Succulent Types and Varieties: The Ultimate Guide

Right now, you have more than 50 plant families that include a type of succulent plant. Most succulents belong to the cactus and Aizoaceae families, with around 2,000 succulent species each.

In fact, around 40 percent of all succulents belong to these two plant families, while most others belong to around six other families. We will be discussing the most common families that are grown by home gardeners and plant enthusiasts:

1. Agavoideae
2. Aizoaceae
3. Aloaceae
4. Apocynaceae
5. Bromeliaceae
6. Cactaceae
7. Crassulaceae
8. Euphorbiaceae

Sit back and relax as we give you a ride into the different types of succulents.

1. Agavoideae

Agavoideae is a part of the Asparagaceae family but was once treated as a separate family called Agavaceae. As a whole, it has more than 600 species and has a lot of deserts and arid types of plants.

Agavoideae have the following characteristics:

• Mostly found in the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean
• Forms a rosette
• Both stemmed and stemless varieties are present
• Most are not suitable to grow in containers because of their size

1.1. Agave

Agave has long leaves and it forms a rosette when growing. The perennial and drought-hardy plant then produces a spire that will sport a cup-shaped flower.

There are several types of agave that you can grow, including the century plant. This popular garden plant will bloom and then die. It will leave offsets that you can use to propagate the plant. The American aloe, Agave ocahui, and Agave gigantensis are some types that you may be familiar with.

When deciding on where to plant agave, you should take time to find the best place for it. These plants have huge tap roots and it is not easy to transplant.

Agave needs a well-draining soil that is grittier than usual. You will also need to water it frequently when you first plant it, cutting back on watering gradually. Over time, you will only need to water it every two weeks.

You should also make sure that the soil has completely dried out before you water it. The thing with agave is that you only need to care for it when it is still starting. An established agave wants to be left alone, neglecting it is the best care tip you can follow.

In containers, you will need a grittier type of soil, so you can use something like the Superfly Succulent & Cactus Soil Mix. Or, you can amend your garden’s soil with small pebbles and rocks.

Care Tips

• Full sun and gritty soil are a must for healthy agaves.
• They are recommended for zones 8 to 10.
• Recommended hardiness zones: up to 8 or 9

1.2. Yucca

Yucca is another species of the Agavoideae family. These succulents can store water in their bulbs or trunks and are generally adapted to thrive in warm areas.

Their leaves, which can shoot up from the ground or on stems, will form rosettes. Like agave, yucca needs very little care and maintenance. Some types of yuccas can grow up to four feet (1.2 meters) tall and wide.

Remember, if you have pets then you should avoid planting yuccas as their leaves can be razor-sharp and they can be moderately toxic when eaten.

Planting Yuccas

You can plant yucca seeds indoors or outdoors when spring comes. Wait for spring temperatures of around 50 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit (10 to 18 degrees Celsius) to plant the hardier types of this plant. For less hardy types, you need to wait for warmer temperatures.

Choose an area that gets at least partial sun and has well-draining soil. You should give a yucca a lot of space to grow as the plant itself can be quite large and you will need to maintain some room so you can avoid brushing against it.

Care Tips

• Recommended hardiness zones: 4 to 11
• Yuccas are best suited for hardiness zones 5 to 11
• They need full sun to maintain their shapes and to encourage more blooms
• You will need to prune the dead leaves or to cut the plant back to size
• It’s easy for yuccas to develop root or stem rot, so make sure that the soil you plant them in drains well
• While you can plant yucca seeds, it’s faster to start them using root cuttings or replanting offsets
• Water at the base of the plant to avoid brown spots forming on the leaves

2. Aizoaceae

Also known as the fig-marigold family, the Aizoaceae has around 1,800 plant species under its umbrella.

