5 Best Outdoor Succulents – Improve Your Garden Scenery Now

Is your garden looking ‘meh’?

How do you make your garden stand out from the rest of your neighbors? You could add a couple of gnomes and lighting tricks to make things a little different, but that can get tricky, tiring, and expensive! We just want to lounge around watching our succulents grow, right?

You’re in luck! Beautiful mother nature thinks of everything and has mysterious and outlandish succulents that you can grow to transform your garden from drab to fab.

Look at the best outdoor succulents that are sure to improve your garden’s scenery and will most likely make your neighbor jealous!

But before we dive into outdoor succulents, we wanted to share this incredible opportunity Amazon is offering in honor of our sponsorship with them! Have you heard of Audible? It’s Amazon’s line of online audiobooks. They’re offering TWO free audiobooks for anyone who signs up for their FREE 30-day trial of Audible! We love it and are brushing up on our growing techniques with Cacti and Succulents Handbook: Basic Growing Techniques and a Directory of More Than 140 Common Species and Varieties by Smith Gideon F. Learn more and sign up today for your 2 free ebooks here!

Okay, back to outdoor succulents!

Agave Ovatifolia—Whale’s Tongue

Sitting as a solitary stunner in a decorative container, the Agave Ovatifolia is an evergreen perennial that will melt the heart of even the most lethargic gardeners. Standing proudly at heights between 2 and 5 ft tall, this succulent boasts naturally cupped, broad leaves forming a rounded rosette. The thick leaves on this outdoor succulent are grey to powdery blue in color, have small, sharp teeth along the margins, and have a long, dark grey terminal spine. Get your own Agave Ovatifolia here!

This succulent originally hails from Nuevo Leon in North Eastern Mexico, commonly known as Agave or Whale’s Tongue. The amount of irrigation the succulent gets can determine the size of the plant. Agave does brilliantly in well-draining soil. Try our go-to potting soil here, and has minimal water requirements, mainly during the summer. Here’s a nifty little watering can you can use!

This slow-growing plant will produce flowers only once after it is more than 15 years old! Dense clusters of yellow-green flowers develop from a long, dark grey terminal spine, and the central crown dies after blooming.

Agave is famous for being drought-resistant and cold-hardy, making it an exceptional outdoor succulent. Place this plant away from traffic, as its sharp teeth could harm children and pets.

Make sure to follow Succulent City on Facebook, Pinterest & Instagram for more informative & interesting content about succulents & cacti 🙂 Happy planting, and live the moment, my friend!

Sempervivum—Hens and Chicks

When looking for an outdoor succulent that will spread and fill the earth, look no further than Sempervivum or Hens and Chicks as it is colloquially known. With its origins in Western Asia, North Africa, and Southern Europe, Sempervivum was planted on rooftops to keep roof slates in place and protect them from lightning and fire. Looking through Air BnB, you will undoubtedly find some old European cottages with Hens and Chicks on the roof.

This low-growing plant propagates via offsets, with the parent rosettes or ‘mother’ plant referred to as ‘hens’ and the offsets that spring from them referred to as ‘chicks.’ The succulent take on the form of a compact rosette and boasts thick, fleshy leaves that grow alternately from a central point, check it out here, from Amazon!

Sempervivum reproduces with wild abandon, and its cold tolerance and hardiness make it a survivor under the most unpleasant circumstances. They have been known to survive in Michigan and Colorado, where temperatures have dropped to -34°C!

Over 40 different species of cultivars have been developed from the genus Sempervivum, which can be differentiated by color. Some examples are the Terracotta Baby, which has orangey-red foliage. The Bernstein has copper leaves with sprinkles of gold. And Big Blue, which has bluish-green leaves. Whatever your preference, there are ‘Hens and Chicks’ species to suit your landscape needs and outdoor succulents desire.

For a more in-depth look and the proper care for the Hens and Chicks succulent, head over to our article How to Grow Hens and Chicks Succulents now!

Senecio Mandraliscae (The Blue Chalksticks)

The Senecio Mandraliscae is also called Blue Chalk Sticks or Blue Finger, and true to its name, it has silvery blue, pencil-like fleshy leaves that grow between 2 and 4 inches long. This exotic native of South Africa resembles a sea urchin and looks fantastic as ground cover, especially in contrast with other plants. Get your own Blue Chalk Sticks succulent, here, from Etsy.

The leaves of this succulent have a waxy, white coat that helps protect it from hot, dry conditions, perfect for an outdoor succulent. Blue Chalk Sticks produce small, white flowers in the middle of summer. It enjoys areas where there is full sunshine or light shade. Give your Blue Chalk Sticks a beautiful, blue home in these pots. They’ll contrast beautifully together!

This plant can grow between 12 and 18 inches tall and creates a thick mat that forms from the ground with its leaves facing up. Blue Chalk Sticks can survive long periods without water as a drought-tolerant succulent.

You can tell they are dying of thirst when the leaves wilt and shrink. Like most succulents, Blue Chalk Sticks prefer to be watered only when the soil is completely dry.

