Unknown succulent I bought at a Walgreens...

by Jennifer
(Arizona, USA)

All the tag said was "Rainbow Pack 2.5 inches".
I really just want to know the name of this little plant (if it has one) and if it's toxic to pets and how much direct sun it should be getting. I've been treating it like my jade plant and so far it's doing well, but I've only had a few days. I searched on the internet literally for hours and I figure it's a hybrid because I could not find it anywhere on the web.

There are many, many different kinds of succulents that are sold as simply 'succulent' or something similar. They're all the same in that these generally are easy to care for, and forgiving of extremely neglectful treatment - in fact, that's what they prefer.

In general, it's not advisable to let pets eat succulents - even if they're not directly poisonous, they're probably not going to be well received. I use old bird cages to keep my succulents safe from predation from mice and other creatures, maybe this is a good option for you too.

Your plant is one of the many hybrids (so you're right in that) but it's unusual in that it's a generic hybrid, so a cross between two genera, unlike most hybrids which are crosses between species. This is why it's called x Pachyveria, which just means that it's one of the crosses of Pachyphytum and Echeveria. There are many of them, most very similar, but they require similar care - just like what you're giving it, the same as what you give your Jade plant.

You might find these pages useful:

Succulent Care

How to Grow Echeveria

Miscellaneous Succulent Plants

Happy Succulent Gardening!
Jacki

Leafy green succulent.

by Erin
(Marietta, Oklahoma, USA)

This succulent is light green with leaves spread out all over the stem. This is only one stem that I got as a cutting. When purchasing the plant at the nursery it was labeled "Purple Toes", but I cannot find anything online with that name (other than Baby Toes, and I know this is not the same plant). The whole plant was growing over the sides of the pot and would likely do well in a hanging pot.

Hi Erin, thanks for the great pictures - that helps immensely! I'm going to make a guess that this is one of the generic hybrids - these are a collection of plants that have been bred by crossing two genus of plants - most hybrids are of two species in the same genus. Confusing, I know. This will most likely be some kind of x Pachyveria, which have Echeveria as one parent, and Pachyphytum as the other. It is a most gorgeous color, I can see why you wanted it!

Find out more about growing Echeveria here; (your plant will most likely be happy with the same kind of care): How to grow Echeveria.

Happy Succulent Growing!
Jacki

Two fuzzy ones

(Israel)

I've been researching, but here are two more succulents from my garden in Israel that I've yet to identify. One is concentric, the other has individual leaves. Thanks in advance!

The Kalanchoe tomentosum is another of those incredibly popular little plants that at one time or another, we've all grown. They're easy to grow, and their fuzzy leaves with the brown edges or 'paws' are so appealing.

Echeveria setosa has the most amazing flowers, unlike many other Echeveria which tend to be pale peach and pink, the fiery red is spectacular.

Both of these succulents are rightfully popular as they're low maintenance and not fussy as to water (best if you're not too generous) and responding well to pruning when they get overgrown.

Happy Succulent Growing!
Jacki

heart shaped succulents -- they grow out of each other!

little heart shaped succulents

new one grows out of middle of heart and the old heart outer layer dries away leaving a small little heart

Oh. My. God. That is just the cutest thing! And something I've never come across before. I am hoping that someone will see this and know what it is - I want one!

I'll keep looking around to try and find out what it is.

Thanks for sharing that!
Jacki

Succulents found in a Drugstore

by Trina
(Florida)

Hi! I found these succulents in CVS here in Florida and I was surprised to see them there. I tried to use the bar code to identify the plants but no bar code reader can identify them. The instructions on care is not readable and neither can I identify the company through its packaging (I attached it as well) except that they were grown in California. Finding them in Florida, I would think they can be raised in this weather - hot and humid. Please help me identify these plants and whether these can be cared for in Florida. Thank you!

Hi Trina, what a great haul! You really cleaned up in the succulents department.

These are all commonly found plants, I've labeled them in the caption for each one. Just so you're aware, these all look very etiolated, or drawn, as if they didn't get enough light in transit, or when they arrived.

