Start with color.
Succulents come in beautiful jewel-tone shades: from purple-black and pale blue to lime green and yellow, frequently with red edges. Shapes include angular, upright, tight clumps, perfectly geometric rosettes, trailing pendants, and thick sprawling arms.
Plant odd.
Odd numbers of plants look better in a container. Choose three, five, or seven varieties to make a potted succulent garden. Plant them close together so they can keep each other warm in winter.
Cheap is great.
Succulents are very amenable to living in cheap pots. The worn gray finish of an old teapot, even rusted tin buckets, create a pretty counterpoint. Try an old cockle feeder or a metal toolbox, metal watering cans, or a faux-wood fruit basket with moss.
Swift-draining soil.
For container plantings, use a good-quality potting mix made especially for cacti and succulents, which will ensure proper drainage.
More is more.
Species that grow in rosettes propagate by forming new rosettes, which can then be transferred to other pots. Root the stems of branching or cascading succulents in soil after cut surfaces have been left to harden by air-drying for a few days.
Prune smartly.
Prune succulents to keep them properly sized for window sills. Pot cuttings to give to friends.
Connect the dots.
Desert plants look good in unexpected places. Consider lining your driveway (where sun is often direct and air circulation is excellent). Set potted plants on a work table in your patio. Or, place them on shelves made of natural woods. Just don't put thorny cactus plants where you could bump into them!
Cold advice.
In colder climates, transplant succulents into large containers before winter, with the hardiest plants near the container's edge.
Water—yes!
Succulents appreciate the same amount of water as other container plants. You can leave them for a month and they won't die but they won't look as good. But over- and underwatering can stress them out. If you have that tendency, stick with unglazed terra cotta pots, which allow excess water to evaporate quickly.
Let it flow.
Don't shock your succulents with a hose! Use a watering can with a very fine spout so the flow resembles a gentle rain rather than a tidal wave. It keeps the pots clean and avoids disturbing the shallow roots.
Don't burn them!
Succulents can sunburn. In hot sunny locales they fare better beneath shady trees or near a north- or east-facing wall.
And do turn them!
Keep succulents pretty and thriving by turning containers regularly so they receive sun and wind from all directions equally.
Images courtesy of © 1997 Faith Echtermeyer