Houseplants 101: Taking Care of Succulents

Welcome back to our Houseplant 101 series, where we ask our plant experts to share their professional tips for keeping all our indoor greens thriving and lush—so you can fully realize your indoor jungle dreams. This time we’re chatting about succulents with Julie Czeck. Keep reading to learn how to care for these low-maintenance beauties!

terrain: Succulents are so popular right now! What are some of your favorite varieties for indoor growing?

Julie: Definitely the echevarias, sedums, aloe, agave, haworthia, pachypodiums to name a few! There are so many that do well indoors. Succulents are fleshy foliage plants from arid regions from across the globe, their typically thick and hefty leaves are used to store water for long periods of time in climates that do not receive regular rain.

terrain: How do you keep succulents happy and thriving indoors?

Julie: I usually say treat succulents like you would a cactus: water when dry, let go dry to very dry between waterings and give them full blazing sun. They can adapt slightly with slightly less light but they perform best in a western or southern window. They can go through dry periods and will usually let you know when they’ve past the point of too dry (with raisin-like leaves). It’s better to underwater than over-water as over-watering will slowly kill most succulents.

terrain: How can you tell when your succulent is unhappy?