You can see more about how to grow Echeveria and general succulent care here.

Hope that helps,
Jacki

Three different plants

One is a single stalk that is dark green with red on the leaves. The little one is a very pale blue color with teardrop shaped leaves. The last one is a frosty green color with long bulbous leaves.

These are all commonly sold by growers to grocery stores and box stores, most of the time with little in the way of labeling other than 'succulent'.

I've labeled the one that I'm pretty sure of - Sedum spathufolium, which is actually hardy, and will grow outside in many areas, depending on where you are. You can see more here: Sedum spathufolium 'Capo Blanco'

The blue colored one I think is some kind of Cotyledon, which is a huge genus, but this one shows some of the characteristics of some species.

The tall purple one is a mystery. I'm not sure what that would be - at a wild guess, just based on the way the leaves are spaced would be Pachyphytum.

Hope that gives you a place to start looking anyway.

Happy Succulent Gardening!
Jacki

Succulent long thin leaves on bulbous body

by Pat
(Virginia)

I was given this plant ... it has scales which I'm going to try to get rid of (you can see them in the close up shot). It was in a very small pot. Bought at a big box store. The stem is very bulbous (close up shot) and now that it's been moved into a larger pot, I'm thinking it will expand. Was very root bound. The leaves are long and pointy as you can see. They are succulent. I've done a good bit of research and am not finding anything like it.

Hi Pat, boy this one is a weird one alright. At first I thought from you description and a quick glance that it might be the Pony Tail palm, but the way the leaves attach is totally different. Has it bloomed, at all? I wonder if it's some kind of bromeliad, which is the same family as the Pineapple.

If you can deal with the scale, maybe it will be happy enough to flower and then it should be fairly easy to tell what it is. Sorry I can't help more than that,
Best of luck with it!
Jacki

Small trailing and bright green bulbous

It is not very big. The little buds on it are shaped almost like little hersheys kisses. The other one is bright green. It has short fat little leaves.

The trailing one looks like it could be a really shriveled Senecio rowleyanus, the string of pearls plant. Once they get watered, they plump up over night.

Look closely, and you'll see a little clear window which is where the light goes in and they can photosynthesize. See more about this plant at the bottom of this page: Miscellaneous Succulent Plants

The chubby guy seems to be some kind of Sedum, but I don't recognize it. There are many tender ones, which are not frost hardy, so it could be one of those. The closest I can come up with is Sedum rubrotinctum; the colors are wrong for that, but similar shape.

Happy Succulent Growing!
Jacki

unknown succulent plant with thick leaves

by jeff
(wilmington de)

got this in a dish garden from Lowes and replanted it. has thick leaves in rosettes. very firm to the touch. new growth starts out green and then develops reddish tinge. coffee cup shown with plant to give idea of size. what do I have? thanks

Hi Jeff, wow, it looks in rough shape, I'm sure it will be much happier now! This appears to be some kind of Echeveria, of which there are many different species and hybrids, each with their own special appeal. You can see more about them here:
Echeveria List A-L
Echeveria List M-Z

Find out more about how to grow Echeveria here.

Hope that helps whip your plants back into shape!
Jacki

Glossy bundle of dark and mid-green densely packed leaves

by Tim
(London, England)

This stands 15cm above the pot. Not sure what else I can say about it, other than that:

- I bought it from Ikea a few years ago but they don't sell it any more
- I would like to divide and propagate the plant if I can, but need to know how
- It looks a bit sad and dusty and has some dead leaves. What should I do to smarten it up?

Hi Tim, this looks like some kind of Aloe, and a very overgrown one at that. It's probably so root bound that the roots really have no-where else to go at this point.

There are a couple of options with something this far gone. You can pull it out of the pot, and just start pulling the rosettes apart, which will give you something like 20 plants or more to repot. You can put several in one pot for a bit fuller appearance.

