Hard-Working Succulents

Stylish, tough succulents are great for gardeners watching their water usage.

By: Lynn Coulter

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Photo By: Courtesy of Monrovia

Photo By: Courtesy of Proven Winners

Topy Turvy Echeveria

Drought-tolerant plants are trending, as gardeners across the country look for ways to save water. Topsy Turvy Echeveria doesn't require much, once it's established. Its orange and yellow flowers appear above blue-gray leaves.

Fire Spinner Ice Plant (Delosperma 'P001S')

Ice plant 'Fire Spinner' is hardy in zones 5 to 10, but it doesn't get its name because it's cold hardy. Instead, its leaves look shimmery, as though they're coated in frost. The plants form fast-growing mats of evergreen foliage topped by spring and summer flowers.

Desert Rose Paddle Plant

"Paddle plant" is a nickname for Kalanchoe thyrisflora. 'Desert Rose' is a blue-green variety with red-tipped leaves, and the colors become brighter with more sun. Grow it indoors or out; it's hardy in zones 9 to 11. When the plants mature, they send up spikes with yellow flowers.

Sunset Aloe

Try Sunset Aloe in a rock garden, and watch hummingbirds visit the green-tipped red or yellow flowers. The leaves grow in clumps, starting out green and aging to to spotted, russet-red. The plants are hardy in zones 10 and 11.

'Red Glo' Echeveria

Echeverias are some of the most popular and beautiful succulents. 'Red Glo' has gray-green foliage with ruffled, pink to red edges. Try it in containers, indoors or outside; it's hardy in zones 9 to 11.

'Carmine' Aloe

Brighten a rock garden or xeriscape with drought and heat-tolerant 'Carmine', an aloe with green leaves edged in orange-red. This hybrid grows slowly, reaching 8 to 10 inches wide, in partial to full sun.

Stonecrop Sedum cauticola 'Cola Cola'

Award-winning Sedum cauticola 'Cola Cola' makes a good houseplant. It's also useful as a bedding or border plant in zones 5 to 9. Pink blooms appear from late summer to fall, attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. This easy-care plant needs full sun.

'Coppertone' Sedum nussbaumerianum

Sunlight brings out the rich color in 'Coppertone' Sedum nussbaumerianum. Fragrant white flowers open from January to April. Use this trailing plant in containers, desert plantings, or rock gardens; it can take heat and drought and tolerates cold to 25 degrees F.

'Silver Gray' Kalanchoe pumila

This succulent, 'Silver Gray' Kalanchoe pumila, is happy in part sun to sun. Its rose-tinted foliage has attractive, "toothy" tips. Use it as a houseplant or in a rock or alpine garden. Its pink flowers open in spring.

'Black Prince' Echeveria imbricata

Use 'Black Prince' Echeveria as a filler for containers, or grow this clumping succulent in a garden spot that gets part sun to sun. The plants grow 6 to 8 inches high and open reddish blooms in fall and winter that attract hummingbirds.

'Jet Beads' Sedeveria hybrid

Sedeverias are a hybrid, or cross, between Echeveria and Sedum. 'Jet Beads' has short stems with small, nearly black leaves arranged like beads on a string. Grow it in containers, as a houseplant, or combine it with cacti. It needs sun and withstands drought and heat.

'Fred Ives' Echeveria Graptoveriah hybrid

Pink and grape-purple 'Fred Ives' grows in rosettes that reach 6 to 10 inches high, so it's useful in containers and rock or cacti gardens. The pink to salmon-coral blooms appear in spring.

Stonecrop Sedum 'Autumn Joy'

Stonecrop Sedum 'Autumn Joy' is a stunner in the garden from late summer into fall, when its long-lasting flowers turn from deep pink to copper. Plant it in masses to lure butterflies.

Hard-Working Succulents

Related To:

Shop This Look

Topy Turvy Echeveria

Fire Spinner Ice Plant (Delosperma 'P001S')

Desert Rose Paddle Plant

Sunset Aloe

'Red Glo' Echeveria

'Carmine' Aloe

Stonecrop Sedum cauticola 'Cola Cola'

'Coppertone' Sedum nussbaumerianum

'Silver Gray' Kalanchoe pumila

'Black Prince' Echeveria imbricata

'Jet Beads' Sedeveria hybrid

'Fred Ives' Echeveria Graptoveriah hybrid

Stonecrop Sedum 'Autumn Joy'

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