coarse gravel. Haworthias also make fine little accent plants for dish gardens planted with larger succulents.
KALANCHOE, FLAMING CATHY, FLAMING KATY
SPECIFICATIONS
Light: Bright direct sunlight indoors; filtered shade outdoors.
Temperature: From late spring to early fall, warm to very warm (70–90°F/21–32°C). In fall and winter, cool to average (50–70°F/10–21°C).
Fertilizer: From late spring to midwinter, feed with an all-purpose houseplant food monthly. From late winter to early spring, do not feed.
Water: From spring to fall, keep the soil lightly moist. In winter, allow the soil to dry out between light waterings.
Soil: Any good potting soil.
Repotting: Repot annually in early summer.
Longevity: 2 to 3 years, or indefinitely when propagated from stem cuttings.
Propagation: When plants are more than 2 years old, take stem cuttings and set them to root in small pots in late spring.
Selections: In addition to flowering kalanchoe, other interesting species include devil’s backbone (K. diagremontiana), which is also known as “mother of thousands” because of the way it produces tiny, rooted plantlets along its leaf margins. Panda plant or pussy ears (K. tomentosa) features thick gray-green felted leaves with reddish markings.
Display tips: To celebrate the blooming of flowering kalanchoe, wrap the pot with colorful cloth or paper, tied with ribbon or raffia.
LIVING STONES, SPLIT ROCKS
THERE IS LITTLE ARGUMENT that living rocks are the most unusual succulents in the world.
They were not discovered until 1811, when a plant collector noticed that some of the stones underfoot were not stones at all, but living succulent plants.
Lithops are not difficult to grow provided you follow their natural growth cycle.
In late winter and spring, new leaves push up through the cleft between the bodies. The new leaves take up the moisture and nutrients in the old leaves, so the plants need no water during this time.
Do water them a few times in late spring, after the old leaves have shriveled away. Then allow the plants to become quite dry through summer.
In fall, flower buds may emerge from the cleft provided the plants are fully mature.
This is a good time to water the plants lightly for several weeks. Then let them rest again through winter, until the life cycle begins anew.
SPECIFICATIONS
Light: In summer, 4 hours of direct sun. From fall through spring, less light, by an east or south window.
Temperature: In summer, warm to very warm temperatures (70–90°F/21–32°C). From fall through spring, cool to average room temperatures (55–70°F/13–21°C).
Fertilizer: Twice yearly, once in spring and once in fall, feed plants with a balanced, all-purpose houseplant food.
Water: Lithops have two seasons when they need light watering: in spring after new leaves have absorbed old ones, and in fall when flowers appear. At other times, keep plants very dry, watering lightly only if plants become badly wrinkled.
Soil: Cactus soil amended with sand.
Repotting: Repot only when plants outgrow containers, usually only every 5 years or so. Use 5 in/12.5 cm-deep pots to accommodate taproots. Set plants so that one-third of the leaves are buried.
Longevity: Many years.
Propagation: Seeds; division of old plants that have grown into large clusters.
Selections: Plants vary in color, and are sold by species name. L. aucampiae has sandy brown bodies with reddish markings, and blooms yellow. L. marmorata has gray to beige bodies with white, fragrant flowers. There are many others.
Display tips: Grow two or three different species in a broad pot, with an attractive arrangement of smooth stones to keep them company.
MOTHER-IN-LAW’S TONGUE, SNAKE PLANT
SPECIFICATIONS
Light: From spring through fall, bright indirect light. In winter, moderate light.
Temperature: Average indoor temperatures (65–75°F/18–24°C) year-round, with no chilling below 60°F/16°C.
Fertilizer: From late spring through fall, feed monthly with a balanced houseplant fertilizer mixed at half the normal strength. In winter, do not feed.
Water: In spring through summer, water often enough to keep soil lightly moist. In winter, allow soil to become nearly dry between waterings.
Soil: Regular potting soil, possibly amended with a handful of sterilized garden soil to give it a slightly heavier texture.
Repotting: Repot as needed in spring every 2 to 3 years. As plants become taller, add pebbles or small stones to the bottom of the container to add weight, which prevents toppling.
