Succulents, Design & Expert Succulent Advice

Debra Lee Baldwin is an award-winning author, journalist and horticulturist credited with launching worldwide interest in succulents with her three bestselling books on succulents. With over 9,000,000 views, Debra's YouTube Channel provides reliable, entertaining info on design and cultivation, plus interviews with renowned succulent experts and tours of world-class gardens.

Need a plant ID? Go to TYPES OF SUCCULENTS.
Worried about your succulent? Go to PESTS AND PROBLEMS.
Hope to grow succulents perfectly? Go to SUCCULENT CARE BASICS.
Need garden maintenance? See REFERRALS.
Something else? Use the Search Bar or menus above.

HOW-TO'S, TIPS & IDEAS

SUCCULENT DESIGN

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

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

SUCCULENT CARE

Get expert advice on growing, caring for and propagating succulents. Find out how to water, fertilize, control pests and diseases, overwinter succulents, grow them indoors, and by season and region. Under Varieties, view hundreds of labeled photos of easy-care kinds.

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) and beyond.

Subscribe to My Newsletter and Receive

Debra's 7 best succulents

In this free PDF exclusively for subscribers to my "Celebrating the Joy of Succulents" newsletter, you'll learn the 7 best easy-care succulents that thrive in pots and landscapes. Whether you're new to growing succulents or an experienced succulent "parent", you'll love these 7 beautiful plants.

Succulent Updates and Articles

Cactus vs Euphorbia (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Feb 28 2021

Euphorbia or Cactus? How to Tell

How can you tell a spiny euphorbia from a cactus? Observe key characteristics: the type of spines, flowers and leaves (or lack thereof). As I compiled my site's new Euphorbia page, I happily acquired the ability to tell at a glance which is which. Sure, you can scratch a plant, and if it drips milky sap, it's

Feb 16 2021

Vinyl Wraps Make Utility Boxes Succulent Artworks

Watch photographer Lee Sie wrap a utility box with laminated vinyl, transforming it from ugly to lovely. Succulents are a favorite because their geometric patterns work from any perspective. Lee explains the benefits of wrapping versus painting utility boxes. The power company loves it because taggers leave wrapped boxes alone.

Jan 5 2021

Bird Puzzle Feeder: A New Way to Enjoy Your Garden

A "puzzle feeder" is a fun, novel way to observe and enjoy backyard birds. When given a challenge to solve, birds show persistence, determination, and how clever they are---or not. In my new video you’ll see nine different wild birds, from darling titmice to badass orioles. Find a list of simple, inexpensive supplies below.

Echeveria garden in pots (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Dec 28 2020

Refresh Your Echeveria Garden

Eighteen months after I planted it, my multipot echeveria garden was looking ratty. Over time, as new leaves formed from the centers of echeverias, lower leaves dried and clung to ever-lengthening stems. Bloom spikes I'd left intact for hummingbirds were several feet long and untidy. Watch me rejuvenate it in my new video: Refresh Your Echeveria Garden (6:31).

Echeveria being sprayed (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Dec 9 2020

How to Deal with Mealy Bugs on Succulents

If you grow succulents, sooner or later you'll deal with mealy bugs. For newbies, mealies often come as a surprise. Suddenly the plants are dotted and webbed with what looks like lint. Veterans are more vigilant. We check for

Add soil to fill gaps (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Nov 30 2020

Make a Mounded Succulent Arrangement

Many eye-catching succulent arrangements are mounded, meaning plants are massed atop the container. Mounded arrangements look established right away and are quick and easy to assemble.

Nov 24 2020

Brody’s Lovely, Low-Cost Succulent Garden

Celebrating the Joy of Succulents subscriber Brody Scotland says her home and its lovely, low-cost succulent garden are a result of "artists and weirdos"---herself and husband Ben---who love bright colors.

Nov 23 2020

Create a Wall Christmas Card Tree

Creating a wall Christmas Card Tree is an annual family event. Guests express surprise that we receive so many cards. Actually it's not a lot, considering some date back to the '70s...

Nov 16 2020

Succulent Lovers’ Favorite Tools

Do you own the favorite tools of your fellow succulent lovers? Consider: We differ from other gardeners in that our prized plants can turn on us. Cacti, agaves, euphorbias and even aloes can act like dogs who resent having their nails trimmed. (I don't know about yours, but my Chihuahua is a two-person job.)

Art pot collection (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Oct 29 2020

How to Group Potted Succulents

Soon you're tucking containers wherever you can. Nurturing plant parents tend to be more concerned about where succulents will thrive than where they'll look good. But it IS possible to achieve both. Here and in the video, I offer three concepts that will help.

Oct 19 2020

Two 2021 Calendars: Cactus AND Succulents

I've created two 2021 calendars! Each offers a year's worth of wall art. Here you'll find a bit of backstory, plus my calendar images and plant IDs. Enjoy!

Debra taking video (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Oct 13 2020

My Channel Passed 6,000,000+ Views! But…

Exciting news: My YouTube Channel has soared past 6,000,000 views! It's free and all about enhancing your enjoyment and knowledge of succulents. I hope you'll help me make it even more useful to you (read on).

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Why no ads?

I don't like (or trust) websites stuffed with ads, and I figure you don't either. It's ungracious to make visitors hunt for info buried amid commercials.

If you'd like to support me (thank you!): Obtain my books, watch my videos, and follow links to the few vendors I'm affiliated with. Want to use my text or photos? All I ask is attribution: Imbed the excerpt with a link to the page on this site that it came from.

Mainly, do learn from and enjoy my site. It's my pleasure to share a career's worth of information with you! -- Debra Lee Baldwin

See More on My Succulent YouTube Channel