Common succulents have become extremely popular as houseplants over the last few years. And, there’s a good reason for this. They’re extremely easy to grow, even for beginners.
Succulent plants hold water in their leaves so they can survive quite some time without any additional water. So, if you happen to forget to water your plants for a few weeks, your succulents will be the ones to survive the neglect.
In fact, the only way you can kill succulents is by giving them too much water. You see, their roots don’t tolerate having wet feet and this will encourage root rot. Therefore, the most important thing to remember is to always let the soil dry out completely before you give your succulents any water.
For this reason, you should grow all succulents in a very well-drained potting mix that does not stay wet for long. The pots you’re growing in should have drainage holes and your plants should never sit in a saucer of water.
If you get these things right, you’ll have happy growing succulents for many years. And, because there are so many succulent varieties to choose from, succulent collecting could become an obsession.
To get you started, here are the best types of succulent plants that are easy to grow.
Aeonium
Aeonium is a group of succulents that varies from small plants to tall plants that have the rosettes form on the end of long stems. You can grow them outdoors as well as indoors easily because they require very little care and maintenance.
Anacampseros
Anacampseros is a small group of perennial succulent plants that are native to Southern Africa. They are low-growing plants which make great groundcovers in a rock garden.
African Milk Tree (Euphorbia trigona)
This attractive succulent plant can grow up to 3 feet tall when grown in a pot. It has tall, upright stems that are triangular in shape. These stems have short, sharp spines. The stems also have small green leaves. Be aware that the plant does exude a milky sap when cut. This can irritate the skin.
This succulent has never been known to flower but is grown for its colorful stems and leaves. There is also a red cultivar known as Euphorbia trigona cv. Royal Red. This cultivar has reddish stems and produces dark red leaves.
Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis)
Aloe vera is one of the most popular succulent types that people grow both indoors and out in the garden. It produces a cluster of slender stems from a very short trunk at the base. Aloe vera is very adept at producing offsets that can be used to propagate new plants.
Aloe vera plant is one of the easiest succulents to grow especially as a houseplant. It does like to be kept fairly dry and likes a bright spot near a window. The sap that is produced when you cut one of the leaves is well known for its healing qualities both for wounds and sunburn. Just watch out for those sharp spines on the edges of the leaves.
Baby’s Necklace (Crassula cv. ‘Baby Necklace’)
This cultivar was produced by combining Crassula perforate with Crassula rupestris var marnieriana. The resulting plant has small, rounded leaves that form rosettes on top of each other. The leaves are green with rose tinged edges. As the rosette stems grow taller, they resemble the beading of a necklace.
These bead-like stems grow to about 1 foot in height. It’s an easy succulent to grow and makes a stunning addition to any succulent collection. Baby’s necklace likes to be kept quite dry and will grow well in bright light.
Baby Toes
Baby toes plants or Fenestraria rhopalophylla are delightful little easy-to-grow succulents. They require minimal watering and partial sunlight. They are ideal for growing indoors next to your windows.
Bear’s Paw (Cotyledon tomentosa)
This is a cute, fuzzy-looking succulent that is a must for anyone’s collection. It has small fuzzy-looking leaves that are shaped like a bear-s paw complete with short, red spines on the end that resemble toe nails.
The leaves are thumb-sized and feel soft to the touch as they’re covered with a soft down. In spring, the plant produces large, bell-shaped orange flowers. This is a low-growing succulent making it ideal for growing in a pot. It likes really good drainage, plenty of airflow and bright light.
Black Doran Aloe (Aloe hybrid)
This is an Aloe hybrid with whitish-green leaves. The leaves appear speckled in cream and green. It’s a slow-growing succulent and produces offshoots that can easily be used to propagate new plants.
This Aloe hybrid is great for growing indoors in a bright, sunny spot. It does handle part shade too. Like all succulents, the potting soil should be allowed to dry out in between watering. The plant produces orange-red flowers that are bell-shaped.
