Succulents For Beginners

Firstly, I have to say  succulents are simple adorable! They come in all shapes and sizes and are incredibly resilient little things. They have become so popular lately and are now appearing in bridal bouquets, home decor and can even be given as stunning homemade gifts!

Succulents for beginners

CALLING ALL PLANT MURDERERS!

Do you love the idea of house plants or garden flower beds but have a bad case of the black thumb? Then succulents might be for you! What’s better than living art that virtually takes care of itself?!

How To Keep Succulents

Planting

The key to planting succulents is proper drainage. They can thrive in virtually any container but without sufficient drainage your succulent will die  from sitting in soggy soil. If your chosen container does not have drainage holes or where holes cannot be drilled, a pebble drainage system must exist. Placing pebbles beneath the soil in the bottom of your container will allow water to run out of the soil so it can dry out. Succulents tend to have shallow roots and small containers are best. If planting in a large container I would advise you to use some form of filler. The more soil in the container, the longer it will take to dry out. See below for some pretty planting ideas.

Care

Just because Cacti are part of the succulent family don’t assume all varieties can withstand extremely hot conditions. Succulents like bright sunlight but NOT direct sunlight. This is important as they will scorch! These little guys are built to withstand drought and only need to be watered whenever the soil has completely dried out from the last watering. If you can’t tell when it’s time, stick your finger in the soil to make sure. Try to water the soil not the plant. Be gentle, don’t flood it!

Propagation

There aren’t many flowers that will flourish elsewhere when snipped from the original! This is what I love about succulents – they are super easy to multiply! You can read about succulent propagation here.

My Succulent Babies

My Succulents

My Succulents 1

Get Creative!

MySucculents2

 

MySucculents3

My Succulents

There is no end to the quirky solutions you can find for planting succulents. My personal favorite is the teacup! This one was accidental as I purchased more plants than I had containers. I was enjoying an espresso from this days before. Until I find a dainty porcelain tea cup, in it he will stay! Both of glass containers came from Dollar Tree (!) and the green geometric vase and glass saucer are more clearance section finds. The green vase reminded me of a huge terrarium we had growing up that I despised but of course now wish I had!

Plant them in Mason jars and give as a gift or hollow out a narrow strip in some driftwood to create a nifty window sill garden, the possibilities are endless.

Let me know in the comments if you suffer from obsessive succulove. Even better, let me know how you’ve planted them!

 

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Succulents For Beginners

 

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    • Yes it does! With nowhere to go the water remains in the soil drowning the plant! It may have turned squishy before giving up?

    • Yes! They really do help. If you have a hole in the bottom of your container, it help to let the water through thehole(s). If you don’t have holes, it will allow the water to drain down to the area of the pebbles and not stay in the dirt giving your succulents to get to much water. If you don’t have drainage, charcoal helps to draw the moisture out of the soil faster.

  • Obsessive succulove–to be perfectly honest with you, I had no idea what they were until I read this post. I am not much of a gardener. I enjoy going to them, but am not that good in the department of growing them. My husband takes care of all that. I, for some reason, tend to kill everything!

  • As a plant murderer, I had to smile at your headline. I love the idea of a succulent in a teacup. Do they have to be transplanted often?

    • If you are worried about that then place them in a bigger and wider container, if you like that idea then they can be propagated often.

  • Ever since I moved to California, I have become obsessed with succulents! This post was extremely informative especially for a beginner like myself!

  • I think my succulent died because the pot was too large. I’m going to try again and see if that helps. I’m better with design, not giving green life actual life lol.

  • I have a huge Succulent obsession! I’ve got 7 Aloe Vera Plants and 3 Cactus’ as well! I keep the Cactus’ in the bathroom so they can absorb steam from the shower, and my aloe veras live in my bedroom in front of the window with plenty of sun. 3 Of them actually flowered for the first time last year! They have such pretty flowers! 🙂

  • I have a black thumb! I loved that you acknowledged it because this didn’t look as scary. And one of the reasons I have been killing plants is because of the drainage system. I am going to pay attention to that in the future.

  • I remember having a couple of cacti that I took care of when I was in college. I now know why it died (it went squishy on me :(). If I get a succulent (because I always saw them but didn’t know their name) I am gonna refer to this post.

  • I don’t have a green thumb AT ALL, but I’m super into making my house a home and feel that house plants play an integral part in this. These don’t seem terrible hard to keep alive and they are super cute. I’ll have to follow your advice closely!

  • I am definitely a plant murderer…unfortunately 🙁 I try so hard but they usually don’t last. I have never had a succulent before though! This sounds like the perfect option for me!

  • I got a succulent (I think it’s an aloe plant) as a gift fro ma friend that has visited Barcelona. It’s actually inside a mug that it’s a fridge magnet. I keep it on my desk however, as it falls if I put it on the fridge. I think it started to grow in the past few days. I keep watering it and think with horror on how to move it from the small magnet to a proper pot. I am a well known plant killer and I wouldn’t want to kill this one too. One of the leaves has turned brown and I don’t know what to do… should I cut it?

