Succulents are an ever-popular plant choice for outdoor gardens and indoor home decor. They have interesting and unique-shaped foliage in a variety of colors, and many of them flower. Some of them grow several feet tall and add the perfect wow factor to a home’s decor or outdoor garden design. Others stay small – but not subtle – and can enhance even the smallest of spaces.

Succulents make a great choice for beginners looking for houseplants or additions to their outdoor garden. They’re easy to grow and can withstand neglect. In fact, they’re the perfect low-maintenance plants. If you like the idea of having greenery in your home but haven’t had great success with houseplants in the past, give succulents a try.

In this article, we’ll review what makes succulents the perfect plant choice for stepping up your home and garden decor, and what conditions they need to grow well indoors as houseplants or outdoors in the garden. Then we’ll have a look at some inspiring and fun design ideas for using succulents to create the perfect look wherever you choose to grow them.

What Are Succulents

A succulent is a plant that stores water in its fleshy leaves or stems. Most of them – with a few exceptions – are drought tolerant and have adapted to dry environments.

Succulents are native to a range of habitats, including deserts, grasslands (including alpine areas), and tropical regions. They each have structural and internal biological adaptations to survive the growing conditions of their specific habitats. These adaptations include differing root systems, water storage mechanisms and leaf structures. 

For the purposes of gardening, succulents can be divided into two categories: Cold hardy (outdoor) and frost tender (indoor). The difference between the two is a plant’s tolerance of frost and freezing temperatures, and whether or not it can be grown outdoors where winter temperatures drop well below freezing.

Benefits of Gardening with Succulents

As a group, succulents include several interesting varieties, and come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Some of them grow several feet tall (e.g. Snake plant or Yucca) while others form good groundcovers or grow in clumps only a few inches tall and wide (e.g. sedums or Haworthia).

Succulents add lots of visual interest and contrast to other plants in the garden and indoor spaces without demanding a lot of time on maintenance.

Easy Maintenance Plants

Succulents are easy-care plants and can tolerate some neglect, whether grown as houseplants or in the outdoor garden. They’re drought tolerant and most like to dry out between waterings, so you don’t need to stress about watering frequently. They’re also adapted to nutrient-poor soil, so remembering to fertilize them on a regular basis isn’t a worry either. Finally, they rarely need to be pruned – other than removing dead foliage – so you don’t need to be fussing over them on a regular basis.

Suitable For Many Different Hardiness Zones

Most succulents available for sale are native to arid and semi-arid regions around the world. These are the desert and grassland species. There are varieties that can be used outdoors in gardens in USDA hardiness zones from 3 to 12. There’s a variety to suit just about any outdoor garden, from desert to coastal.

Frost tolerant succulents can be grown in regions where winter temperatures drop below freezing. Frost tender varieties won’t survive outdoors at temperatures near or below freezing. Instead, they can be grown indoors as houseplants. They can be moved outdoors for the warm summer months but need to be brought back indoors in the fall.

Suitable For Different Decor and Garden Styles

Succulents come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Some have an upright architectural growth habit or tree form, others form small tight rosettes or grow in short clumps.

Upright forms are useful as a focal point in the outdoor garden or as a statement piece for indoor decor. Smaller varieties can be used to add interest in small spaces.

There are also varieties that trail or form dense ground covers. Trailing varieties can be grown in hanging baskets indoors, while groundcovers are useful to fill in open garden spaces or planted along a pathway.

Succulent coloring ranges from bright green to deep blue green to grey, pink, red and orange. Many of them are two-toned, and some change colors with the seasons.

With such a range of shapes and colors, succulents are suitable for a variety of garden styles, including Mediterranean, rock gardens, formal perennial beds and xeriscape gardens. (See below “Design Ideas For Outdoor Garden Succulents”)

Provide Several Seasons of Interest

Succulents grown outdoors add interest to the garden with their form, foliage and their flowers. Some varieties, such as Yuccas, provide architectural interest to the landscape. Many varieties have foliage that changes colors with the seasons; in spring the leaves may be bright green, and then turn brilliant shades of red with the arrival of cooler temperatures in the fall.

Most outdoor succulents produce flowers at different times of year, depending on the variety. For example, Lewisia flowers from late spring into summer, Sedum spathifolium (Pacific stonecrop) flowers in summer, and Sedum ‘Purple Emperor’ flowers from late summer through to first frost. Succulent flowers last for several weeks and are loved by bees and butterflies. With careful planning and plant selection, you can have succulents flowering in the landscape throughout the gardening season.

