Success With Succulents

Discover succulents with Debra Lee Baldwin, bestselling author of
Designing with Succulents, Succulent Container Gardens and Succulents Simplified

Welcome!

I'm pleased to offer you over 100 pages on every aspect of succulents, all ad-free. If that seems too good to be true, scroll down to "Why No Ads?"

Need a plant ID? Go to TYPES OF SUCCULENTS. Worried? Go to PESTS AND PROBLEMS. Want to grow succulents perfectly? Go to SUCCULENT CARE BASICS. Need garden maintenance? See REFERRALS. Do use the MENU and SEARCH BAR above. Overwhelmed? Browse until you're better, or CONTACT me.

Looking foR Videos?

Then you'll love my YouTube Channel. With over 8,000,000 views, it provides entertaining, expert info on succulent design, cultivation, plants, tips, gardens, and much more.

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

Feb 5 2016

Should You Let Your Flapjack Plants Bloom?

Should you let your flapjack plants (Kalanchoe luciae) bloom? I’m recommending no…but it’s not that cut-and-dried. Flapjack plant is a succulent that’s popular mainly because of the color of its leaves. (Shown above at Waterwise Botanicals nursery.)f Like other succulents with overlapping leaves along a single stem, when Kalanchoe luciae blooms, the entire plant elongates. This is how those in my…

Jan 19 2016

Rick’s Aloe and Butterfly Garden

The current population of monarch butterflies is a mere 4% of what it formerly was. These once ubiquitous butterflies are on the brink of extinction. Anyone with even a small garden, in any part of the US, can help reverse this sad trend. I knew that Rick Bjorklund’s garden in San Diego would delight me with…

Jan 6 2016

Succulents and Too Much Rain, A French Solution

Want to protect your succulents from too much rain? Here’s how the Jardin Zoologique Tropical in southeastern France keeps their succulents from becoming waterlogged during seasonal rainstorms. Corrugated fiberglass panels atop metal bars tent the plants so excess rain doesn’t soak the soil. The structures are tall enough to allow good air circulation, and the panels are translucent, enabling maximum sunlight to reach the plants. The…

Dec 3 2015

Holiday Decorating with Succulents

Above: Using succulent cuttings from my garden, I create a wreath suitable for an entry, garden wall or gate. Such wreaths also work well as table centerpieces (laid flat) and make great hostess gifts. Quick & clever decorating ideas This time of year, the succulent elves bundle up, go into the garden, and transform it into…

Dec 3 2015

Make a Succulent Wreath, Step-By-Step

Make a Succulent Wreath, Step-by-Step No soil needed! I recommend making a soil-less succulent wreath because soil is messy, heavy, dries out quickly, and—surprisingly—isn’t necessary. Cuttings readily root into a moss-filled form. I also don’t recommend fertilizing the wreath after cuttings have rooted, because fertilizer boosts growth, and I want my wreaths to stay compact. …

Nov 20 2015

Succulent Wreath Tips and Ideas

THIS PAGE HAS BEEN UPDATED. Go to: https://debraleebaldwin.com/succulent-projects/make-a-succulent-wreath/ Do you like the succulent wreath that my friend Denise made during a wreath party at my home? To create a similar one, you’ll need about 100 cuttings, a wire wreath form, 24-gauge florist’s wire, a chopstick, and a bag of sphagnum moss. The form, moss…

Agave garden by Jeremy Spath (c) Agaves by Jeremy Spath & Jeff Moore

Nov 16 2015

No-Water Succulents for Southern California Gardens

Above: I based one of my most popular videos on the agave section of my bestselling book, Designing with Succulents. Both explain what you need to know to select and grow agaves successfully, and both show those best for gardens, close-up and in-ground. Some agaves are hardy to 15 degrees or less! And when small,…

Oct 26 2015

Prepare Your Succulents for Rainstorms

During rainy weather, succulents, which come from arid climates, may rot. Stems or trunks turn squishy and collapse. It may be possible to take cuttings from healthy top growth and restart the plants—as I did after one rainy winter with aeoniums. Fortunately, the rest of my succulents came through fine, despite double normal rainfall. After…

Debra Lee Baldwin in garden with KPBS reporter

Oct 8 2015

Debra Talks Succulents on KPBS

My interviews on KPBS radio news have been making the rounds on television and the Internet! Succulents are more popular than ever and—as I explain on-air—my home town of San Diego is taking the lead in championing their success! Related info on this site TV, Radio and Media TV, Radio and Media Features, interviews…

Oct 21 2014

Got a Pot? Elevate it!

Potted plants look better atop stands. See how this time-honored Asian aesthetic applies especially well to succulents in art pots in my new video, above. It features San Diego designer Diana Clark, who created the plant-pot pairings shown here. As you look at them, ask yourself: Does the stand matter? Would the composition look just…

Jul 21 2014

Lophocereus schotii (Totem Pole Cactus)

Succulent expert Don Newcomer showed me a rare columnar, spineless cactus from Mexico: Lophocereus schotii (totem pole cactus). It can be chubby and lumpy, tall and skinny, or columnar and spiral-forming. Lophocereus (Pachycereus) schotii has spines. The monstrose form has club-shaped trunks with spineless protuberances. There are three monstrose varieties: fat (obesa), spiral (spiralis) and skinny or totem…

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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 it came from.

Mainly, do learn from and enjoy my site. It's my pleasure to share its wealth with you. -- Debra Lee Baldwin

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