These plants are native to Africa. Some genera that belong to this family are:

• Lithops
• Argyroderma
• Cheiridopsis
• Conophytum
• Faucaria
• Fenestraria
• Frithia
• Glottiphyllum
• Lapidaria
• Nananthus
• Pleisopilos
• Titanopsis
• Delosperma
• Mestoklema
• Trichodiadema
• Sphalmanthus

Here are some common succulents under this family and how to care for each

2.1. Lithops

With around three dozen species, lithops are stemless and small succulents that are shaped like a reverse cone. The flat tops are often seen protruding out of the soil.

Lithops have two very fleshy and succulent leaves that have a division in between them. As these leaves grow old, they die and give way to new growth.

These living stones also bloom in the autumn or winter. The flowers look like a daisy and mostly white or yellow. But sometimes, the blooms may be orange.

Caring for Your Lithops

Lithops are very tolerant of harsh sunlight, but it’s best to give them about four to five hours of morning sun and then partial shade for the rest of the day. It’s best to grow them indoors near an east- or south-facing window where they can enough sun.

Not getting the right amount of light can make their leaves elongated. The patterns may also not show up. Too much sun, however, can cause burns and this can destroy their leaves.

Lithops are very succulent and they can store months’ worth of water in their leaves. If you overwater them, they can go puffy and bloated and may even die.

If you don’t give lithops enough water, they can grow very slowly. Proper watering requires you to water only when the soil is completely dry.

Do not water lithops when new leaves are still growing. Resume watering when the old leaves are withered completely and dried out.

Lithops need well-draining and gritty soil to thrive. Repot lithops only when there are problems such as waterlogged or mushy soil. Or if they outgrow their pots. Do not move them until their growing season starts and only once their roots have fully developed.

Care for other split-rock or rock-like varieties, such as conophytum, lapidaria, pleisopilos, titanopsis, and other mesembs are similar to how you care for lithops. A lot of these highly succulent mesembs do not grow tall and can stay small. They also form clumps.

Your lithops can survive in hardiness zone 10. This video will help explain how to keep your lithops alive:

2.2. Delosperma

Delosperma is one of the shrubby genera. The name is taken from the Greek words delos and sperma, which mean open seeds. As such you can identify delosperma by the seeds that you can see in their capsules.

There are 170 species of delosperma and they are often found in Reunion Island, Madagascar, and Africa. Some of them are in this video:

Care Tips

• Recommended hardiness zones: 6 to 8
• Delosperma plants are generally drought-tolerant and some of them are hardy
• You should plant them in soil that is fast draining
• Plant delosperma in the mid-summer so that they’d have enough time to establish themselves during the colder months
• They need full sun to thrive and bloom
• Once a week watering during the hottest summer days, more frequently for those that are in a container and kept indoors
• Ironically, ice plants prefer warm climates
• Cuttings are the easiest way to propagate delospermas
• Watch out for scale and mealybugs

2.3. Trichodiadema

Trichodiadema plants are dwarf shrubs that have both gray and green colored leaves. The tips of a Trichodiadema are accented with small bristles, which makes it look like a cactus areole.

This plant produces flowers that look like daisies. The blooms are in different colors such as yellow, purple, pink, or white.

Several species of Trichodiadema are raised as bonsai, such as Trichodiadema stellatum and Trichodiadema bulbosum. Most species are easy to grow and care for.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHN3j23ri27/

Trichodiadema densum. Image from janna_ung on Instagram.

Trichodiadema typically grows from three to six inches (7.6 to 15.2 centimeters) tall but some species can grow up to 12 inches (30.5 centimeters). These plants can also spread out anywhere from six to 12 inches (15.2 to 30.5 centimeters)

Care Tips

• Recommended hardiness zones: 9b to 10b
• Trichodiadema needs full and bright sun, very minimal rain, and high temperatures to survive outdoors
• These succulents store water in their roots, which makes the bulbs beautiful
• The soil used for Trichodiadema should be gritty and well-draining

3. Aloaceae

There are now several genera under aloaceae when it used to have only a few. For years, aloe included several types of plants ranging from stemless succulents to little trees. that has been split into six types:

• Aloiampelos, the scrambling Aloes
• Aloidendron, the tree Aloe
• Kumara, which includes Aloe haemanthifolia and Aloe plicatilis
• Aristaloe
• Gonialoe, which includes Aloe Variegata

For the most part, however, enthusiasts and gardeners still use aloe when referring to these plants. Aloes come in all sizes from stemless dwarves to tree-sized succulents.