Blue Chalksticks (Senecio talinoides subs. mandraliscae)
Blue chalksticks is another hybrid that is very popular among succulent growers. It is drought tolerant and grows equally well in a pot as it does outdoors in a rock garden. The plant produces short leaves that branch from the base. These leaves are pale blue-green in color and have a waxy white coating.
When blue chalksticks produces flowers, they appear on slightly longer stems and the blooms are quite small and yellow in color. When growing in a pot, let the soil dry out before watering. In the winter, the plant likes to be kept quite dry. Propagation is by stem cuttings.
Blue Glow Agave (Agave attenuata x Agave ocahui)
This is a stunning Agave with a very symmetrical rosette growth pattern. It has blue-green leaves that are fringed with a reddish-brown. It can grow up to 2 feet high and 3 feet wide.Each leaf has a short, sharp spine on the end.
The Agave attenuata is ideal for growing in a pot as it grows quite slowly and won’t need repotting too often. It prefers to grow in filtered shade or in a spot that receives partial sun such as morning sun. This plant is also extremely cold-hardy and can survive temperatures down to 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-6 degrees Celsius).
Burro’s Tail (Sedum burrito)
As one of the most popular string of plants, this is a delightful succulent suitable for hanging planters due to its trailing form. Each stem is tightly packed with small round fleshy leaves and can reach a length of 3 feet. The leaves do fall off easily so it’s best to not handle the plant too much.
Burro’s tail prefers a bright spot and needs to be left to dry out in between watering. This plant blooms in the summer when pink buds form on the tips of the stems. The flowers are only small and not very spectacular as this plant is mainly grown for its interesting trailing form.
Calico Hearts (Adromischus maculatus)
Calico hearts succulent is an interesting low-growing succulent with small, paddle-shaped leaves that are plump and fleshy. The leaves are green with “chocolate” spots. This gives the plant a marbled appearance.
In summer, the plant produces long flower stems with small tubular flowers that are yellowish-green with pale pink or mauve margins. However, when grown indoors, this plant rarely flowers. It prefers bright, indirect light and is particularly sensitive to overwatering.
California Sunset (x Graptosedum ‘California Sunset’)
This is a lovely colorful succulent to add to your collection. It forms symmetrical rosettes with orangish-pink leaves just like the colors in a sunset. New growth usually starts out with gray green leaves before developing the brighter orange or red colors.
As is the case with a lot of succulents, the colors of the leaves change when the plant is allowed to dry out or if exposed to colder temperatures in winter. This plant prefers bright light and should be allowed to dry out before watering.
Campfire Plant (Crassula capitella)
The campfire plant produces loosely-formed rosettes on fairly longish stems. The leaves change from apple green to dark red when grown in full sunlight. In cold climates, it’s best to grow this succulent indoors as it’s not cold tolerant.
Century Plant (Agave americana)
The century plant is one of the most commonly grown Agave plants around the world. It produces the typical rosettes of long, fleshy leaves with sharp spines around the edges. This plant is extremely hardy and can be grown either outdoors in a rock garden or in a large terracotta pot.
Christmas Carol Aloe (Aloe hybrid)
This Aloe hybrid produces star-shaped rosettes with dark green leaves that are edged with red spikes. The leaves also have red spots that are raised making this plant an interesting and colorful addition to any succulent collection.
Crinkle-Leaf Plant (Adromischus cristatus)
This delightful little succulent is easy to grow and perfect for beginners. It produces rosettes of triangular-shaped leaves that have crinkly edges. The leaves are also covered in small tiny hairs. The plant prefers at least 4 hours of full sun daily and needs to dry out before being watered.
Crown-of-Thorns (Euphorbia milii)
The crown-of-thorns is a popular houseplant that flowers all year around, although the flowers are actually colorful bracts that look like petals. It has a shrubby form with densely packed dark green leaves that grow along multiple branched stems. These stems have sharp thorns. If growing this plant indoors, keep it away from pets as it’s highly toxic.
