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

Kalanchoe x houghtonii (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Jan 11 2022

Discover 40 Kinds of Kalanchoe

I'm pleased to announce my new 15-minute YouTube video: "Kalanchoe Species and Cultivars: 40 varieties for your garden and pots." In order to make sense of this highly diverse genus, I divided it into six categories: fuzzy, floriferous, mother of thousands (bryophyllums), paddles, tropicals and rarities.

Horticulturist's compost pile (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Jan 3 2022

My Easy, Inexpensive In-Ground Compost Method

No bins needed! My inexpensive, in-ground compost pile is efficient, rewarding and more fun (and easier) than recycling dripping bags of garbage. The new CA law that requires recycling of kitchen scraps makes sense, but is messy and inconvenient. Here's all you need for a method that's worked for me for decades.

Agave americana pina (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Dec 29 2021

Want to Make Tequila or Mezcal from Your Agaves?

As with most vegetables, roasting an agave's heart enhances flavor and sweetness. Cottage distilleries in Mexico roast piñas in pits dug into the ground, sort of like a luau.

Mini pine tree succulent Crassula tetragona (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Dec 1 2021

Grow Versatile “Mini Pine Tree” Crassula

Mini pine tree crassula, related to jade, is a carefree succulent I've grown for 20+ years. The botanical name, Crassula tetragona, refers to the three-sided shape of the leaves.

Nov 12 2021

Succulent Christmas Tree Holiday Centerpiece

[With Video] Make a succulent Christmas tree for your holiday tabletop centerpiece. This topiary cone with cuttings inserted into the moss needs less care than a floral arrangement and lasts much longer.

Succulents in Willy Guhl pot (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Nov 11 2021

Create a $2,500 Succulent Planter for $250

When I saw succulents planted in grid patterns in shallow, circular pots, I simply had to show them to you. Here and in my video, you'll see and discover how to make similar planters for your own garden.

Watering succulents (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Nov 2 2021

Water pH for Succulents

Giving succulents water with an alkaline pH can inhibit the plants' ability to take up nutrients, leading to less vigorous growth and yellowing. Urban and residential water tends to be alkaline (has a pH higher than 7, which is neutral).

Succulent watercolor calendar (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Oct 13 2021

Announcing My 2022 Succulent Watercolor Calendar

Announcing my 2022 Succulent Watercolor Calendar! It features a dozen new, vibrant paintings depicting some of my favorite photos of succulents. A great gift!

Oct 12 2021

New Must-Have Agave Book

The new book, "Agaves: Species, Cultivars & Hybrids" by Jeremy Spath and Jeff Moore is a must-have for its images alone. Stunning photos capture the beauty and fierceness of these sculptural succulents in ways both artistic and definitive. It's a must-have for plant IDs

Sep 21 2021

Succulents Snout Weevil Attacks Besides Agaves

Check agave relatives for snout-nose weevil. Don't wait for signs of infestation; take preventative measures now to protect your agaves, furcraeas, beaucarneas, mangaves and yuccas. See photos.

Sep 15 2021

Annie and Me at The Succulent Cafe

During succulent celebrity Annie Schreck's week-long visit to Southern CA, of course we went to The Succulent Cafe in Carlsbad near San Diego. As we sit amid walls of succulents and chat over lavender mocha coffee, Annie tells how she has "the coolest job in the world" despite its location

Aeonium 'Zwartkop' (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Sep 10 2021

When Aeoniums Get Leggy

When aeoniums get leggy, cut off the tops, leaving an inch or two of stem, and throw the rest of the plant away, roots and all. Replant each rosette as a cutting. Insert it into the soil, so it sits just above the ground. The best time

« Previous
1
…
7
8
9
10
11
…
25
Next »

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