If you’re looking for low-maintenance water-savers, consider planting succulents. They enjoy the sun and feature impressive built-in water storage, making them drought-tolerant and suitable for xeriscaping.
Types of Succulents
The hardy plants can take root anywhere, from a pot in a container garden to cracks in a stone wall.
Succulents come in many varieties, providing the visual interest of striking shapes and textures, along with colorful summer blooms. Porous terra cotta containers filled with a quick draining soil mix (half organic matter, half sandy, gritty stuff) create the best growing conditions. The only real demands these slow-growers have is that you shield them from extreme cold and don’t over water.
Keep reading to learn more about available varieties, then shop the year-round online nursery at GoSucculent.com
Sempervivum tectorum
These plants grow 3 to 4 inches in height, creating a carpet of green 2- to 5-inch-wide rosettes. They require full sun but are frost tolerant and will return and multiply year after year. Some varieties feature white to pink blooms in the summer. USDA Hardiness Zones 3-11
Echeveria x imbricata
Related to the cold-hardy Sempervivum, these are also low-growing hens and chicks, capping off at a height of about 6 inches. They feature softer-colored, gray-green leaves that are rounder than Sempervivums. They like the sun and are drought tolerant. This variety may sprout red and yellow blooms in the summer. USDA Hardiness Zones 3-11
Sempervivum ‘Carmen’
These stand out in the Sempervivum family because of their 5-inch-wide rosettes with red-tipped leaves. Each plant grows to about 4 inches in height and the entire “bloom” turns violet in the winter. USDA Hardiness Zones 3-11
Aeonium arboreum ‘Zwartkop’
This striking succulent looks like a fantasy flower from another world with its thick, gray-brown stems topped with large, dark purple “petals” of foliage. In the summer, mature plants will sprout yellow blooms. The plant can grow up to 6 feet. USDA Hardiness Zones 9-11
Sedum spectabile ‘Autumn Joy’
This flowering succulent features pink to rust-colored blooms against green, glossy, thick foliage in the summer. Its bright summer blossoms are attractive to bees and butterflies. ‘Autumn Joy’ can grow to 2 feet. USDA Hardiness Zones 3-9
Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’
This fuzzy-looking succulent features stalks of needle-like, yellow to light green foliage. Yellow blooms may appear in the summer. The plant caps off at a height of about 6 inches, requires full sun, and provides winter interest. USDA Hardiness Zones 6-9
Delosperma nubigenum ‘Yellow Ice Plant’
Growing to only about 6 inches, this late-spring-blooming succulent is a great groundcover option. It features bright, yellow blooms against glossy, green foliage that turns red in the winter. USDA Hardiness Zones 4-11
Delosperma cooperi ‘Pink Ice Plant’
This smooth-textured succulent features showy bright pink blooms all summer long, against green, smooth-textured foliage. It grows to about 6 inches and makes an interesting groundcover. USDA Hardiness Zones 6-10
Agave americana
This agave features large blue-green leaf blades that grow to about 6 feet. The entire plant measures up to 12 feet across at maturity. It enjoys full sun but thrives in partial shade as well. Leaf blades feature sharp edges, so be careful while handling this plant. USDA Hardiness Zones 8-11
Crassula ovata ‘Jade’
The treelike jade is a popular choice for a low-maintenance potted plant. It can grow up to 6 feet tall and features green, glossy foliage. The most common problem with this plant is that owners tend to overwater it. Let it dry out between waterings, and leave in a sunny spot. USDA Hardiness Zones 8-11
Crassula rupestris x perforata ‘Baby Necklace’
These feature disc-shaped, red-edged leaves that appear to be threaded on a thin stem. ‘Baby Necklace’ can be planted as a creeping groundcover, but will hang out of a basket nicely, too. Expect small white blooms in late spring-early summer. These can grow to 12 inches in sun-partial shade. USDA Hardiness Zones 9-11
Sedum spurium ‘Purpurteppich’
This variety of the two-row stonecrop grows to a 6-inch-high groundcover. In the summer, expect pink blooms against red-green stems and foliage. USDA Hardiness Zones 3-7