Succulent House Plants

Tap to Read ➤ Megha Tiwari

Succulent house plants are the best suited for indoor growing as they require low maintenance and care. Read to know more about their types and other specifications.

What kind of thoughts started penetrating your mind when you first heard the term succulent house plants? It gives an idea of something very juicy. This is exactly what succulent means, something full of juice or stuffed with moisture, and this is their defining characteristic.

Succulents are one of the most efficient types of house plants that retain water in their fleshy leaves, roots, and pockets. Well-known examples of these type of plants are the various varieties of cacti. They are excellent indoor ornamental plants that require minimum maintenance and care.

These come in many shapes, sizes, colors, types. They easily survive in the desert due to the water stored in their fleshy leaves, and can adapt to climate change. They can bear high temperature in the day and low temperature at night.

Succulents propagate quite easily, and you do not need to go to the nursery again to get another plant for yourself.

You just have to take a piece of it and carefully replant it following the proper methods for planting. This simplicity of succulents makes them excellent house and office plants.

Common Succulent Plants

Jade Plant (Crassula ovata)

Also known as money tree, friendship tree or lucky plant. It has stout leaves of dark color with beautiful flowers blossoming in spring. In winters, it needs water once a month. But in summers, it needs water every 2 weeks. It should only be pruned in spring.

Ponytail Palm (Beaucarnea recuvata)

It looks like palm tree, but of short height. It doesn't grow well on windowsills.

It should be planted a few feet apart. In summers, it needs water every 3 weeks and 1-2 times in winters. Leaves grow above 2 feet indoors and above 20 feet outdoors.

Aloe (Aloe vera)

The most well-known species in the Aloe genus is Aloe vera , which is popular for its medicinal benefits.

It requires water only once a week and lesser sunlight in comparison to Jade plant and Ponytail palm. It grows maximum up to eight inches, which is quite manageable for indoor plants. It has spines similar to cactus, but is not at all prickly.

Care

Before we talk of how to care for these plants, let's try to learn about identifying them. Keep in mind that all succulents are not cacti, but all cacti are succulents. In other words, cacti are a subset of succulents, but not the other way round. The plant can be identified by its thick fleshy leaves that store water and spines, mostly not sharp or prickly.

As said earlier, these plants require the least maintenance. They require water occasionally, and even regular pruning is not necessary. But the most essential requirement of this plant is sunlight, so it should be preferably kept outside on the porch or around a window, where it receives sufficient sunlight.

Their lifespan is quite long, and they self-feed at times if not provided with water for a long time. The water should be given to the plants once the soil has dried up completely, as excess of it may rot the roots or create a suitable environment for fungi to destroy your plant.

So many benefits and less maintenance make these plants one of the favorites of not only gardeners, but also of housewives. If you are planning to have a succulent species as the primary plant of your landscape, then it will definitely look beautiful, save your money on water, and also contribute towards conserving this precious resource.