Succulents grown indoors as houseplants have attractive foliage and some, such as hoya and Christmas cactus, also produce attractive flowers.

Suitable for Container Gardening

Many succulents are well-suited to easy-care container gardening. Many of them have shallow root systems that can easily be accommodated in containers. With few exceptions, they’re drought-tolerant and prefer the soil to dry out between waterings.

Frost tender varieties grown in containers as houseplants can also be moved outdoors for the warm summer months, adding interest to a patio seating area or al fresco table.

Growing Conditions For Succulents

Succulents are resilient low-maintenance plants, but they aren’t fool-proof. Like any other plant grown indoors or in the outdoor garden, they need to be given the proper conditions to thrive. A gardener’s aim is to imitate the conditions of the plant’s natural habitat; the right soil, light levels and watering frequency.

Growing Conditions For Indoor Succulents 

Succulents grown indoors are those varieties that fall into the Tropical group, or those considered “frost tender”. Neither can survive temperatures near or below freezing.

Grown in containers, succulents have the following needs: 

• A container with good drainage
• Well-draining gritty soil (e.g. those mixes labelled for cacti or succulents)
• Bright indirect light or limited direct light
• Infrequent watering
• Minimal fertilizer

These are the general requirements for most succulents but, like so many things in life, there are exceptions to the rules. All succulents need proper drainage (supplied by the right type of soil and container) but their light and watering requirements vary depending on the species. 

To be sure your indoor succulents will thrive, learn each one’s Latin name (common names can be confusing) and get to know the specific needs of each variety you choose to grow.  

The Importance of the Right Container

The look of a container obviously plays a central role when designing with houseplants. You want a plant’s container to complement the style and colors of your home.

The choice of container is also the key to the health of a houseplant, especially when growing succulents. The container needs to be the right size and shape for the plant it holds. Most importantly, it needs to have proper drainage to support plant health.

When using succulents as part of your home decor and choosing  containers for them, the health of the plant always trumps container design. A dead plant isn’t a good look for any aesthetic!

Proper Drainage

Succulents should always be grown in containers that have proper drainage holes to allow excess water to flow away. Without proper drainage, water will collect at the bottom of the container, keeping the soil consistently moist, which can damage succulents’ roots. (See below, “Balancing Container Form and Function”)

Sometimes people like to grow succulents in glass containers – with no drainage – because of their clean-looking aesthetic. Glass containers may have the right look but they don’t provide ideal growing conditions for succulents. That said, you’ll at least be able to see when water’s collecting at the bottom (excessively moist soil will look darker than the dryer soil at the surface). There’s still a risk that the soil will retain too much moisture but you may be able to spot it and hold back on the watering. I’d recommend not using glass containers until you’ve become familiar with growing succulents.

Proper Material

Containers for houseplants are made from all sorts of materials, including terra cotta, natural clay, glazed ceramics and plastic. All of these materials behave differently when it comes to how the soil retains moisture.

Terra cotta (i.e. baked clay), for example, is very porous and allows moisture to readily evaporate from the soil. It’s a good choice for succulents that need the soil to dry out between waterings. In fact, you may need to water succulents in terra cotta pots more frequently than other types of containers.

Natural clay (i.e. not baked), by contrast, tends to retain moisture and the soil dries out more slowly. Glazed ceramics or plastic pots don’t breathe as well as terra cotta, so they also slow down the loss of moisture from the soil. When growing succulents in these pots, you’ll likely need to water less frequently than terra cotta pots, adding less water when you do. These pots are good choices for tropical succulents that prefer more moisture.

Moving Containers Outdoors For Summer

Succulents grown in containers indoors can be moved outdoors for the summer once nighttime temperatures are reliably and consistently above 50 F (10 C). This is often the only way you might see them flower. However, these houseplants must be gradually transitioned to the outdoors so they can adapt to their new conditions. The containers must then be brought back indoors in the fall before temperatures drop below 40 degrees F (4 C).

Growing Conditions For Outdoor Succulents

Succulents are native to a range of habitats, including deserts, grasslands (including alpine areas), and tropical regions.

