20 Types of Succulents you Can Grow at Home

Succulents are plant types that are easy to grow. They require little water or care. If you love house plants but lacked success growing them in the past, your luck can change with these hardy plants that are hard to kill. We put together a list of recommendations for the twenty best types of succulents that you can grow at home with a minimum amount of work. These are nearly fool-proof plants that can enhance the beauty of any home. We also describe each plant and provide a small care guide with simple instructions to give you an idea of what to expect.

1. Jade Plant

Espoma experts recommend the Jade Plant for beginning indoor gardeners who desire house plants that are easy to grow with little effort required. The Jade plant originates in South Africa. It is an attractive plant with green leaves that have a glossy finish. The trick to growing a Jade plant successfully is to make sure it gets plenty of bright light exposure. Only water the plant when the solid feels dry. Over-watering is the quickest way to kill a Jade plant.

2. Crown of Thorns

The Crown of Thorn is a colorful plant that blooms profusely. It can blossom all months of the year. The flowers are tiny with yellow and red bracts around them. This plant thrives on direct sunlight. It does the best when you place it in a sunny window. Water the plant when the soil feels dry, as with most succulents. It will add color to any room.

3. Panda Plant

Panda Plants are among the most unique of all succulent plant types. The plants have tiny white hairlike growths that make them look fuzzy. The Panda plant is native to the country of Madagascar. It thrives on dry air and does exceptionally well in winter homes, where the air is heated and dry. You only water this plant when the leaves show signs that the plant needs water. If they shrivel, you’ve waited too long. When the soil in the pot or container is dry, then water to keep the soil moist, but do not over-water it.

4. Zebra Plant

The Zebra Plant gets its name from the stripe that covers its leaves in a horizontal pattern. This plant reaches a height of five inches with a width of six inches. The Zebra Plant is an attractive plant that requires moderate sunlight and water. Keep it in a sunny window, but protect it from exposure to freezing temperatures on frosty mornings. Water the plant when the soil feels dry.

5. Echeveria

The Echeveria plant is a native of many desert regions. It thrives in dry and hot climates. You should only water this plant after the soil becomes dry. It needs good drainage and requires exposure to full sunlight. Like most other succulents, you can grow it indoors if you set it in a sunny window.

6. Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera is one of the best succulents because of its healing properties. Its medicinal value has made it one of the most prized plants since the days of antiquity. The leaves grow in spikes that have a jelly-like substance. The gel promotes healings of cuts, scrapes, abrasions, bug bites, and burns. This plant needs full sunlight and only needs water when the leaves are dry and begin to become brittle. The plant can grow large and often puts off tiny shoots that grow in the container. You can propagate them to start a new Aloe Vera plant for transfer to a different container.

7. Ponytail Palm

Better Homes and Gardens suggests that a Pony Tail Palm is a good choice for indoor gardeners with a high ceiling. This succulent is easy to grow. It keeps growing until it reaches between 12 to 20 feet. It is an impressive tree with a long woody trunk with leaves that resemble later growing at the top. If you grow this plant indoors, it usually reaches only four feet maximum. They store water on its bulbous base. This plant needs to be in a place that gets a lot of bright light. It also needs warm temperatures and low humidity. It only needs water when parched because it stores water in the reserve bulb. This plant does most of its growth during the summer months.

8. Hens and Chicks

Hens and Chicks are succulents that keep growing to form new plants. You can raise this attractive succulent indoors or outdoors. The plant forms bloom each year that look like bells. This plant comes in different leaf shapes and it’s one of the most interesting to grow. Plant a few different varieties and you’ll get various leaf and flower shapes. Like other succulents, these plants need little care. They need light to grow and thrive and require watering only when the soil becomes extremely dry to the touch. Avoid over-watering because too much water will kill this plant.

9. Christmas Cactus

The Christmas Cactus is a safe type of cactus that you can grow indoors even if you have pets and small children. None of the spines it forms are sharp. The stems of this plant are flat and fleshy and they grow in segments up to a few feet long. The segments may spill over the side of the planter, which makes it an attractive plant. Unlike most other succulents, it needs a bit more water, but it only needs to be watered when the top layer of soil feels dry to the touch. Still, it’s forgiving of neglect and it will bounce back if you let it get a bit too dry. This plant blooms in the wintertime with various colors of blooms. It’s always a treat when it produces flowers. It requires bright light to thrive, so keep it near a window that receives a lot of sunlight. You can also use artificial grow lights if there isn’t much sunlight where you live.

10. Burro’s Tail

The Burro’s Tail is sometimes called a Donkey’s Tail. It is a succulent that is ideal for use in a hanging basket because it puts offshoots that trail downward. The stems grow to a maximum length of three feet, loaded with leaves that are grayish-green in color. Each leaf is the shape and size of rice grain with a slight sheen that wipes off if you touch it. Beware that the leaves are fragile, so this is a succulent that you should plant then suspend to keep it out of the reach of children and curious pets. This plant originates in the country of Mexico and it thrives in bright light conditions. it only requires watering when the soil becomes very dry.

