So-Easy Succulent Container Gardens
Succulents make excellent container plants because they're easy to grow and need almost no care. Check out our ideas for succulent containers.
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Singular Beauty
Fill an urn with the thick pointed leaves of hens-and-chicks (Sempervivum spp.). Some varieties, like the one used here, bear white hairs that form what looks like a spiderweb over the plants. The naturally variegated colors and tightly packed texture add plenty of visual interest to this single-specimen planting.
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Mixed Greens
An eclectic group of succulents in a wooden tray creates a nostalgic combination. Our plant choices:
* Top row, left to right: Aloe striata, Cotyledon 'octopus', burro's tail (Sedum morganianum), Mexican hens (Echeveria shaviana)
* Middle row, left to right: watch chain (Crassula lycopodioides), Aloe zanzibarica, ghost plant (Graptopetalum paraguayense), crinkle-leaf plant (Adromischus cristatus var. zeyheri)
*Â Bottom row, left to right: Sedum hybrid, Kalanchoe beharensis, Crassula conjuncta, string of beads (Senecio rowleyanus).
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Tap Into Texture
The fleshy blue-green trailing stems of burro's tail provide enough visual interest to stand alone in a small- or medium-size container. This succulent perennial offers pink to red flowers in summer.
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Fall for Color
Elevate Echeveria spp. on a fence post or column to better enjoy the flowers that cluster on the top of stalks sprouting from between the thick, rounded blue-green leaves. Echeveria foliage comes in a variety of shapes and colors.
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Long and Short
Pair a tall, narrow pot overflowing with trailing variegated Dischidia spp. and a squat square container of colorful Echeveria spp.
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Case Goods
Give a flea-market find—an old beverage bottle case—new life as the home for tall, silvery ghost plants (Graptopetalum paraguayense) and burro's tail (Sedum morganianum).
Related: Creative Containers for Succulents
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Step It Up
Blue-green echeveria (Echeveria spp.) combines with white-striped zebra haworthia (Haworthia fasciata) and fuzzy panda plant (Kalanchoe tomentosa) with brown-tipped leaves. A separate container with burro's tail (Sedum morganianum) adds color and textural contrast as it drapes over the edge of the next step.
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Graceful Accent
Single out one of the more than 300 species of agaves, a relative of the lily family. An eye-catching plant, Agave celsii sports thick, wide, swordlike leaves with sharp tips. Colors range from bright green to blue-gray.
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Dish Harmony
Decorate a garden tabletop with a trio of small potted plants—left to right, Euphorbia spp., jade plant (Crassula spp.) and Hayworthia spp.—arranged inside a shallow dish.
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Golden Glow
Mass a single species of succulent for maximum impact. Pictured, a golden-hued Sedum nussbaumerianum provides a colorful counterpoint to a gray planter.
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Triple Play
Show off three foliage champs in clay pots: Dyckia marnierlapostolle in the pot at left in the photo, and the ubiquitous Echeveria spp. in the pots at center and right. Note that leaf tips of the slow-growing, spiny-edged Dyckia can shrivel in excessive heat.
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Vintage Appeal
The mottled colors of old metal compotes complement this collection of succulents. On the left, ruffle-leaved Mexican hens (Echeveria shaviana) pair with ghost plants (Graptopetalum paraguayense). In the lower tier, a collection of hens-and-chicks (Sempervivum spp.) circles the fleshy paddles of Cotyledon spp.
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Concrete Jungle
Nestle a couple of hens-and-chicks (Sempervivum spp.) among the lush spires of watch chain stonecrop (Sedum sexangulare) in a concrete bowl. In summer, the stonecrop bears tiny yellow star-shape flowers on its lanky stems.
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Sharp Contrast
Focus on exotic plant forms by pairing mother of thousands (Kalanchoe daigremontiana, center plant in photo, with bristly rat tail cacti (Disocactus flagelliformis). The violet-flowering Kalanchoe also bears the name devil's backbone, for its serrated edges.
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Simply Sedums
Large-leaf Sedum 'Autumn Joy' and yellow-flowering Sedum kamtschaticum pair up to create a texture-rich combination. When 'Autumn Joy' produces its pink blooms, the colorful combo is doubly striking.
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Succulent Garden Tips
Potted succulents are perfect summer plants for a Midwest porch, patio, or deck thanks to their small size, water-saving habits and sun-loving nature.Â
*Â Select a container with drainage holes. Spread gravel in the bottom of the container to speed drainage, and top with a potting soil mix designed for succulents or cacti.
*Â Plant succulents tightly in the container. They are slow-growing, so pack them into the pot from the start.
*Â Let the pots dry out slightly between watering. Succulents store water in their fleshy leaves and flourish in dry conditions.
* Bring containers indoors to a bright windowsill in winter. Some succulents, such as hens-and-chicks and Sedum spp., are hardy to Zone 3 or 4 and can be transplanted into your garden.Â