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.

succulents in the ground

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.

succulent being watered

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. 

succulents in pots on a windowsill

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.

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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

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

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…
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20 tough street side succulents (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

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

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

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…
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Kalanchoe luciae (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

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

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

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…
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Succulent Calendar Cover (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

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…
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Euphorbia lactea crest (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

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…
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Mammillaria plumosa

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…
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Agave attenuata bloom spike (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

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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Garden store horrors (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Silly Succulents and Garden Store Horrors

Succulents that make me want to scream are proliferating at my local garden center…which I’m now calling The Big Box of Horrors. I suspect these appeal to kids and newbies who are unaware that fake-and-flashy succulents are doomed to fail, and also to anyone who assumes if a plant’s for sale, it must be OK.…
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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 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

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