Enter the word of succulents and you’ll find plants of all shapes and sizes. While all of these plants are drought-tolerant and low-maintenance, they range from large bushes with stick-like leaves to clumping rosettes that act as groundcovers. This variety means you can find a succulent that suits your garden or home.
We’ve rounded up 20 types of succulents to display the diversity of these plants. Once you’ve found a plant you like, learn more about caring for succulents, then bring your new plant pal home.
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Artichoke Agave (Agave parryi var truncata)
Hardiness zone: 7-11
Native range: Mexico
Light: Full sun
Water: Low
Soil: Well draining
As its name suggests, this succulent’s blueish-green leaves arrange to resemble an artichoke. The plant can grow up to three feet tall and four feet wide, so it’s an excellent addition to outdoor gardens in warm, dry areas. Under the proper conditions, the plant will send up a flower stalk that can reach over ten feet tall!
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Blue Chalksticks (Curio repens)
Hardiness zone: 9-11
Native range: South Africa
Light: Full sun or part shade
Water: Low
Soil: Well draining
Blue chalksticks is a low-growing, sprawling plant that grows to three feet wide. The plant produces thick, fleshy leaves that almost look like fingers pointing toward the sky. These blue-green fingers combine to form clusters that resemble clusters of staghorn coral. Since it’s sensitive to cold weather, it’s best to grow it as a houseplant in most of the US.
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Blue Spruce Stonecrop (Petrosedum rupestre)
Hardiness zone: 4-10
Native range: Europe
Light: Full sun
Water: Low
Soil: Well draining
At first glance, you may think this plant is a low-growing coniferous plant. But take a closer look, and you’ll notice that the plant’s spruce-like leaves are fleshy succulents. This succulent can survive cold and snow, so it makes an excellent ground cover in many regions. People also refer to it as Jenny’s stonecrop, and it used to go by the scientific name Sedum reflexum.
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Burro’s Tail (Sedum morganianum)
Hardiness zone: 9-11
Native range: Mexico
Light: Full sun
Water: Low
Soil: Well draining
Also known as donkey’s tail, this succulent produced trailing stems covered with stubby, light green leaves. Its trailing forms mean it looks excellent cascading out of a hanging basket or planter on a stand. However, be aware that the leaves are tender to touch and easily fall off.
Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera spp.)
Hardiness zone: 10-12
Native range: Southeast Brazil
Light: Bright, indirect light
Water: Low
Soil: Coarse and well draining
The Schlumbergera genus consists of numerous types of succulents with trailing, flattened leaves. The Christmas cactus is known for producing bright, tubular flowers near the end of the year, but other species, like the Easter cactus and Thanksgiving cactus, flower at different times of year. Although these plants like warmer temperatures, they can tolerate cooler weather in the winter.
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Crinkle Leaf Plant (Adromischus cristatus)
Hardiness zone: 9-10
Native range: South Africa
Light: Full sun
Water: Low
Soil: Well-draining
The leaves on this funny little succulent look like someone picked them off, crumpled the tops, and put them back. But the thick leaves’ crinkly tops are naturally occurring! Since the plant remains small and short, it’s a good choice for tight areas. Just remember to keep the soil on the drier side.
Credit Wikicommons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Euphorbia_lactea_var._cristata_kz01.jpg
Dragon Bones (Euphorbia lactea)
Hardiness zone: India
Native range: 10-11
Light: Full sun or part shade
Water: Low
Soil: Well-draining
Also known as mottled spurge or the candelabra cactus, dragon bones is a succulent with tall, wonky arms. Although the plant is covered in small spines, it isn’t a true cactus. Instead, it’s a masquerading succulent. The sap of this plant can cause skin irritation and severe eye damage, so handle the plants with care and wash any sap off your skin ASAP.
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Firesticks (Adromischus cristatus)
Hardiness zone: 10-12
Native range: East Africa into India
Light: Full sun
Water: Low
Soil: Well-draining
Whether you call it sticks on fire or firesticks, it’s easy to see why this plant got its name. The branching network of thin stems fades from green to fiery shades of yellow, orange, and pink, resembling a network of glowing sticks. The plants can reach eight feet tall in the wild, but they often remain a few feet tall indoors.
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Elephant Bush (Portulacaria afra)
Hardiness zone: 9-11
Native range: South Africa
Light: Full sun
Water: Low
Soil: Well-draining
Some people say this succulent looks like a jade plant with smaller leaves, but these two plants are unrelated. The elephant bush produces rounded green leaves on reddish leaves and grows as a medium to large shrub in the wild. If you grow it as a houseplant, expect it to remain considerably shorter. And don’t forget that the leaves are edible!
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Hardy Ice Plant (Delosperma spp.)
Hardiness zone: 5-9
Native range: South Africa
Light: Full sun
Water: Low
Soil: Well-draining
People refer to multiple genera of plants as ice plants, but plants in the Delosperma genus are known for surviving cooler temperatures. These plants feature short, fleshy leaves that grow on short, trailing stems. But what really makes this succulent ground cover stand out are its colorful daisy-like flowers that appear in the summer.