Fairy Tongue (Crassula exilis ssp. schmidtii)
This flowering succulent produces thin fleshy green leaves on long red stems. The pink flowers or red flowers are produced in clusters on the ends of the stems. This is a low-growing succulent and only reaches a height of around 8 inches.
Flaming Katy (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana)
This popular houseplant has fleshy, bright green leaves that can be a little brittle. It produces a mass of pink to red flowers that can last for up to two months. The flowers mainly appear in late winter but individual plants have been known to bloom at other times of the year as well.
Graptoveria
Graptoveria is a hybrid succulent between Graptopetalum and Echeveria.
Growing Graptoveria will give you beautiful rosettes that make a wonderful addition to your succulent collection.
Greenovia
Greenovia succulents resemble rosebuds. Their leaf color varies from green to light pink depending on the cultivars and how much sun exposure they receive.
Haworthia-Leaved Aloe (Aloe haworthioides)
This interesting-looking Aloe has tiny white hairs that cover the long green leaves. The leaves form small rosettes and in summer, tall flower stems grow that produce peach-orange flowers. This plant is extremely hardy and easy to grow.
Hens and Chicks (Echeveria elegans)
This cute little succulent produces flat rosettes. The leaves have rounded edges. It’s called hens and chicks because multiple offshoots are produced from the mother plant. This succulent produces lovely bell-shaped blooms.
Jade Plant (Crassula ovata)
The jade plant (sometimes known as lucky plant and money plant) is one of the easiest succulents to grow. It produces a tallish stem that often branches. The glossy green leaves can be tinged with red around the edges. This red coloring forms when the plant is exposed to sunlight.
As a crassula succulent houseplant, jade plants grow to around a foot tall but the plant can grow much taller if grown outside in the ground. Alternatively, you can also grow a dwarf jade plant as a bonsai indoors.
Panda Plant (Kalanchoe tomentosa)
The panda plant is not your typical Kalanchoe. Instead this plant produces long, fleshy leaves that are covered with fine white hairs. The edges of the leaves sport bright reddish-brown spots. This succulent likes to grow in bright light and needs to dry out before being watered. Make sure you don’t get any water on the leaves or they may rot.
Paddle Plant (Kalanchoe luciae)
The paddle plant produces rosettes of large paddle-shaped leaves on short stems that start out being apple light green. However, when the plant is exposed to full sunlight, the leaves turn a striking rosy-red. The plant produces multiple offsets from the base that can be used to propagate new plants.
Ponytail Palm (Beaucarnea recurvata)
The ponytail palm is a succulent, although it looks a little like a palm tree with its thick woody trunk and very long, trailing dark green leaves. Although a slow grower, the ponytail palm can reach a height of around 4 feet when grown indoors in a pot. This plant prefers a bright spot, low humidity and relatively warm temperatures.
Propeller Plant (Crassula falcata)
This plant has an interesting form. The thick fleshy leaves grow opposite each other at an angle so that they look like the propeller on an airplane. The flowers are produced at the tops of the stems in large clusters of small red blooms.
Purple Beauty (Sempervivum tectorum var. Purple Beauty)
This delightful little succulent produces rosettes of dark purple leaves when exposed to full direct sunlight. It would make a colorful addition to an indoor succulent garden. It can also be grown outdoors as it’s extremely frost-hardy.
Red Ice Plant (Drosanthemum speciosum)
The red ice plant is an extremely easy succulent to grow both indoors and out in the rock gardens. It’s the perfect ground cover plant because it spreads readily. It has long stems with thin, fleshy leaves that grow opposite each other. The ice plants flower profusely during spring and summer with either orange, red, pink or yellow flowers.
