How to Grow and Use Succulents

Your source for reliable, accurate information about succulents

As the proud author of three bestselling books about succulents, I offer timely and appealing ways to showcase succulent plants in gardens, pots and projects. Use the SEARCH bar or simply browse! ~ Debra Lee Baldwin

HOW-TO'S, TIPS & IDEAS

SUCCULENT DESIGN

Discover how to plan and design lovely, carefree succulent gardens in containers or in the landscape. Also in the menu under Design you'll find firewise landscaping info, DIY gifts and projects and holiday decorating ideas - all showcasing succulents.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

SUCCULENT CARE & FAQS

In the Succulent Info menu I answer your Qs about growing, caring for and propagating succulents. Under Varieties, see hundreds of labeled photos of those I recommend. Also learn how to water, fertilize, control pests and diseases, overwinter succulents, and grow them indoors and by season and region.

LOCAL & NATIONAL

SUCCULENT RESOURCES

Wondering where to find and purchase top-quality succulents? Which tools, books and supplies you need? It's all here under Resources, along with nurseries, public gardens and destinations in America's finest succulent city, San Diego.

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Succulent Updates From the Blog

May 20 2019

Where to Find Rare Succulents

Collectors shop for rare and unusual succulents at the San Diego Cactus & Succulent Show and Sale Collectors know where to find rare succulents: at shows hosted by Cactus and Succulent Society affiliate clubs. Attend one near you to see ...

Succulent Landscape with rocks (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

May 8 2019

Succulent Landscaping Trends

As the author of two editions of Designing with Succulents ten years apart, I'm sort of obsessed with the evolution of succulent landscaping. Here's what designers and homeowners are discovering that works and (perhaps more importantly) what doesn't. These top six trends---call them preferences, if you ...

Colorful Succulent Garden (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Apr 30 2019

A Colorful Succulent Garden to Copy

You could easily copy this colorful succulent garden at Weidner's nursery in Encinitas, CA. It's a three-dimensional showcase of succulents superbly suited to mild, frost-free regions. Most of the plants are readily available, and all are in my book, Designing with ...

Apr 18 2019

Succulents and Sass at Waterwise Botanicals

The 2019 Succulent Celebration was a giant, two-day party for succulent enthusiasts. Guests filled carts with perfectly grown plants, display gardens blazed with color, kids caught tadpoles, BBQ smoke scented the air, and the sounds of conversation and laughter were ...

Apr 4 2019

Big Blue’s Life and Demise

The largest succulent ever to grace my half-acre garden was an Agave americana we called “Big Blue.” With six-foot leaves lined with sharp teeth, it looked capable of eating guests who shot selfies with it. Agave americana is commonly called “century plant” because it ...

Mar 29 2019

How to Manage Aloe Mite

They seem everywhere this spring: mite-damaged aloes ranging from dwarf cultivars to tree 'Hercules'. The microscopic pests (Eriophyes aloines) are not insects but spider relatives. They cause deformed flowers, a bubbly fringe on leaf edges, and orange-and-green growths where leaves meet stems. Aloe mite on Aloe arborescens ...

News & Announcements

Mountain Crest Gardens sells quality echeverias and other succulents for pots and garden beds via mail-order in assortments, as solo specimens, bare-root and as cuttings.

On newsstands through June: "Succulents," a Better Homes & Gardens 100-page bookazine, includes four of my articles!

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