Their leaves hold the water and some come with succulent stems as well. They are mostly native to Arabia, Africa, or Madagascar.

Haworthia has been split into three: Haworthia, Tulista, and Hawothiopsis.

3.1. Aloe

Aloe has more than 450 species under its umbrella and it has succulent and waxy leaves. They can grow in areas that are not conducive to growth with very little rainfall. They have red, orange, or yellow tubular blooms.

Perhaps the most recognizable aloe plant is Aloe vera, which has traditionally been used as a medical cure since ancient times. This video will show you the different types of aloe and how different they look from each other:

Care Tips

• Recommended hardiness zones: 10 and 11
• Aloe vera is a houseplant that needs sandy soil and full or partial sun
• Does not like direct sunlight
• Blooms in the summer
• When planting indoors choose a heavy terracotta container with a drainage hole at the bottom
• Water only when the soil is completely dry to prevent root rot
• There are three things you should watch out for when it comes to pests and diseases: aloe mites, aloe rust, and aloe scales

3.2. Haworthia

Haworthia is a genus with more than 70 species of plants. These are mostly natives of Africa and can stay small. Depending on the type, haworthia have rounded or pointed tips.

Haworthias have irregularly-shaped flowers that are white, tubular, and small. These flowers often bloom at the end of a lengthy spike. Haworthias actively grow during the colder winter months, so you should not water them during the summer.

Some types of haworthias are seen in this video:

Care Tips

• Recommended hardiness zones: 9 to 11
• Occasionally water these plants to keep them healthy, with the soil completely dry in between waterings
• Insecticides can help drive away mealybugs
• Likes indirect to direct light
• Can tolerate average home humidity and dry air

3.3. Astroloba

Astroloba includes six species of plants that have thin, upright, or creeping stems that hold leaves that are triangular. They often have regularly-shaped flowers that are clustered together.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxO1yBBlORI/

Astroloba foliolosa. Image from flowers cactus on Instagram.

These plants are native to Sothern Africa, and a lot of its members form rosettes of succulent leaves.

Care Tips

• Recommended hardiness zones: 10 or higher
• Partial sun or semi-shaded areas allow astrolobas to grow healthily
• You can propagate these succulents from seeds, dividing clumps, or using offsets and cuttings
• Well-draining soil is also needed

4. Apocynaceae

This family is composed of approximately 2,000 species of vines, herbs, shrubs, and trees. Succulent genera belonging to this family include:

• Adenium
• Pachypodium
• Plumeria
• Caralluma
• Huernia
• Orbea
• Stapelia
• Ceropegia
• Hoya

4.1. Adenium

Like pachypodium, adenium has succulent stems and roots. They grow to be small shrubs with a swollen trunk. Adeniums are popular choices for bonsai growers because of its fat caudex and canopy of leaves and flowers.

This video will show you the different varieties of adenium and how beautiful their flowers are:

Care Guide

Adenium needs full sunlight when you grow it outside in a warm climate. If you live in a cooler climate, then you will need to grow your adenium indoors It needs temperatures of at least 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.4 degrees Celsius).

• Recommended hardiness zones: 10 to 11
• Can thrive in poor or gritty soil
• Not hardy to freezing temperatures
• Bright light needed for healthy growing adenium
• Winter-dormant, do not water in the winter months
• You can use a 20-20-20 fertilizer, but make sure to dilute it
• South-facing windows are ideal for adenium plants you have indoors
• Watch out for spider mites, scale, and mealybugs
• Adeniums have poisonous sap which may irritate your skin as well as mucous membranes

4.2. Plumeria

Plumeria can grow into small trees and have succulent stems. They are mostly known for their beautiful flowers. These succulents can bloom in small containers, as well.