Succulents grown in the garden outdoors have varying needs, depending on the variety and their cold tolerance. These needs include:

• Well-draining gritty soil
• Infrequent watering
• Minimal fertilizer
• Bright indirect light or direct sun

All succulents grown in the garden outdoors share the need for well-draining soil; soil that dries between waterings and doesn’t stay consistently moist. This is especially important for succulents growing in colder-winter regions. Wet soil makes plants more sensitive to cooler temperatures; cold and wet winter soil can be the kiss of death for succulents.

In their native habitat, most succulents grow in nutrient-poor soils. Urban garden soils will generally provide adequate support for succulent growth without the need of added fertilizer every growing season.

Applying heavy fertilizer doses won’t make succulents grow bigger, better or faster. In fact, succulents often suffer damage known as “fertilizer burn” when fertilizer is applied too frequently or in too concentrated a dose. In addition, excessive fertilizer will quickly produce weak floppy growth, particularly problematic for varieties that grow on tall erect stems.

What distinguishes outdoor succulent varieties from one another is their tolerance for intense sun and heat. The desert varieties can be planted in full sun even in zones that experience intense daytime temperatures. Alpine species will need protection from intense mid-day sun, preferring morning sun or dappled all-day sunshine. In more northerly regions, where sunlight is less intense, most succulents can tolerate direct sun most of the day.

As you can see, it’s important to be familiar with the succulent varieties you choose to grow, so you know exactly where to put them in your garden. 

Design Ideas For Indoor Succulents

Matching succulents and their containers to spice up a room is a bit of a chicken-and-egg selection process. Sometimes you have a favorite container you’d like to use and need to find a succulent to suit it. Alternatively, you might be gifted an eye-catching succulent in a boring green plastic pot, and need to find a more decorative container to plant it in.

Either way, the sort of container you choose is the key to success when growing succulents.

Balancing Container Form and Function

Sometimes, you may have that one special container that goes perfectly with your decor but the container has no drainage. You can’t plant a succulent directly into these pots, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use them.

In the world of plants, containers without drainage holes are known as ‘cache pots’ from the French ‘cache’ meaning ‘to hide’. They’re literally used to hold and hide a less attractive basic plastic plant pot.

To use a cache pot, plant your succulent into a plastic container with proper drain holes. Choose one that’s no more than an inch (2.5 cm) smaller than the diameter of the cache pot. Then sit the plastic pot inside the decorative cache pot.

After you water your succulents sitting in cache pots, you’ll need to check for standing water collecting in the bottom of the cache, to make sure the bottom of the plastic pot isn’t standing in water. This will keep the soil from staying to moist – which is not what succulents like.

Sometimes a layer of gravel is added to the bottom of the cache pot for the plastic pot to stand on. When excess water drains from the plastic pot, the gravel will hold the plastic pot above any water that collects in the cache pot. Even with a layer of gravel, you’ll still need to check that the bottom of the plastic pot is sitting over, and not in, water.

For smaller succulents, the plastic pot can be lifted out of the cache pot for watering, avoiding the worry of standing water or the need for a gravel layer. Put the plastic pot in the sink, water your succulent as usual, and when water stops draining out the bottom of the plastic pot, return it to the cache pot.

Create Groupings of Small Containers

There are many succulents such as Haworthias and Echeverias that remain small. These can be grown individually in small pots, and then used to create a grouping of several plants on a windowsill or side table.

Create a serene setting with a grouping of varieties of similar color palette (e.g. all silver grey or grey-pink) with differing shapes. Create a more vibrant collection using varieties of bright contrasting colors.

For a classic rustic look use containers of earth-based colors such as terra cotta. For a more modern clean look, use pots made of natural clay.

Group Plantings in A Single Container

Instead of creating a grouping of individual pots, plant several small succulents together in a larger container. Choose varieties of different heights, textures and colors for an eye-catching display to suit your decor.

Trailing Succulents

Trailing succulent varieties such as String-of-pearls or Donkey tail sedum are good options to dress up a bookcase or hang near a window. Planted in a standard container, they can be placed on top of a bookcase or cabinet to trail down the sides. 

They are also the perfect candidates for a hanging basket hung in front of a bright window. For a similar look, plant them in a terra cotta pot held in a hanging plant holder.

Trailing succulents can be planted in a pot placed on the floor, with a decorative trellis provided for the plant to climb onto. Succulents such as hoyas can also be grown on a moss pole. [I wrote about this in one of the philodendron articles. Could link to that.] 