    • Don’t water it if the soil is still moist, wait until it dries a bit. The dead leaf can be gently removed, just wiggle it gently until it detaches.

  • I am a florist in my day job and we definitely have more and more brides wanting them in their bouquets now. There so cute i really like then. Some great care tips here, thankyou x

  • I have few, they look great as decoration. Previously I failed to keep them alive but later I learned the lesson. I suggest to anyone to plant these. 🙂

  • Oh these are beautiful! I love how pretty they are in the teacups! I will definitely have to try these! I dont have much of a green thumb but think I can handle this!

  • I just love succulents!! My SIL did these as a favor for my bridal shower with a “let love grow” tag, and everything looked so nice. I’ve done a pretty good job keeping my couple alive, so now I’m getting cocky and want to get a few more of the ones you shared!!

    Meg, Borrowed Heaven

  • Very nicely written piece with great info. This right here is in itself such a great tip – “Placing pebbles beneath the soil in the bottom of your container will allow water to run out of the soil so it can dry out”

  • I have never planted plants but your tips are really helpful. I love the idea of planting in a tea cup. It looks very cute.

  • I’ve tried to grow succulents but it died after few years!! but i will try with your idea , thanks for sharing

  • Succulent in a teacup is cute! Lately, I’ve been wanting to have plants at home but our small space constraints. These succulents made my hopes went high again.

  • I love all your photos. I am crazy for succulents also and love planting them in glass terrariums for overwintering the tender ones. The rest of the year I have them outside. I plant them in hypertufa containers for outside.

    • The pebbles on top are purely decorative. They aren’t essential. If your planter doesn’t have a drainage hole then there should always be stones in the soil to help with drainage.

  • I love planting little succulents in lightbulbs and. Hanging them up, its really cute and a greatt way to recycle the bulbs rather than them just endig up in landfill

  • Hi I started planting succulents last summer but I never took them in for the winter, will the come back and can I jut cut the dead plants off? Also is it ok to replant them in April for growth throughout the summer?

    • Chances are they are gone for good, I’m afraid. If they become soaked with rain they can drown/rot and if they are shriveled they definitely won’t propagate. If they are any healthier cuttings, you could try at least. I would suggest starting from scratch and getting some new ones. April is fine for outdoors. Indoors you can keep them all year round easily.

  • Very beautiful plants. I tend to stick to bog type plants because I stick them to in a cup of water and forget them. My only exception is a pepper plant that is fruiting. After this tutorial, I may give succulents a try too.

  • I am new at succulents, and starting to propagate them! I’ve read alot about how to do this and hope it works! I have a Jade that I’m trying my luck with too. I have one problem, we are leaving on vacation to Florida last week of April and coming back after 1st week of may, we live in Michigan and I don’t know what to do about them. Know they won’t make it while we’re gone cause I won’t be here to take care of them. Do you have any suggestions of what I can do. I know I should have waited till we got back to do this, but didn’t think about it, I was so excited. Help!!

    • Once they are in a bright place (but out of DIRECT sunlight) they should get enough light. If you water them the day you leave they should make it. I only water mine every two weeks or longer if the soil hasn’t fully dried. They shouldn’t completely kick the bucket in such a short time. They may lean a little in order to get more light but I’m not entirely convinced they will die!

  • Hi! I have a question about the cute glass container with the white rocks….how does that one work with no drainage? It is so adorable!!

    • The layer of pebbles will drain the water out of the soil before eventually evaporating. That way the roots won’t sit in soggy soil and it’ll have a chance to dry out. It’s always better to have something with drainage but sometimes they call for impractical yet impossibly cute planter options ?

  • I am just beginningwith my succulent gardening and I made the mistake to plant a grouping in a large pot. It has a drainage hole but I think the soil will still remain too wet. They have been in the pot for 3 days. It it ok to remove them, fill half he pot with gravel and then re plant?

    Thanks.

  • I’ve recently become a hoarder of succulents…have taken some photos to upload. I still have some new additions to plant up. While most are in semi shade some are planted by the side of the pond in pots and others directly in the soil surrounding. The pots are in full sun and the others are partially shaded by a small Japanese maple. Some have flowered madly this year.

  • I love succulents but i tried so many times tokeep them alive but no use. Now after i read ur post i try again and show u if i pass or not

  • I really got into succulents this summer. I have several on my front
    porch and they are doing great. I’m worried about bringing them inside
    for the winter. I don’t know if they’ll get enough light and if they’re going
    to live until I can take them back outside in the spring.

  • I love my succulents!!! I live in Nebraska, so 5-6 months they need to live inside.
    My succulents thrived while they were outside. Once they made the move to the indoors they slowly started dying. They are under a grow light about 6-8 hours a day and I am not good at remembering to water, that’s why we get along so well (as long as they are outside). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

  • Amy,
    I get the idea of taking care of succulents, but how do you plant them. Are they covered with soil, one end, or left on top of the soil?

  • Thank you so much for this article!!! I wish I’d read it before I nearly killed my succulent in the sun! But, she’s back in the shade on the front porch with tons of indirect sunlight, and is doing much better!! Also the clippings I trimmed off, are doing great in a tiny pot in my window sill!!