Short-Leaved Aloe (Aloe brevifolia)
This attractive aloe has triangular leaves that form broad rosettes. The leaves are generally blue-green but will take on a red tinge when exposed to sunlight. There are sharp, white spines on the edges around the leaves. It can grow up to 2 feet tall when grown outdoors.
Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata)
The snake plant is a tough houseplant that is virtually indestructible. It produces very long, relatively, flat succulent leaves that are dark green and often edged in yellow. The leaves can also be mottled with cream giving them a zebra-stripe appearance. Snake plants will tolerate low light conditions but prefer to grow in medium to bright light when possible.
Sticks on Fire (Euphorbia tirucalli ‘Rosea’)
This popular cultivar of the pencil tree is a tall-growing shrub that produces many loosely branching upright stems that are pencil thin. The tip ends of the stems of the red pencil tree are a golden-red color but this fades to yellow in summer. Then in winter, the stems change back to their red color. This succulent is often used as a striking landscape plant. Be aware though, that the plant is toxic and the milky sap can cause skin irritation and even burning.
String of Bananas (Senecio radicans)
This is one of the best hanging succulents that is suited to growing in hanging baskets. It produces long trailing stems that have many banana-shaped succulent leaves.
String of bananas succulent is quite happy growing in partial shade and prefers the potting soil to dry out before more water is added.
String of Pearls (Senecio rowleyanus)
Like the “string of bananas”, this succulent is ideally suited to growing in a hanging pot. It has the same long trailing stems except the leaves are round and look like peas. Unlike many other plants, this succulent species grows during the winter months and goes dormant over summer. This is important to remember when watering because dormant plants only need to be watered once a month or less.
Succulent Bush Senecio (Senecio barbertonicus)
This succulent can grow quite tall into a shrub if grown outdoors. It can reach a height of 6 feet. The plant produces woody upright stems with a mass of pencil-like leaves that start out also growing upright. This plant does produce fragrant flowers that are yellow.
Tiger Tooth Aloe (Aloe juvenna)
Unlike many other species of Aloe, this plant produces tall stems of leaves in a rosette. The leaves are quite small compared to other varieties but they have sharp spines right around the edges. Additionally the leaves are mottled in green and cream. This plant is quite cold-hardy and tolerates temperature down to 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-6 degrees Celsius).
Tom Thumb (Crassula hybrid)
This cute little succulent belongs in everyone’s collection. It’s a hybrid and only grows about 6 inches tall. The plant produces small triangular leaves that are arranged on the stems opposite each other. The leaves are mint green with red edges. The red color is more apparent when the plant is grown in sunlight. In spring, this succulent produces clusters of tiny white flowers on the ends of the stems.
Topsy Turvy Plant (Echeveria runyonii)
This is a fast-growing succulent that produces large rosettes with multiple leaves. The leaves are ovate-shaped and curl under on the edges. However, the tips of the leaves curl upward toward the center of the plant. The plant produces long flower stems with yellow or orange star-shaped flowers.
Watch Chain (Crassula muscosa)
This succulent is commonly called a watch chain for a reason. It produces upright stems of small leaves that are tightly packed and the stems really do look like the link chains on a watch band. The plant grows well indoors in bright light and prefers the moist soil to dry out before more water is given.
Zebra Haworthia (Haworthia fasciata)
The zebra haworthia (Haworthia fasciata) is an easy succulent to grow indoors in a pot. It has long upright thick leaves that form a loose rosette. The leaves are dark green with white “zebra” stripes. This succulent is low-growing and only reaches a height of about 5 inches.
Haworthia succulent prefers to grow on a bright window sill with lots of indirect light. It’s important to let the soil dry out before giving the plant more water.
Conclusion
These different types of succulents would make your collection amazing to look at. Many of these plants are drought tolerant and low maintenance. You can also use succulent fertilizer or cactus fertilizer to encourage their growth.
Also check more types of cactus plants you can grow.
Must read:
- How to care for succulents
- How to propagate succulents
- How to fertilize succulents
- How to water succulents