Native to Central America and Mexico, plumeria trees have fragrant flowers in different colors, including red, pink, white, and yellow. With large leaves, you can grow this outdoors or inside your home. Plumeria is also known as frangipani.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHWv860B0Pp/

Plumeria. Photo from manoarainbow1 on Instagram.

Care Tips

You can grow plumeria from seeds, but it’s much faster to grow it from cuttings

• Recommended hardiness zones: 10 to 12
• Needs well-draining soil with a somewhat acidic pH
• Needs six hours of full sun or more
• Not hardy to cold temperatures
• Water only when the soil is completely dry, and do not water during the winter when it goes into dormancy
• Use a high phosphate fertilizer for more flowers
• Cut when needed, but don’t prune too much as it will decrease the number of flowers

4.3. Stapelia

Stapelia includes more than 50 species of clumping plants with succulent stems. These leafless stems grow upright from the base of the plant. However, what catches people’s attention is the weird-looking five-lobed flowers that may be yellow, purple, or red.

Most stapelia blooms have a stinky smell. These flowers can be very large as well, with the Stapelia gigantea having blooms that can be as big as 12 inches (30 centimeters) wide.

To give you an idea of just how weird-looking these flowers can appear, here’s a video of the different Stapelia varieties:

Care Tips

• Recommended hardiness zones: 9 to 12
• Needs partial to full sun, but can be very forgiving when it comes to light
• These plants prefer to have their roots crowded in
• Do not overwater as the stems can easily rot when you water too much
• Blow-flies are often found on these succulents because they lay their eggs at the center of the flowers

4.4. Hoya

Hoya is a genus of succulents that have approximately 200 species. You may know them as wax plants or porcelain flowers.

Depending on the species, hoya leaves might be as small as 0.08 to .20 inches (two to four millimeters) to something as big as 10 inches (25 centimeters) wide.

Hoya has star-shaped flowers that are clumped together in umbels. Some flowers can grow up to three inches (7.6 centimeters) in diameter.

This video shows you the different varieties of Hoya:

Care Tips

• Recommended hardiness zones: 9 to 11
• Water less frequently in the winter, but keep the soil moist the rest of the year
• Don’t prune a hoya plant as the tendrils will grow and sprout a flower
• Needs bright but indirect sunlight
• Watch out fr scale, aphids, and mealybugs

5. Bromeliaceae

Bromeliaceae includes pineapples, and tillandsia, and most plants have semi-succulent leaves. Most of the bromeliads are epiphytes, which grow on top of another plant. They can draw whatever they need to grow from the air rather than becoming a parasite.

5.1. Dyckia

There are more than ten dozen species of dyckia out there. These plants stay on land and form rosettes with their fleshy and rigid leaves.

The leaves also have teeth at the side and are native to South America. These semi-succulent plants can grow flower spikes that then produce lovely orange, yellow, or red flowers. Here’s how they look like:

These xeriscape plants are very hardy against droughts. It can go for a long time without water.

Care Tips

• Most dyckia varieties can survive heavy rainfall and dry climates
• Full sun and temperatures of around 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees celsius) are ideal for growing dyckia
• Not frost hardy, take indoors when temperatures go below 40 degrees Fahrenheit (four degrees Celsius)
• Propagate using offsets

6. Cactaceae

The cactus family is a large one with more than ten dozen genera and around 1,750 species. Most cacti have thickened parts that can store water, and they are mostly leafless. Most species, however, do have spines that are considered to be leaves.

The spines help protect the plant from foraging animals while also preventing airflow and water loss. These are native to the American continent.

6.1. Saguaro Cactus

Known as Carnegiea gigantea, the Saguaro cacti are very slow-growing plants that can take decades to grow tall. It’s said that if you’re lucky, you can have a saguaro that’s 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) tall after growing it for eight years.

Adult Saguaro cacti can reach up to 30 feet (9.1 meters) in height. However, given the slow-growing nature of the cacti, some that can take more than a hundred years to grow that tall.

