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  1. Midwest Living
  2. Garden
  3. Container Gardens
  4. So-Easy Succulent Container Gardens

So-Easy Succulent Container Gardens

By Midwest Living editors Updated March 02, 2023
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Succulent container garden

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

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.

Related: 10 Top Succulent Plants for the Midwest

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Mixed Greens

Succulent container garden

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)

*  Bottom row, left to right: Sedum hybrid, Kalanchoe beharensis, Crassula conjuncta, string of beads (Senecio rowleyanus).

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Tap Into Texture

Container garden with succulents
Credit: Bob Stefko

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

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

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

Succulent container garden in wooden case

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

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

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

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.

Related: How to Create a Succulent Arrangement

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Golden Glow

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Related: Container Gardens Just Right for the Midwest

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Succulent Garden Tips

Start a succulent container garden

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. 

*  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.

*  Plant succulents tightly in the container. They are slow-growing, so pack them into the pot from the start.

*  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. 

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    1 of 16 Singular Beauty
    2 of 16 Mixed Greens
    3 of 16 Tap Into Texture
    4 of 16 Fall for Color
    5 of 16 Long and Short
    6 of 16 Case Goods
    7 of 16 Step It Up
    8 of 16 Graceful Accent
    9 of 16 Dish Harmony
    10 of 16 Golden Glow
    11 of 16 Triple Play
    12 of 16 Vintage Appeal
    13 of 16 Concrete Jungle
    14 of 16 Sharp Contrast
    15 of 16 Simply Sedums
    16 of 16 Succulent Garden Tips

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