Air Plants

Air plants have become a popular fixture of the houseplant market. They’re easy-care and unique-looking, making them suitable for all sorts of design styles. What makes them a unique option for home decor is their growing needs: They don’t grow in soil and need very little maintenance.

Since they don’t grow in soil, air plants offer the most options to have a little fun. For a contemporary look, they can be placed in a hanging glass terrarium. If your decor is more rustic or beachy, glue an air plant to a piece of driftwood or a seashell and sit it on a coffee table. 

You can also make a unique wreath by attaching a small grouping of air plants to a grapevine wreath along with some pieces of dried lichen.

Statement Pieces

Some succulents can grow several feet tall and make architectural show-stoppers when placed in just the right spot. Consider Cylindrical Snakeplant, with its unique spear-shaped leaves that grow up to six feet (180 cm) tall in clumps no more than 2 feet wide. 

Small individual succulent varieties, when matched with a decorative container, can stand out on a small table or desk top. Haworthia, with their striking zebra stripes, are good choices for small low-light spaces.

Plant a Living Wreath

We’re all familiar with indoor wreaths made of dried grape vines and artificial flowers, but how about a wreath made of live plants?

A living wreath is exactly what it sounds like: A wreath made of live plants. The process isn’t complicated but it can be finicky. It can also take a large number of succulents to create, depending on the size of the wreath and how full you want it to look right away.

To make a living succulent wreath, start with a sphagnum moss wreath form, either homemade or pre-purchased. The moss form is thoroughly soaked and then planted with the succulents, either as cuttings or those growing in 2-inch (5 cm) pots. Once the form is planted, it must be left flat for 4-6 weeks, to allow the succulents to root securely into the moss form. It can then be hung on a wall indoors with bright indirect light. It can also be hung outdoors during warm summer months and brought indoors in regions where winter temperatures drop below freezing.

There are plenty of succulents that grow in small tight rosettes, like Echeveria, Sempervivums, and some Crassulas and Haworthias. A living wreath can be a formal monochrome of silver-grey succulents of varying size, with different foliage forms and textures. Alternatively, several different colors and shapes, including trailing forms, can be used to add visual interest.

Design Ideas For Outdoor Garden Succulents

Succulents make great additions to outdoor gardens, especially for those challenging areas with poor-nutrient or gravelly soils that drain well where nothing else seems to grow.

There are several cold hardy varieties for gardens in more northern regions where winter temperatures drop well below freezing.

Rock Gardens

Succulents are the perfect addition to rock gardens that tend to be well-draining. Plant trailing varieties towards the front of the beds where they can trail down over the front.

Raised Beds and Rock Walls

The small pockets between the stones in a rock wall are perfect spots to add single Sempervivum rosettes. 

Xeriscape Gardens

There is growing interest in xeriscape gardens – those designed to require little or infrequent irrigation – to address gardeners’ concerns to conserve precious water resources. Succulents are the perfect choice for these low-water gardens.

In warm arid regions, plant tall succulents like yucca or agave in sunny spots and mulch around them with river rocks or decorative gravel. Use larger plant specimens as statement pieces.

Ground-cover succulents like sedums and Hens n’ Chicks can be planted in gravelled areas and along pathways. Choose soft shades of grey-blue and smokey pinks for a serene vibe or use chartreuse greens and burgundies to liven up a sunny space around a shaded seating area. Mix shapes and colors for visual interest.

Mixed Perennial Beds

Succulents can be incorporated into garden beds with other perennials as long as they’re paired with plants that like the same conditions i.e. that are drought-tolerant and don’t need a lot of fertilizer. For example, pair the tall Sedum ‘Purple Emperor’ or short October Daphne stonecrop (Sedum sieboldii) with silver-leaved perennials like lavender, artemisia and dianthus.

Other Design Ideas

• Use hypertufa containers for a natural rustic look. The cement-grey coloring offsets succulents. Small containers easy to move in and out with the seasons
• Turn a terra cotta pot on its side and bury half of it. Plant succulents inside and trailing out the front
• Plant a cement bird bath with soil mounded in the centre to improve drainage. This option is best for regions with low rainfall, or place the bird bath under cover so you can control how much water it receives.
• Create a dry river bed with stones, and plant succulents on either side. Use mass plantings of single varieties for greater visual impact