Succulent Genera
Succulents are grouped into genera by botanical relationship. Knowing the genus tells you a lot about care, water needs and growth habit — a haworthia and an aeonium want very different things.
Echeveria
The classic rosette succulents from Mexico and Central America. Symmetrical, colourful, and the parent of dozens of popular hybrids.
Haworthia
Small South African rosettes that tolerate lower light better than most succulents. Perfect windowsill plants.
Crassula
A huge genus ranging from the classic jade plant to stacked-leaf oddities. Easy, long-lived, and forgiving.
Sedum (Stonecrop)
Ground-hugging to shrubby stonecrops, many with leaves that blush red in sun. Some are cold-hardy.
Aeonium
Rosette succulents from the Canary Islands with a winter growing cycle — they rest in summer when others grow.
Kalanchoe
Madagascan succulents with felted or coloured leaves; some sprout tiny plantlets along leaf edges.
Graptopetalum
Mexican rosettes with a powdery coating (farina) in ghostly pastel tones. Key parents of many hybrids.
×Graptoveria
Inter-generic hybrids of Graptopetalum × Echeveria — chunky leaves with the best colour of both parents.
Pachyphytum
Moonstone-like succulents with thick, rounded, powdery leaves. Slow-growing and compact.
Pachyveria
Pachyphytum × Echeveria hybrids: plump jewelled rosettes that stay small and colour up in bright light.
Aloe
Spiky-leaved African and Arabian succulents, from the familiar aloe vera to the spiralled aloe polyphylla.
Curio (String of…)
Trailing senecios with bead-, banana- and egg-shaped leaves. Best grown in hanging baskets with careful watering.
Portulacaria
The elephant bush — a woody-stemmed South African succulent that bonsais beautifully and tolerates more water than most.
Dracaena (Sansevieria)
Snake plants and their relatives — architectural, near-indestructible, and happy in low light.
Agave
Large, dramatic rosettes from the Americas. Many are cold-hardy but sharply armed — give them space.
Lithops (Living Stones)
Mimicry succulents from South Africa that look like pebbles. One pair of leaves per year and very little water.
Euphorbia
Cactus-like spiny succulents with milky sap that is irritating — handle with gloves. Not related to true cacti.
Sempervivum
The hardiest succulents — alpine hen-and-chicks that overwinter outdoors in snow. Rosettes flower once then are replaced by chicks.
Dudleya (Liveforevers)
Chalk-coated cliff rosettes from California and Baja. Winter-growing, summer-dormant: keep them bone-dry in summer.
Gasteria
Spotted tongue-leafed relatives of haworthias — the most shade-tolerant succulents after haworthia itself.
Ceropegia (Strings)
String of hearts and its variegated form — trailing tuberous vines with marbled heart leaves.
Popular Cacti
Classic beginner cacti that live happily beside succulents: bunny ears, old lady cactus and night-blooming clusters.
Caudex & 冬型冷门
Desert rose, Madagascar palm and cold-hardy oddities like dunce caps and the Chinese Sinocrassula.
Cotyledon
Shrubby South African succulents with thick leaves, often with colourful edges. Bear's paws is the fan favourite.