Longevity: 20 years or more; indefinitely if propagated by division every 5 to 10 years.
Propagation: Division in early spring. Use a sharp, serrated knife to cut through the thick roots.
Selections: Standard selections such as ‘Laurentii’, with creamy yellow leaf margins, grow to 24 in/60 cm tall. Dwarf forms such as ‘Golden Hahnii’ and ‘Silver Hahnii’ grow to half that size, with sharply variegated leaves.
Display tips: Sanseveria’s tall, linear look makes it an ideal background plant to group with other foliage plants. It moves willingly to new locations provided steady warmth is maintained.
DONKEY TAIL, BURRO’S TAIL
NUMEROUS HARDY SEDUMS GROW in outdoor rock gardens, and several of these make good houseplants, too.
The sedum known as donkey tail is too delicate for outdoors, but it makes an attractive and interesting indoor companion.
Stems that emerge from the plant’s crown are thickly clad with juicy, gray-green leaves, which overlap like the coarse hair on a donkey’s tail.
Plants that enjoy bright light in summer and a cool winter rest sometimes produce small pink flowers at the stem tips in summer.
This plant’s biggest weakness is its fragile leaves; a slight bump can send them falling to the floor. However, new stems constantly emerge to replace such casualties.
SPECIFICATIONS
Light: Bright light most of the year. Extra light in summer is beneficial, but be careful, because indoor-grown plants sunburn easily.
Temperature: Average room temperatures (65–75°F/18–24°C). A cool winter rest, with 55–60°F/13–16°C temperatures, increases the likelihood of blooming.
Fertilizer: From spring to late summer, feed monthly with an all-purpose balanced houseplant food. In fall and winter, do not feed.
Water: From spring through summer, water as often as needed to keep soil lightly moist. In fall and winter, allow soil to become dry between waterings.
Soil: Cactus potting soil.
Repotting: Repot as needed in spring every 2 years if plant is actively growing. After plants fill an 8 in/20 cm pot, they become so fragile that repotting is difficult. Begin propagating tip cuttings when repotting becomes impractical.
Longevity: 5 to 10 years, or indefinitely if propagated from stem tip cuttings.
Propagation: Take a 3 in/7.5cm-long tip and remove leaves from the lowest 2 in/5 cm section. Insert the stem in a half-and-half mixture of damp peat moss and sand, and keep it moist for 2 months.
Selections: This plant is usually sold by species name. One unusual cultivar, ‘Burrito’, features short, stocky stems thickly covered with blunt leaves. It is a little less fragile than other donkey tails.
Display tips: Grow in a hanging basket or suspended pot, so that the long stems can trail down over the edges. The gray-green leaves show especially well when this plant is grown in a dark-colored container.
STRING OF PEARLS, BEAD PLANT
SPECIFICATIONS
Light: 2 to 4 hours of direct sunlight year-round.
Temperature: From spring to fall, warm (70–80°F/21–27°C). In winter, cool (55–60°F/13–16°C).
Fertilizer: From spring through fall, feed every 2 weeks with a balanced liquid fertilizer mixed at half the normal strength. In winter, feed every 6 weeks.
Water: From spring through fall, keep soil lightly moist. In winter, allow soil to dry out between waterings. Beads flatten if the plant is underwatered, but this plant requires slightly less water than other succulents.
Soil: Cactus potting soil, or regular potting soil amended with one-third part sand.
Repotting: Repot annually in spring, or every 2 years if the growth of mature plants is so thick that it would be ruined by repotting. Propagate cuttings every few years, because older plants tend to decline.
Longevity: Up to 5 years, or indefinitely if propagated from stem cuttings.
Propagation: In early summer, take 4 in/10 cm-long stem cuttings, and press them into damp potting soil until the beads are almost covered. Keep lightly moist. New roots form quickly from the places where the beads join the stem.
Selections: A variegated form, in which the beads are sprinkled with yellow spots, is sometimes seen, but this plant is usually sold by its common name.
Display tips: Grow in a hanging basket, or in a broad dish so that the stems form a thick green groundcover over the surface.