Think you may have over-watered your succulent and are concerned about rotting? Check out our article “Why is My Succulent Rotting?” to see how you can save your succulent baby.

This succulent not only adds aesthetic value to rock gardens, borders, or terrariums, but word on the gardening- grapevine is that it is also known to be fire-resistant.

Make sure to follow Succulent City on Facebook, Pinterest & Instagram for more informative & interesting content about succulents & cacti 🙂 Happy planting, and live the moment, my friend!

Pachycereus Marginatus—Mexican Fence Post Cactus

Have you ever wanted a natural fence for your piece of land? Well, we have the perfect environmentally friendly solution for you.

Making a solid vertical statement where ever it appears, the Mexican Fence Post Cactus is truly a sight to behold. This outdoor succulent is amply named after Mexican villagers used it to construct a living fence, especially along the roads. Talk about the perfect outdoor succulent with protective features!

Before we forget, any outdoor succulents can also be delivered to your doorstep with a subscription box! Don’t hesitate to check it out at Succulents Box. We’re getting one this week!

It shoots straight up from the ground, and unlike other cacti varieties, the Mexican Fence Post does not grow arms. Instead, its little ones (offshoots) grow right next to the ‘parent’ but vertically, similar to a pipe organ. The ‘post’ has 4 to 6 symmetrical ridges with rows of small, white thorns that (from a distance) make the succulent look like it has white stripes.

This handsome cactus can reach up to 20 feet tall and develops faster with supplemental irrigation. (Unless you have a 20ft ceiling, this succulent might only be an outdoor succulent). During springtime, this succulent produces showy, pinkish-red flowers that develop into red fruits with black seeds. Get your own Mexican Fence Post Cactus here!

Being such a popular character, the Pachycereus Marginatus also goes by Central Mexico Pipe Organ, Organ Pipe Cactus, and Organo.

It’s pretty clear from the name this plant originates from… yeah, you guessed it, Central Mexico!

ALSO READ:

• A List of Outdoor Cactus Plants & How to Care for Them.
• Devil’s Pincushion – Echinocactus Texensis.
• Devil’s Head Cactus – Echinocactus Horizonthalonius.
• 15 Flowering Succulents To Keep Indoors/Outdoors.

Make sure to follow Succulent City on Facebook, Pinterest & Instagram for more informative & interesting content about succulents & cacti 🙂 Happy planting, and live the moment, my friend!

Echinocactus Grusonii – Golden Barrel Cactus

Have you heard about the succulent that desert travelers used as a compass? Let us introduce you to Echinocactus Grusonii, the Golden Barrel Cactus. This whimsical plant is sometimes called the Golden Ball Cactus or Mother-in-law’s cushion.

Spherical in shape, the Golden Barrel Cactus has ribs around it that are covered with hooked yellow spines. The spines may be slightly curved or straight and occasionally appear white.  The plant has a wooly, thick, hairy mat at the top that produces yellow, cup-shaped flowers.  The cactus may reach a height of up to 1 meter and has a life span of 30 years. Only mature species produce flowers when grown outdoors with total exposure to the sun.

As the plant grows older, it starts to take more of an oblong shape, leaning to the south or southwest, hence the compass theory. This succulent is a full sun worshipper and tends to rot away when in low-light environments suddenly.

If you are hoping to stand out in your neighborhood, this is the perfect plant to create a striking statement. Whether planted in groups, in a quirky container, or alongside rocks, Golden Barrel Cactus attracts attention wherever it grows. Ready to buy your own? Get it on Etsy here!

Final Words

These are just a snippet of the different varieties of succulents you can grow outdoors and simultaneously be different from the other landscapes around you!

Which ones are you excited to plant? We think the Mexican Fence Post Cactus will add unique vibes to our outdoor gardens!

Before you go out and buy all of these succulents (because who are we kidding— they’re all awesome), check out our guides to help you ensure you get the most out of your new outdoor plants! Check out When You Should Water Your Succulents, How to Propagate Your Succulents Successfully, and How to Get Rid of Mealy Bugs.

Do you own any of these succulents already? Show us! Tag us in your photos on Instagram, or share your photos in our exclusive Facebook group, Succulent City plant Lounge. We’d love to see it!

Enjoyed learning about 5 Best Outdoor Succulents? If so, you’ll enjoy the ebook about All the Types of Succulents for Indoor & Outdoor. This ebook will give you more detailed answers to help your succulent grow even better! With thousands of succulent lovers enjoying our ebooks, you don’t want to miss out on what works best to grow your succulents.

Have fun, and happy planting!

ABOUT ME

Richard Miller

Salute everyone. It's Richard, the author of this Succulent & Xeriscaping blog. I am a traveler and a nature lover looking for a connection with the wild green. In my journey, I found a love for succulents and xeriscaping. What attracts me is the long-lasting & unique beauty of every plant I have the chance to see with my own eyes. Welcome to my little blog and let's enjoy a good time together!

Contact me: richard.succulentcity@gmail.com