11. Snake Plant

The Snake Plant is a popular succulent for growing indoors. This is one of the hardest plants to kill unless you’re trying. It doesn’t require a lot of water or light to survive. It’s an attractive succulent with pointed leaves that are stiff and thick. They grow directly upwards reaching a maximum height of three feet. You can find this succulent in various patterns and markings on the leaves that make it an attractive addition to any indoor garden. Older plants multiply into a thick clump that may require dividing, but it just gives you more beautiful plants to distribute in various parts of your home. This plant is tolerant o low light, but you will get the most attractive-looking plants if you keep them in light that is medium to bright in intensity. They only need to be watered when the soil feels dry.

12. African Milk Tree

The African Milk Tree is a succulent that grows up to three feet in height when grown indoors. If you live in a hot dry environment, it can grow outdoors up to nine feet in height at full maturity. It’s an attractive plant with branched stems that are triangular shaped with short thorns lining the stems. This plant needs to be kept out of the reach of small children and pets because the thorns are very sharp. The systems are green but they grow leaves that have a tinge of red color. This is a beautiful house plant that is in the same family as the poinsettia. If you pick the leaves, a milky-looking sap flows out. It can irritate the skin, so be sure to wash it off. This plant requires a lot of bright natural light. you must also keep the soil moist, but not wet for it to thrive. Although it’s called an African Milk Tree, it’s not a tree at all.

13. Blue Chalk Stick

Gardener’s Path recommends the Blue Chalk Stik as a lovely addition to your indoor plant succulent garden. This plant is difficult to propagate, but it can be done by taking a cutting of wet stems and dipping them in rooting hormone, and placing the cutting in sandy potting soil for succulents. It requires gritty soil to three and produces leaves that are finger-like with a dusky blue color. The leaves can grow to a length of one foot. You can prune the leggy stems of this plant without damaging it to prevent overgrowth. It blooms in the spring with blossoms that put off a lovely fragrance. It can be grown indoors or outdoors in zones 10 through 11. Blue chalk stick is a bit temperamental when it comes to propagation. We haven’t had much luck in my family. You may try dipping a fresh, wet leaf or leaf/stem cutting into a powdered rooting hormone before placing it into sandy, well-drained cactus/succulent potting medium, or gritty soil.

14. Aeonium

Aeonium is also known as a Houseleek. It is a succulent plant type that forms woody stems with lovely rosettas. There are several kinds of Aeonium so you can collect a variety of them with different leaf shapes. Some types grow to more than three feet in height at full maturity. You can grow them either indoors or outdoor if you live in zones 9 through 11. This plant thrives on sunshine and only needs watering when the soil becomes dry.

15. String of Pearls

The String of Pearls plant is a succulent that is grown in outdoor gardens in hanging pots in zones 9 through 12. It also makes an attractive houseplant. The plant grows long cascading strings with round pearl-shaped leaves that earned it the name string of pearls. This plant requires a little more care, but not much. It requires a small amount of fertilizer, but too much will make it overgrow quickly. You will need to refresh the potting soil once per year and will likely need to transfer it to a larger pot. If grown outdoors on the ground it makes a lovely ground cover. This is a versatile plant that produces tiny white blossoms from long stamens that are exceptionally long-lasting, visually beautiful, and fragrant.

16. Pencil Cactus

The Balcony Garden Web lists the Pencil Cactus as an indoor succulent for a room with a tall ceiling. This is a stylish succulent that originates in the country of Africa. it can grow up to six feet in height with pencil-shaped stems that branch out with a sparse yet decorative pattern. This forgiving houseplant only needs to be watered every few weeks. It thrives when placed near a sunny window in gritty soil in a container with good drainage. You should prepare to repot this plant once per year to prevent it from becoming rootbound because of its rapid growth.

17. Kalanchoe Bossfeldiana

Kalanchoe blossfeldiana is a succulent that is versatile for growing outdoors in warm climates or indoors. It comes in various color options that make it an exceptional plant when you want to enjoy a myriad of bloom colors. It’s easy to induce blooming. All you need to do is place it in a warm and sunny location to encourage blooms. It only needs to be watered when the soil feels dry to the touch.

18. Lithops

Lithops are interesting mall succulents that look like colored pebbles. They grow in small round compact shapes in a variety of different colors. These plants need to be grown in poor soil that is well-drained in a sunny spot in the house that doesn’t get drafts. You only water them in the warm month when the soil is dry. You stop watering them in the winter when grown in cooler zones.

19. String of Bananas

The String of Bananas is a succulent similar to the String of Pearls, but instead of having round jewel-like beads on the trailing stems, it grows myriads of small leave that are shaped like bananas. It’s a lovely plant you can shape to the desired size and shape by pruning regularly. Pruning stimulates new growth. This plant requires filtered sunlight and only needs water when the soil feels dry to the touch. I must be kept away from children and pets because it is a toxic plant.

20. Crassula Hottentot

Gardeners world recommends growing the Crassula Hottentot, for its unique shape and lovely blossoms. It is a lovely succulent with fleshy leaves that look like ringed columns. They grow in length until they spill over the top of a hanging pot and produce clusters of blossoms that are ivory-colored. This plant only needs watering when the soil is dry and it thrives near a sunny window.