Succulent Plants for Beginners: How to Grow and Use Them Indoors

Indoor plants are always a great idea for any interior. Not only do they breathe life into your home, but they also come with many unexpected advantages —they are known to boost indoor air quality, for one, and greatly reduce dust allergens. Especially over the past few years, we’ve all learnt to appreciate the greenery around us—and house plants give us that all-important connection with the outdoors that we all crave!

If you love greenery but don’t exactly have a green thumb, then you should consider starting your indoor garden with a few succulents. These hardy plants thrive with minimal care and very little water, and most importantly, are really hard to kill! To help you get started, we bring you the Ultimate Guide to growing succulents at home. Which are the succulents that you should buy? How much, or how little, water do they need? Read on to find out!

Which Are the Most Popular Succulent Plants?

Aloe Vera

The aloe vera plant is very popular, grown as much for its medicinal properties as for its beauty. The sap from the leaf can be applied on wounds, as it has antibacterial properties and accelerates healing. The juice is known to lower sugar levels and improve digestion.
To keep your aloe plant thriving, you should water it well once in two weeks and keep it in indirect sunlight.

Read Also: 7 Low-Maintenance Indoor Plants that Don’t Need Much Sunlight

Burro’s Tail

The Burro’s Tail is a trailing plant with plump leaves shaped like teardrops that spill out of the container they are in. Keep your pot in bright, direct sunlight and water it once in two weeks, making sure that the soil is well soaked but the roots are not sitting in water. Also, be careful not to touch the plant too much as the baby leaves fall off easily.

Sempervivum

This pretty succulent is popular among new gardeners as it thrives on neglect and is virtually indestructible! Just put it on a sunny ledge and give it a thorough watering every fortnight, ensuring that the soil is well-drained.

Jade Plants

According to Feng shui, Jade plants are said to attract wealth and fortune to your home, and that’s something that we can never have enough of! Place it on your balcony or a sunny window, as it needs at least 10 to 12 hours of sunlight a day. It should never be over-watered, and can go for a long time without water. Check to see whether the soil is totally dry, before you give it a good soak.

Tips on How to Care For Indoor Succulent Plants

• There’s a good reason why cactus plants are found in deserts. Succulents love sunshine, and need plenty of it! Around 6 hours of direct or semi-direct sunlight a day would be good for your green companion. But do note that if your tiny plant is newly planted, it should not be kept in the direct sun; at least not until it is well-rooted.
• Keep moving the plants around, so that all the sides get enough light.
• Overwatering can kill your plant. Only water it when the top inch feels dry to your finger. Just about a glassful of water every week should be enough for a small pot. But do watch for tell-tale signs that your plant needs more frequent watering. If the leaves seem dry or yellow, then your plant is thirsty!
• Every once in a while, wipe the leaves with a damp cloth to remove any accumulation of dust.
• Make sure that the soil drains well, and that you use a mix of sand, pumice and potting mixture. Choose a pot with a drain hole, and add a layer or two of sand and gravel below so that the roots are never soaking inside water. If the soil has too much of clay and retains water, the roots will start to rot.

Decorating with Succulents

• Pretty ceramic pots, coffee mugs or earthen dishes are perfect containers for your succulents. Here, a cluster of tiny plants add a cheery touch to your work-from-home desk.

• A long, hollowed out tree branch can house your cactus garden, and takes pride of place as the centrepiece on your dining table!

• In this cozy dining nook, aloe vera plants bask in the spotlight as a table decoration. Also note the cactus sitting pretty in a mug, to the far corner of the kitchen counter.

• Have an empty corner that needs a pick-me-up? This industrial-style open shelving unit houses a motley collection of indoor plants, with plenty of succulents in the mix.

• Brighten up your bedroom with a tall succulent in a rattan plant holder, right next to your bed. Cactus plants do wonders for the indoor air, regulating the amount of oxygen in the air and removing stale odours.

• Hey, if you can’t have the real thing, even a pen-and-ink sketch will do! Nature lovers will absolutely adore this black and white sketch of a succulent, in lieu of an actual plant in the bedroom.

• A grid mesh on the wall holds your collection of succulents in hanging pots. Note the little plants that have been coaxed to grow on an empty photo frame; an interesting DIY project for a lazy afternoon!

• The highlight of this stunning black-themed bathroom is the corner filled with tall cactus plants in lovely pots.

• Even if you don’t have the space for tall plants, a few pretty succulents in tiny pots on the window will do just as well!

Plants are our daily reminder that all’s well with the world! Loved the idea of growing succulents, but not sure how to go about it? If you need help to get your indoor garden started, do pop into any of the HomeLane Experience Centres and meet our expert home designers.