The skin of the stems is waxy on top but corky closer to the ground. These are covered with spines that dot the ribs. This cactus has barrel-shaped bodies and stems. The ribbed column allows it to expand to accommodate more water when needed.

Its trumpet-shaped blooms have been named Arizona’s state flower. The flowers give way to a red fruit once it dies. The fruit is edible, which is often used to produce preserves. It can also be fermented to produce wine.

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Saguaro cactus. Photo from nationalparkgeek on Instagram.

Cactoideae Subfamily

The Saguaro cactus is one of the more than a thousand species belonging to the Cactoideae subfamily. This is perhaps the biggest subfamily of cacti and the most diverse as well.

These cacti can be less than half an inch (1.3 centimeters) to more than 60 feet (152.4 centimeters) tall. Most cactoiadeae have spines without glochids. These plants use their stems to produce their own food, instead of leaves.

Care Tips

• Recommended hardiness zones: 8a to 11b
• Do not dig up mature Saguaro cacti: it’s illegal and they die when transplanted
• Baby Saguaros should be planted next to a nurse tree, which would later die as the cactus competes for nutrients
• Use well-drained and gritty soil
• Don’t water too much
• Watch out for mealybugs and scale

6.2. Opuntia

Opuntia is native to the Americas but can live in countries that have mild climates. Opuntia is a big group of cacti that have flattened pads rather than barrel-like stems.

Aside from the flat pads called cladodes, opuntia plants also have big fixed spines that are accentuated by small glochids. The hairlike spikes can prick the skin, which causes irritation in some.

Some varieties of opuntia also bear edible fruits that are called tuna. People usually use tuna to make jams or candies. Aside from the fruit, the cladodes are also edible.

Popular types of opuntia include:

• Pricky pear
• Barbary fig
• Bunny ears
• Tulip prickly pear
• Beaver tail pear

This video will show you some types of opuntias you can grow:

Opuntioideae Subfamily

Opuntia plants are among the more than 300 cacti species that have ordinary spines and the irritating glochids. Members of this subfamily have hardened seeds because of the aril coating it has.

There are a few plants in this subfamily that have leaves, but these do not live long. As for size, most opuntiads grow to form mats while others can grow up to tree height.

Caring for Opuntia

• Recommended hardiness zones: 2 to 10
• Make sure that it doesn’t stay in soggy soil, as such you need gritty and well-draining soil for this cactus
• An established plant will have no problems if you water it to avoid shriveling pads, but reduce watering during winter
• Pads are the fastest way to propagate opuntia
• Use a fertilizer that is low in nitrogen to encourage blooms and fruits

6.3. Maihuenia

If you think that cacti are always leafless, then you should see a maihuenia plant. This genus has two mat-forming cacti that have short stems and rounded leaves and spines.

These plants often have blooms in various hues of yellow.

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Maihuenia patagonica. Image from rareplant.me on Instagram.

Pereskioideae

Maihuenia plants are part of the Pereskioideae subfamily, also known as leafy cacti. There are less than two dozen species belonging to this subfamily.

Care Tips

• Recommended hardiness zones: 6a to 11b
• These are frost-hardy cacti
• Use a sheet of glass to protect your maihuenia plant during the colder months of winter
• Use a fertilizer that is rich in both phosphorous and potassium
• Water sparsely when you grow it inside the house, but be sure to keep it watered when grown outside during summer
• Needs to be repotted in two to three years

More Cacti

While you have these three subfamilies under the cactus family: Pereskioideae, Opuntioideae, and Cactoideae, here are some of the major genera and how they look like:

Mostly globular cacti that have succulent stems, these cacti grow low. They are also mostly small or midsized, but some varieties belonging to these genera can be bigger. A lot of the varieties are also free flowering.

• Sulcorebu
• Rebutia
• Parodia
• Notocactus
• Neoporteria
• Mammillaria
• Lobivia
• Gymnocalycium
• Frailea
• Ferocactus
• Echinopsis
• Echinocereus
• Echinocactus
• Coryphantha
• Copiapoa
• Borzicactus
• Astrophytum
• Ariocarpus

Here is a video of some types of mammillaria, which would give you an idea of what these plants look like:

These cacti grow close to the ground and their succulent stems have cephaliums, a bright crown at the tips.