Alternately, and for an ultimately nicer plant, you can unscrew the nicest rosettes just like a lightbulb. These can be stuck into some dry potting mix (use something like a soilless potting soil specifically for cactus) and then allow it to root.

This can take a couple of weeks, and I recommend that whichever way you go, you resist the urge to water. This can cause the broken or damaged parts of the plant to rot, and contrary to what you might think, not watering these types of plants is the best thing.

Happy Succulent Gardening!
Jacki

See more here:
Aloe Succulent Plants

Aloe Plants

Succulent Care

Wanting to learn more about Succulent Plant Propagation?

buy the Succulent Plant Propagation E-Book

clusters of long, thin grey-green leaves, each one ending like staghorns

by Julie
(Carlisle, Cumbria, UK)

I bought unlabeled succulent in small pot (£0.99). It has a delicate look. Presently each leaf is about 2-1/2 inches long. The leaves at bottom look limp/dying. Looks like plant is comprised of three or four clusters of leaves. Please identify so I can better give it what it needs.

Hi Julie, this one has me stumped, so I'll publish this and hope that Danielle or another helpful soul will see it and post a reply.

Hang in there!
Jacki

single stalk, no leaves, clump of berry-like bulbs

by Denise Pope
(Ventura, CA)

These mystery plants just appeared in my yard. They are about 1 foot tall, have no leaves and a straight thick stalk. At the top of each plant is a tight clump of berry-like objects. The "berries" are squishy and juicy. My boyfriend tasted one and claimed it tasted like a bell pepper. Please help in identifying! Thanks!

Denise Pope

Hi Denise, please don't let your boyfriend loose on unknown plants! Generally, any berries that are red that you don't recognize you should never eat.

I thought that this could possibly be 'baneberry' or Actaea rubra, which is very poisonous!

Looking more closely at your image, and the fact that it doesn't display leaves at the same time as the berries makes me unsure of this identification.

These are pretty distinctive berries, so maybe someone has more experience of it and will recognize it.

Don't eat it, anyway!

Jacki

weird like finger plant??

by sam
(cleveland ohio)

its a smaller plant each "finger" or "minibat" is 2 to 3 inches, and at first it was very clustered together, once it had more room it spread and started growing these weird hand like things.

Hi Sam, what an odd looking little guy! I like it - it's like something from a cartoon. I think the little darker spots on the ends of the leaves are windows, so that leads me to think that this could be some kind of Conophytum or Opthalmus, which are similar to living stones.

I'll post this, and hopefully one of my trusty succulent plant collectors will be along to verify or deny my thought.

Hang tough!
Jacki

Succulent cactus-like leaves with red spikes/thorns on them

by Angelo Maniquis
(Bethesda, MD, USA)

It looks like the stems themselves are succulent.

It reminds me of a cactus but I don't think it is.

It has succulent leaves similar to cactus, with red spikes at the edges.

I need to know what they are so I can pinpoint their care requirements. It looks like it is not doing ok. Please help.

Hi Angelo, just so you know, all cactus are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti.

This odd looking thing reminds me of some of the Euphorbia - the dead giveaway trait is if it oozes white latex-like sap if the stem or leaf is damaged.

This will narrow it down.

Please be extremely careful if this is the case, as the sap can cause contact dermatitis, as well as blindness if it gets in your eyes.

Other than that, I have never seen this plant, so I can't tell you what it might be. Wait a bit, and someone might be along who can tell you with more certainty.

Jacki


See this page for more on Euphorbia.

Two unidentified plants that I bought at Walgreens

by Michael
(Lincoln, Nebraska, United States)

I'm sure these two plants are quite common; one is obviously a cactus, but the other I'm not entirely sure on. My friend seems to think it's a succulent of some kind. Would someone be able to identify these plants for me? Sorry the photos are sideways.

I fixed your pictures, no worries!

First of all, the cactus. I'm sorry I can't identify this, as it appears to be wrapped in something (clear film of some kind to protect against the thorns?) which should be taken off immediately. It's blooming which is probably a good thing, and I'm sure was the reason you bought it. However, just so you know, the blooms are fleeting, and once it's done, that will be it - until next year, if all goes well, and you provide just the right conditions. See more about Cactus plants here.

