Easy Indoor House Plants: Succulents

Succulents are hot-weather plants in their native habitats, but they’re shockingly easy to grow indoors in any climate. They’re easy to find at any plant nursery, but if you’re gardening on a budget, they grow beautifully from cuttings.

When taking them from cuttings, let the plant scab over for a couple of days before planting it deeply in sandy, rocky soil. It is that easy. Cuttings can thrive in a vase of water, too: they’ll thrive in water as long as they would in dirt.

They do need light, just not necessarily warmth. Keep your cactus in a sunny spot, and rotate every few months to keep it from bending. And if you do decide to move your succulent either indoors or out, make sure you’re in love with its new container and position. Though they are hardy growers, they are sensitive to movement, especially when flowering.

Succulents (and, more specifically, cacti) are mostly used to hot, dry weather. They don’t need frequent watering: once every few weeks usually gets the job done. However, when you do water them, give them a thorough soaking. Like a rainstorm in the desert, really!

Many of these plants are rather unusual looking. Haworthia looks like sea kelp, and moonstones and living stones have perfectly descriptive names. If you’d like the visual interest to come from color rather than shape, look for kalanchoes, Desert Rose, and Crown of Thorns. Your sunny corner will be filled with pink, red and yellow blooms in no time.

(image via Scootie)

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