• Discocactus
• Melocactus

Here’s what different types of discocactus plants look like:

These genera have jointed succulent stems and can grow to the size of small to mid-sized trees

• Opuntia
• Cylindropuntia
• Tephrocactus

This video shows you the cholla garden at the Joshua Tree National Park. Cholla is a type of Cylindropuntia.

These genera have mostly upright or columnar cacti. They are typically midsized and can grow tree-sized. These stem succulents often develop branches.

• Pachycereus
• Oreocereus
• Nyctocereus
• Espostoa
• Cleistocactus
• Cereus
• Cephalocereus
• Carnegia

Cephalocereus, known as old man cactus, looks like this:

These hanging or training cacti have succulent and long stems. Some of them can be found in tropical forests and can be epiphytic, which means that they can perch on other plants and organic things but getting their nutrients, air, and water on their own.

• xEpicactus
• Selenicereus
• Schlumbergera
• Rhipsalis
• Epiphyllum
• Disocactus

https://www.instagram.com/p/BTGdC0nFlMJ/

Disocactus. Image from motherofcrasas on Instagram.

7. Crassulaceae

There are 1,500 species in the Crassulaceae family and quite a lot of them have succulent leaves. Some of these plants are hardy to extremely cold temperatures and can be used as garden plants even in places that experience winter.

Some of these plants can be poisonous, with kalanchoe and tylecodon varieties affecting the heart and the neurological systems. As such, it’s not safe for animals.

7.1. Crassula

Crassula like similar species such as kalanchoe, cotyledon, tylecodon, and andromischus are plants that have succulent leaves and stems. Sizes for these genera range widely from small plants to tree-sized.

There are hanging and trailing varieties, as well. While some develop a caudex that makes them ideal for bonsai growing.

Crassula, itself, has approximately 200 succulent plants, with some of them growing to around six feet (1.8 meters). Some of the most popular are

• Morgan’s beauty
• Campfire
• Crassula pellucida Variegata
• Crassula perforata

This video shows you the different types of crassula plants:

Care Tips

• Recommended hardiness zones: 9 to 12
• Crassula plants need a bit of shade during the hottest summer days
• Choose an area that has full morning sun and some shade in the afternoon for your crassula
• This genus needs well-draining soil, infrequent watering, and organic fertilizer
• Crassula plants can be propagated using cuttings or offsets

7.2. Echeveria

Echeveria plants have succulent leaves and most of these form a rosette. These plants are not frosted hardy.

Native to Mexico, South America, and Central America, there are more than 100 species under its category. A lot of echeverias have waxy and smooth leaves, while some have hairy leaves.

Some of the popular plants from this genus are:

• Echeveria coccinea
• Echeveria compressicaulis
• Echeveria cante
• Echeveria harmsii
• Echeveria lauii
• Echeveria pilosa
• Echeveria prolifica

The different varieties of echeveria:

Care Tips

• When planted outside, you will need to ensure that they are kept dry and frost-free in a greenhouse over the winter
• Echeverias need a sunny location to form beautiful rosettes
• Requires slightly acidic and well-draining soil
• Look out for root rot, soft rot, and mealybugs

7.3. Aeonium

Aeonium has around three dozen species, which range from flat and small plants to tall shrubs. A distinguishing characteristic of this genus is the tender and succulent leaves that form rosettes.

Aeonium often blooms with withe or yellow small flowers. These plants are a popular choice for dish gardens because they thrive in shallow pots with well-draining soil and peat. You can plant them with jade, agave, or aloe plants.

You can see the different types of aeonium in this video:

Care Tips

• Needs well-draining soil and sunny home with temperatures between 40 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit (4 to 38 degrees Celsius)
• Fertilize once during spring
• Watch out for root rot, mites, and scale
• Mulch can help if placed near the base

7.4. Sempervivum

Sempervivum plants are hardy succulents that have many colors and forms. They are native to Western Asia and Europe, particularly those areas with colder climates.