Hen and Chicks (Sempervivum spp.)
Hardiness zone: 3-8
Native range: Southern Europe and Northern Africa
Light: Full sun or partial shade
Water: Low
Soil: Well draining
Hen and chicks, also known as houseleeks, are numerous species of low-growing plants in the Sempervivum genus. All of these plants form dense rosettes of triangular leaves, and the rosettes grow in clusters. Smaller new rosettes form at the base of the larger rosettes, leading to the name hen and chicks.
Little Zebra Plant (Haworthia fasciata)
Hardiness zone: 10-11
Native range: South Africa
Light: Full sun or part shade
Water: Low
Soil: Well draining
Known as one of the easiest types of succulents to take care of, the little zebra plant is an excellent option if you’re new to plants. The pointed dark green leaves are covered with many small white dots that sometimes join to form stripes. This succulent is a slow grower and remains quite small, so you won’t have to worry about frequent repotting.
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Living Stones (Lithops spp.)
Hardiness zone: 10-11
Native range: Southern Africa
Light: Full sun
Water: Low
Soil: Well-draining
Yes, these plants are alive! Although people regularly mistake them for rocks, we assure you these types of succulents are indeed alive. The Afrikaans people in their native habitat thought the plants looked like animal hoofprints, so they named them sheep’s hoof and cow’s hoof. Many of these plants are brown, but you can also find varieties in shades of pink, orange, and yellow. If properly cared for, the unassuming plants will produce daisy-like flowers.
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Mother of Thousands (Kalanchoe daigremontiana)
Hardiness zone: 9-11
Native range: Madagascar
Light: Full sun
Water: Low
Soil: Well draining
Known as one of the easiest succulent types to propagate, the mother of thousands regularly produces tiny plantlets on its leaf edges. When the time is just right, the plantlets drop from the plant, root into the soil, and grow into new plants. You may also hear people refer to this plant as the devil’s backbone.
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October Daphne Stonecrop (Hylotelephium sieboldii)
Hardiness zone: 3-9
Native range: Japan
Light: Full sun
Water: Low
Soil: Well draining
This type of stonecrop produces small rounded leaves with slightly scalloped edges. The leaves are tightly arranged along stems that trail along the ground or cascade out of planters. When temperatures drop, the light blue-green leaves show hints of pink.
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Panda Plant (Kalanchoe tomentosa)
Hardiness zone: 9-11
Native range: Madagascar
Light: Full sun or part shade
Water: Low
Soil: Well draining
Also known as the chocolate soldier or cat’s ears, the panda plant stands out due to the soft, small hairs that cover its leaves. The leaves are mint green with spots of reddish-brown along the edges.
String of Pearls (Senecio rowleyanus)
Hardiness zone: 9-12
Native range: Southwest Africa
Light: Bright, indirect light
Water: Low
Soil: Well draining
The string of pearls’ rounded leaves adorn the plant’s trailing stems just like pearls adorn a necklace chain. But these pearls are alive! In the wild, the plants root in shrubs or trees and trail down to the ground. Their stems then root into the soil and form groundcovers.
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String of Turtles (Peperomia prostrata)
Hardiness zone: 10-12
Native range: Brazil
Light: Bright, indirect light
Water: Low
Soil: Well draining and rich in organic matter
Just like each turtle shell exhibits unique patterns, every string of turtles leaf is one-of-a-kind. These coin-shaped leaves are attached to vines with slender stems that grow in a trailing form. Consider placing this succulent in a pot that allows the stems to cascade.
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Tiger’s Jaw (Faucaria Tigrina)
Hardiness zone: 9-11
Native range: South Africa
Light: Full sun or part shade
Water: Low
Soil: Well draining
This succulent has stout, triangular leaves with spiny “teeth” adorning the edges. Depending on how you look at it, it’s either extra cute or supremely frightening! Since plants remain under six inches tall, they’re great options for small spaces.
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White Stonecrop (Sedum album)
Hardiness zone: 2-9
Native range: Europe, West Asia, and North Africa
Light: Full sun or part shade
Water: Low
Soil: Well-draining
If you’re looking for a plant that can tolerate just about everything except for wet soil, move the white stonecrop to the top of your list. This low-growing succulent can survive heat and cold as well as drought and poor soil. And it’s gorgeous! The small nubby leaves are a mix of green and pink, and the plants send up clusters of white star-shaped flowers in the warmer months.
Send All Kinds of Succulents with The Bouqs
What’s not to love about succulents? They’re easy to care for and come in various shapes, colors, and sizes. Succulents’ charm means the hardest part about ordering them is often deciding which one to choose.
When it comes time to add a succulent to your home (or send one to a friend), we’ve got you covered. Not only do we offer potted houseplants for easy delivery, but we’ve also added some of these cute plants to our bouquets. So the next time you want to brighten a loved one’s day, order succulent bouquets online.
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