Indoor Succulents
Plants are an easy way to add a little life and beauty to your home or office. But without the proper care, you may find yourself cycling through different varieties more frequently than you’d like. Thankfully, succulents are very easy to take care of and require very little to thrive.
We’ve rounded up seven types of indoor succulents perfect for any skill level, including crown of thorns, aloe, jade, and Christmas cactus. Not sure where to start once you bring your succulents home? We’re here to help with simple tips—like how much and how often you should water—to keep your plants happy and healthy indoors. Check out the infographic below to learn more.
Designing with Succulents Outside
Imagine this…..You love overflowing containers and window boxes, but hate to water and/or forget to water! Then, succulents are for you. The colors, textures, and shapes of the succulent world are so varied and colorful that you won’t ever miss your petunia containers. Window boxes in full sun are a snap to put together, especially if you go on vacation for a couple of weeks and don’t want to be tied to a watering regimen or install drip irrigation.
Don’t get me wrong. Succulents do require watering and will thrive if you supply it regularly while growing. But if you forget……they are very forgiving and will bounce right back.
Container Selection
When putting together a succulent creation, rethink everything you know about regular potted containers. The depth of the container can be very shallow as the root run of most succulents is small. They store all their water in their stems and leaves and don’t require a large root system. So, think of a shallow container like an old enameled wash tub with drainage holes or a table with a 2 inch deep cavity for plants. Don’t forget generous sized drainage holes.
Even a tall succulent of three to four feet will have shallow roots of two to three inches below grade. So, for succulent containers, I look for heavy ceramic containers with a shallow draft, only about 6 inches or less deep.
My succulents in my greenhouse that I over-winter and plant out in containers in the spring
Thriller, Filler, & Spiller
We’ve all heard the mantra of Thriller, Filler, & Spiller, and it applies to regular containers as well as succulent ones. I usually build the container around the thriller, the big upright that makes the container, and then choose the filler and spiller to complement it.
Soil Medium
The biggest mistake you can make with succulents is a heavy potting mix that hold too much water. Forget those succulent/cactus mixes that you see for sale at the nursery. They are too expensive and you can easily come up with your own for a fraction of the cost. Porous, well draining potting mix is so important to the success of your succulents, that I can’t over emphasize this. It is really easy for a succulent to rot in the home of an over zealous waterer!
- Â 3 parts good potting soil
- Â 2 parts coarse sand or turface or stone dust (turface is a calcine clay product used to improve drainage and reduce compactation and is available on Amazon); if you keep chickens, you can add poultry grit instead
- Â 1 part perlite
- Â For top dressing, you can use gravel, pumice, or colored glass
Keep Them Happy
- Let the soil medium dry between waterings (this depends on the heat and sun that the containers are receiving)
- Keep them in full sun
- Most succulents are frost tender, so only keep them out after frost is over for the spring and bring them in when cold (in the thirties) threatens
- Plant succulents with other plants that require little water, like grasses or silver leaved perennials, such as Lambs Ears or Angel Wings
- Elevate your containers with pot feet so that the water can drain quickly
- To over winter your succulents, bring them in when frost threatens and keep them in your sunniest window and stop watering! I water them about once a month while inside during the winter when growth slows down to a crawl; slowly increase your watering as spring approaches
A great variety of texture in a container