They have succulent leaves that form into rosettes. Some of these rosettes can easily grow up to six inches (15 centimeters) in diameter. They thrive even when the soil is gritty, rocky, or otherwise poor.

The thing with sempervivum plants is that they die after they flower. The good news is that these plants are easy to grow and they leave behind offsets that can easily replace the original plant.

This video will show you the different varieties of sempervivum:

Care Tips

• Recommended hardiness zones: 4 to 8
• Grow sempervivum plants from seeds or by dividing the offsets
• These succulents thrive in well-draining soil that has anywhere from 25 to 50 percent grit materials
• Most sempervivum plants are resistant to frost

7.5. Sedum

There are at least 400 species of sedum out there and most of them are native to the northern hemisphere. These plants have succulent stems and leaves.

Sedum plants are very varied: some sedums act as ground cover, while others grow into small trees. What’s more, different types of sedums have different frost tolerance: some are frost-hardy while others are not.

Some varieties of sedum you might be familiar with include:

• Autumn Fire
• Black Jack
• Coral Carpet
• Dragon’s Blood
• Mr. Goodbud
• Red Creeping
• Spurium Tricolor

How do sedum plants look like? Here they are:

Care Tips

• Sedum is very easy to grow and care for, even beginner gardeners can grow it.
• Recommended hardiness zones: Different species can be grown in each zone, but most flourish in 4 to 9
• Loves sunny areas and very little water

8. Euphorbiaceae

There are approximately 7,700 species and 300 genera belonging to the Euphorbiaceae family, but not all of these are succulents. Those that do store water do so in their leaves, roots, or stems.

Most succulents in the Euphorbiaceae family grow a caudex. Sizes range from small plants to large trees.

8.1. Euphorbia

Euphorbia by itself already has 2,000 species and 850 of these store water. Native to Madagascar, India, and Africa, succulent varieties of euphorbia can sometimes look like a cactus.

This video shows you how the different varieties of this genera look like:

Care Tips

• Needs ample light, a bit of watering, and well-draining soil
• Watch out for whitefly or powdery mildew
• No fertilization needed, but you may give it plant food if the bottom leaves turn yellow
• Euphorbia is highly toxic and its sap can cause skin and eye irritation

Frequently Asked Questions

Got questions? We’re here to help. We’ve scoured the most frequently asked questions and answered them for you.

Why It Pays to Know the Different Types of Succulents

Knowing the different types of succulents will help you care for them, especially if you have a growing collection of these water-storing plants.

Because of the wide variety of succulents that you can get, remembering how to care for each one might get daunting. But if you sort your plants by family and genus, you will probably have an easier time.

What’s more, you can now choose the types of succulents you want to grow based on the characteristics of the family where they belong. If you want drought-tolerant plants, there’s a wide selection of cacti that you can choose from.

Meanwhile, if you’re looking for frost-hardy succulents, you can look at sempervivum plants.

Read on more in-depth guides by checking these links below:

• Aloe Brevifolia (Short-leafed Aloe)
• Aloe Ferox (Cape Aloe)
• Echeveria Lola
• Lophocereus Marginatus (Mexican Fence Post Cactus)
• Sedum Adolphii (Golden Glow)
• Selenicereus Grandiflorus (Queen of the Night)

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Alvin Dy

Alvin admits to not having a green thumb and has spent decades not really minding plants at all. But he swears he can grow them. He takes it upon himself to pick up the plants his wife has neglected and he claims these babies have flourished under his care. He has named his windowsill the ICU for dying plant, and is an advocate of (recycled) container gardening.

Latest posts by Alvin Dy (see all)

• Cephalocereus Senilis (Old Man Cactus) How To Grow and Care 101 - June 9, 2021
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• 5 Best Hanging Succulent Varieties That Are Must-Haves In Your Garden - May 19, 2021