Most succulents make excellent houseplants. They’re low maintenance, and since most plants come from hot, dry climates, they can get a little neglect.
Indoor succulent collections often start with stone lotus or jade plants. They are like a gateway to the world of succulents. If you’ve had these for a while, and maybe even propagated a few leaves, you might want to broaden your succulent horizons a bit.
There are many rare and unusual succulents to choose from. There are many unique, showy varieties and strange and wonderfully different leaves to collect.
This article starts with the basics of succulent care, then dives into 10 rare and unusual indoor succulents!
Succulent Care Basics
Before we delve into unusual succulents, let’s go over some basic succulent care tips.
These are some general guidelines for caring for succulents. Find out if specific succulents have special care needs.
Succulents need light
The natural habitat of most succulents is hot, dry and sunny.
Place the plant in a sunny spot in your home. Find the window sill that gets the most sunlight.
If you don’t provide enough natural light to your succulents, they may stretch out and try to reach the light. If this happens, move the plant closer to a window or use special grow lights. These lights don’t have to be expensive and will give your plants the light they need.
Succulents don’t like too much water
Since nearly all succulents come from hot climates, they are not used to lots of rain. So don’t water the plants too often.
Since succulents are accustomed to dry environments, they should not be left in wet soil for too long. Make sure the soil is completely dry before watering.
When the soil is very dry, occasional watering from below can be helpful.
Water less in winter. Succulents store water in their leaves, so they can handle minor droughts.
Succulents need good drainage
It will help to provide the succulent with ample drainage.
Choose pots with drainage holes in the bottom. This will help drain excess water after watering the succulents.
Always use well-drained soil for cacti and succulents. You don’t want soggy soil. Good drainage keeps the roots healthy.
1. Frithia pulchra – Fairy Elephants Feet
Fairy elephant feet and the very similar-looking Fenestraria rhopalophylla (“baby’s toes”) are living rock relatives that fit perfectly into rock-filled natural habitats.
They survive hot and sunny climates by going underground. The tubular leaves disappear almost completely underground, leaving only the tops visible. These top surfaces are translucent windows that allow light to enter and reach the interior of the leaves.
Give your plants as much sun as possible, and be careful not to overwater.
2. Cotyledon Tomentosa – Bear Paw Succulent
Bear’s paw are cute little succulents that are easy to care for and grow well as houseplants. Bear claws have thick, flaky green leaves that often end with red tips. This makes them look like bear claws or claws. They are also known as cat’s claw succulents, bear’s claw cactus, or bear’s claw succulents.
Bearpaw likes a lot of light. Provide your indoor bear paw plant with as much light as possible. The best location is a bright south-facing window that gets about six hours of indirect sunlight per day.
3. Gasteria Little Warty
Small warts are small, uniquely shaped succulents. It is also known as lawyer’s tongue, cow tongue, or ox tongue because of its thick, bumpy, tongue-shaped leaves.
gasteria is native to dry regions of South Africa where it grows in lightly shaded areas. Small warts are a cross between Gasteria batesiania and Gasteria Old Man Silver.
Gasterias are closely related to Aloe Vera and Twelve Plants and share similar care.
4. Pickle Plant
Often called the cucumber plant or cucumber cactus. The leaves of this unusual-looking succulent look like gherkins!
The leaves are covered with small white hairs that give the cactus the appearance of a cactus. However, unlike cacti, they don’t sting and instead feel soft. Make this plant even cuter!
5. Himalaya
It’s a wonderful succulent. It is also sometimes called a lemon bean bush or a succulent shrub Senecio.
Best of all, this succulent can be placed in bright, indirect light, but will also thrive in light shade or direct sun.
It is very simple to maintain, just be careful not to water too much. Water more slowly in winter.
6. Jade Necklace
Jade Necklace or worm plant. I start with a small stem cut. It grows wild and fast.
Its woody stems have small, round leaves that look like strings of pearls. More direct sunlight will make this sedum redder, while less sunlight will keep the plant green.
If your sedum is stretching and you see empty spots on the stem between the leaves, your plant is stretching to get more sunlight.
In this type of succulent, new stems grow where there is open space. As long as the burn is not too severe, it will replenish immediately.
Alternatively, you can remove the stem overhang and root these stem cuttings with water. Stacked sedum trees are easy to root in water and regrow from stem cuttings.
7. Buddha’s Temple
Last but not least, is the Jing Tian Buddhist Temple. Nature at its best. Symmetrical columns of perfectly stacked leaves. This amazing strain is a cross between Crassula Pyramalis and Crassula perfoliata.
Buddhist temples are low maintenance and very drought tolerant. Give him plenty of light. If it likes more light, it will appear narrower in stature. Winter growth is usually easy to see.
New growth branches at different heights along the sides of the post.
