Succulents have found their way not only in gardens but also in hanging planters, home decor, and even wedding decor. Along with them being beautiful, they are popular because of their low maintenance characteristic. Their thick fleshy tissues allow them to store water and survive extreme temperatures for quite a long time.
They are, therefore, a perfect addition to your home for adding beauty that requires only a little effort for maintenance. And if you want to add color to your indoors or a pop of color to your garden, blooming succulents are the way to go.
Succulents feature a wide variety of beautiful textures and many of them are also adorned with flowers that bloom in different seasons depending on the succulent species. These blooming succulents are popular among plant lovers for the color they add to space. Let us find out some popular blooming succulents showing up beautiful flowers at different times of the year:
Succulents Blooming in Winters
Winter blooming succulents can survive cold temperatures and require much less sunlight than the summer-blooming varieties. They sprout flowers in the winter months.
Christmas Cactus
Schlumbergera bridgesii or Christmas Cactus is aptly named as it blooms just in time for Christmas. This succulent features thick and flat stems divided into segments making them look like leaves.
The flowers sprout from the notches or tips of stems making a lovely color contrast. Since the height of Christmas Cactus remains between 6 to 12 inches, it can be grown in a pot. The flowers can be seen in red, orange, pink, purple, yellow, and white colors.
Jade Plant
Crassula ovata or Jade plant is popularly known as the money tree or lucky plant. This evergreen plant is grown worldwide as a decorative houseplant. It attains a height between 3 to 6 feet when grown indoors.
It has thick, woody stems and features smooth, shiny, oval-shaped leaves growing in opposite pairs along the stems. The color of Jade leaves changes with the amount of sunlight they receive. Normally the leaves have a rich jade green color but might appear yellow-green at times. Excessive exposure to the sun gives a red tinge to their edges making them even prettier.
The lucky plant produces small star-shaped flowers that are white or light pink arranged in round clusters. The sweet scent of these flowers attracts butterflies, bees, and wasps.
Florist Kalanchoe
Kalanchoe blossfeldiana or Florist Kalanchoe is an ideal houseplant reaching a height of about 1 to 1 ½ feet. It is also known by the names Flaming Katy or Christmas Kalanchoe. This blooming succulent features thick and large glossy leaves that are dark green.
Though the waxy, fleshy leaves are enough to adorn a space, its color-contrasting flowers make this plant a favorite among many.
The plant brightens the space in winters with flowers blooming in different shades of red, pink, orange, magenta, yellow, and white colors. These are arranged in dense clusters and the bloom can be seen for 2 to 3 months.
Succulents Blooming in Summers
Summer blooming succulents can survive high temperatures and require more sunlight than the winter-blooming varieties. They sprout flowers in the summer months.
Two-row stonecrop
Sedum spurium or two-row stonecrop is popularly known as Dragon’s Blood. It is a low-growing crop usually grown as a ground cover as it spreads 18 to 24 inches wide. The height of this blooming succulent remains between 3 to 6 inches. The leaves are thick and flat featuring wedge-shaped bases and toothed ends.
They are arranged in 2 rows along the stems giving them the name two-row stonecrop. The medium green leaves have burgundy edges that deepen to bronze-red and red with the change in seasons. Summer brings small bright pink flowers to the plant sitting in small clusters over the reddish stems.
Easter Lily Cactus
Echinopsis oxygona or Easter lily cactus is an evergreen plant that grows up to 1 to 1 ½ foot tall when fully matures. This succulent is visibly plump and features globose to elongate stems clustering near the base. Easter lily cactus is popular for landscaping for its spectacular blossoms. It blooms just in time for Easter thereby deriving its common name.
The bloom lasts through the whole summer with large showy flowers of white, pink, pale red, yellow, orange, or lavender color. These flowers are funnel-shaped and are nocturnal i.e open up at night and close back in the days. The sweet-smelling flowers repeat blooming 2 to 4 times throughout the summer season.
