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 9,000,000 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

Spring succulent garden (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Mar 10 2024

Your Spring Succulent Garden Checklist

Use this Spring Succulent and Garden Checklist to help ensure your plants attain their full, glorious potential and to avoid potential problems in future. Links take you to helpful, explanatory info elsewhere on this site.

Aloe vaombe in bloom mid-February (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Feb 23 2024

See Josh Allen’s Rare Aloe & Cycad Nursery Near San Diego

Josh Allen is making his dream come true: Developing a nursery and botanic garden specializing in rare succulents and cycads. “There’s a big market for beautiful, hard-to-find plants,” he says, adding that creating new hybrids and “playing with plant genetics” are what he does best. He especially enjoys Aloe hybridizing and breeding rare and desirable…

20 tough street side succulents (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Feb 8 2024

20 Tough Succulents for Streetside Gardens

Photos show the garden six weeks after installation. A list of plant names is at the end. A succulent-scape that Hannah Eubanks of Design for Serenity created for Grangetto’s Farm and Garden Supply solves multiple problems and showcases 20 types of tough succulents. Grangetto’s three locations serve homeowner-gardeners and agricultural clients. The Escondido store is on…

Calandrinia (Cistanthe grandiflora, rock purslane) in bloom with other succulents (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Jan 24 2024

Grow Calandrinia (Cistanthe grandiflora, Purslane)

Gray-green calandrinia (Cistanthe grandiflora) shrubs sit quietly, building their strength, from late summer until spring. Then, like the fireworks they resemble, they explode with neon-bright blooms. Here and in my new video you’ll find out how to keep calandrinia healthy and flowering, and how to use it to enhance your own garden. Calandrinia is native…

Aloe arborescens and Mexican feather grass (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Jan 4 2024

About Aloe arborescens (torch aloe)

One of the most widely grown succulents in California from the coast to the foothills is Aloe arborescens (torch aloe). There’s no need to buy it. It’s so common, it’s a “pass-along plant,” meaning friendly neighbors who grow it will likely give you cuttings. But before you go knocking on doors, here’s what you need…

Dec 29 2023

About Kalanchoe luciae (succulent flapjacks)

Kalanchoe luciae, commonly called paddle plant or flapjack plant, is a highly popular succulent due to its bright coloration and flat, rounded, pancake-like leaves. These are green near the stem and red on the edges. Shades of red in paddle plants vary from rose and magenta to burgundy; greens go from lime to teal blue.…

Fool-the-eye aeonium hack (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Dec 6 2023

Succulent Plant Hacks

I love a good succulent plant hack—a clever solution to a common problem—especially if the hack utilizes something unexpected. I offer a dozen here. If you have a hack, tip, or workaround that has to do with succulents, would you kindly share it in the Comments? Thanks! Carry cacti with firewood tongs Eileen Haag of…

Spiral aloe (Aloe polyphylla) (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Nov 30 2023

Spiral Aloe Essentials

Seeing a spiral aloe (Aloe polyphylla) is an unforgettable experience, and to see one is to want one. Under ideal conditions, these rare succulents can attain two feet in diameter. They’re challenging to grow, but not impossible. Like lithops (living stones), if you understand their persnickety requirements, they’ll do fine. Spiral Aloe Essentials Climate: Spiral…

Succulent Calendar Cover (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Nov 16 2023

My Succulent Calendar Has Care Tips

Order the Calendar Exclusively from Succulent Chic, my Zazzle store. A Brilliant Idea We have one of my newsletter subscribers to thank for this smart suggestion: Adding timely succulent care tips to each calendar page. It’s something I hadn’t thought of, and that everyone loves. More than a calendar It’s colorful wall art with reminders—monthly…

Euphorbia lactea crest (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Oct 30 2023

Crested and Monstrose Succulents with Normals

I’m proud to present to you the only YouTube video and Gallery showing both normal and crested succulents side-by-side—nearly 90 different kinds! Succulents are unusual in the plant kingdom in that numerous varieties will grow convoluted, twisted, or puckered forms called crests. These look gathered like a waistband or a drawstring purse, and follow curved…

Oct 9 2023

Tips for Remembering Succulent Names

Ever wish you could understand and remember succulent names? It’s especially challenging when they’ve changed, multiple common ones exist, and Latin binomials (genus + species) are long and unpronounceable. Here I share my own experiences in order to help, offer hope, make you feel better, and entertain you. It kills me when I get a…

Agave attenuata bloom spike (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Sep 17 2023

Agave attenuata (Foxtail Agave) Care & Cultivation

How do I love foxtail agaves (A. attenuata)? Let me count the ways: They’ve performed well in my garden for over 20 years. In pots too. Rosettes eventually attain a manageable 5′ in diameter. Soft, flexible leaves lack barbs or points. Yes, a harmless agave! They’re trunk-forming unlike other agaves, so they serve as beautiful…

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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 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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