Ice Plant
Popularly called pink carpet, Delosperma cooperi or ice plant is a low-growing spreader that forms a dense lawn. The leaves of this succulent feature tiny hair-like flakes that reflect light giving the appearance of ice crystals thereby deriving its name ice plant. With a height of just 4 to 6 inches and width spreading across 2 to 4 feet, it is best suitable for making your garden evergreen.
You can also expect a color splash in summers with beautiful flowers that remain blooming for months to come. Ice plants producing purple-colored flowers are the most common while other varieties with red, pink, yellow, orange, magenta, and white can also be seen.
Succulents blooming all year round
Apart from the seasonally blooming succulents, some plants bloom in multiple seasons of the year. Though the bloom might not be heavy throughout, such succulents will flower for most of the year. Let us find out these ever-blooming succulents:
Crassula ‘Springtime’
Springtime Crassula is aptly named as it starts blooming between late winter and early spring. They grow slowly up to 6 inches tall and require indirect sunlight making them a perfect windowsill companion. It cannot handle too low or too high temperatures. These succulents feature grey-green to dark green leaves that are thick and fleshy. These are arranged in beautiful rosettes making the blooming succulent suitable for both a pot or garden.
To further enhance its beauty, star-shaped flowers appear in pink and feature a red center. A heavy set of blooms with bright pink clusters mark the beginning of bloom in late winter. The bloom lasts through a large part of winters, whole spring, and much of the summer as well making it an all-year flowering plant. The sweet scent of the flowers attracts bees and butterflies.
Sudan Aloe
Aloe Sinkatana or Sudan Aloe is a small succulent species growing up to 6 inches in height. It is a stemless evergreen plant with large light-green leaves that are arranged in dense rosettes of 15 to 20 leaves each. The thick and fleshy leaves feature pinkish margins with pointed teeth-like structures that range in color from pink to pinkish-brown. Sudan Aloe blooms with yellow, reddish-orange, lavender, and pale green flowers having a light and pleasant scent.
The heaviest bloom can be seen in winters though the flowers can be seen in spring, late summer, and fall as well. The succulent attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
The Crown of Thorns
Euphorbia milii or Christ plant is popularly called the crown of thorns. This evergreen plant is extremely low-maintenance and great for gardening beginners. It is best grown in a pot as it loves high temperatures but must be moved indoors during the winter season if the temperature falls below 35°F.
The succulent features broad bright green leaves that are fleshy and sparsely placed. The stems and branches are lined with sharp and black, thick thorns. The plant blooms heavily in winters with tiny yellow flowers arranged in clusters. These flowers are subtended by petal-like bracts of red, white, or pink colors. The wonderful contrast created by these bracts with bright green leaves makes this succulent an eye-catching beauty. The blooming lasts throughout winter and spring but the right climatic conditions can make it last for the rest of the year as well.
Ruby Necklace
Othonna capensis or Ruby Necklace is an easy-to-grow trailing succulent that grows pretty fast. The bean-like leaves grow up to 5 cm before they start trailing downwards. The succulent is also known as String of Pickles and looks beautiful in a hanging pot because of the trails it forms. The stems are brightly colored featuring purple, pink, or red color. The bean-shaped leaves are of green, deep red, and purple colors that deepen to red color with more and more exposure to the sun. The blooming succulent produces small daisy-like flowers in bright yellow color creating a beautiful contrast with the red stems. The heaviest bloom can be observed in the spring and summer months though the plant continues to bloom at a slow pace throughout the year.
Choosing the right blooming succulent
With so many blooming succulents flowering at different times of the year, it becomes confusing to choose the right one for your needs. Almost all succulents are low-maintenance plants and can survive both high and low temperatures with ease. It is, however, essential to protect them from freezing temperatures and very long exposure to the sun.
Additionally, excessive watering is also damaging for most succulents. For the plant-lovers who would like to pamper their plants a bit, seasonal bloomers are perfect. If, however, you have a busy lifestyle or are a complete gardening beginner, all-year blooming succulents are an ideal choice for you.