The succulent is a Haworthia - one of my all time favorite kinds of tender succulents. See more about them here - this one is most likely Haworthia attenuata, or Haworthia fasciata, both very similar and easy to grow if you follow the care instructions.

Best of luck with your new addiction!

Jacki


You might like these pages too: Succulent Care

Cacti and Succulents

succulent

by Carole Lajoie
(Flagler Beach, Fl. Flagler county)

beautiful long leaves, green no flowers with babies around the entire leaf edges on every leaf. They drop off and start new plants.

I only have 2 pictures to send you. Plant measures right now 17"'s tall and from tip of the furthest leaf on the left to the tip of the furthest on the right 23"'s wide.

I hope you can give me a name for this plant so I can research more about it.

Thank you much from CAROLE LAJOIE, IN FLAGLER BEACH, FL. I did everything you ask of me. I tried to resize the photo through Monkey whatever. Then I sent photos to my desktop. The comeback is the same. Photos to large To you have an email address I can go through. This is really important to me. Thank you in advance. Please respond.

Hi Carole, sorry, this system will only accept pictures that are less than 100kb, so you have to edit them down - however, based on your description, there are two possibilities for your plant identification, so check these out first: Kalanchoe delagoensis and Kalanchoe daigremontiana.

Best,
Jacki

Unidentified Succulents

by Trina
(mcfry18@gmail.com)

Hello Jacki,

My succulent garden has grown so much because of your help. Your website is the only place I go to whenever I find an intriguing succulent that has no name. I am asking your help again in identifying these succulents I found in Homedepot. They were in the outdoor section of the store in full sun so I hope these will all survive in Florida's weather conditions. Thank you very much!

Hi Trina, you certainly are getting quite a collection happening! I've labeled the pictures that you posted with the names that these most likely are. You can see more about Echeveria Perle von Nurnberg here. Kalanchoe species here and more about Kalanchoe thyrsiflora on this page.

Hope that helps with some information for you. Make sure you scroll through the visitor pages under each page for more.

Jacki

Mystery succulent help please

by Carole
(UK)

I bought this without a label and the stall holder had no idea what it is. Can you help me name it so I can give it what it needs to survive please?
Fleshy leaves are about 2" long and it is sending up a little sucker by the edge of the pot

Hi Carole - lucky you - I've been wanting one of these for a while now; it's Senecio serpens, sometimes also called Kleinia repens, which is its old name. It also goes by the common name of Blue Chalk Sticks, which when you look at the plant, is a pretty obvious description.

Easy to care for and grow given the right conditions, this plant will eventually reach about 30cm across and high, but is easily pruned to keep smaller and more compact.

Bright light, either outside on a warm patio or in a south facing window is essential - a grow light in lieu of a window if you don't have southern exposure and during the winter will stop it from stretching.

Well drained soil, either a cactus mix bought at most garden centers or you can mix up your own with potting soil half and half with small gravel, perlite or pumice whichever you can find, and very light on the fertilizer will keep this little guy happy.

I keep my related Senecio mandraliscae almost completely dry in the winter as it can go dormant if it doesn't receive any water, and recovers almost instantly when spring arrives.

Happy Succulent Growing!
Jacki

Wanting to learn more about Succulent Plant Propagation?

buy the Succulent Plant Propagation E-Book

nameless gift

(Israel)

I got this succulent as a gift recently (in one of those tiny plastic pots). I love its color, but can't figure out what it is. Its leaves are longer than most, and it can take full sun - that's no small feat, here. Can you help?

Hi Haveda, this looks like an Echeveria, but it's not one I'm familiar with. I agree with you about the color, that's fabulous. Now having second thoughts; I am just wondering if that is correct, looking at the arrangement of the leaves - they almost look like they grow opposite each other in pairs, unlike Echeveria which grow in a whorl.

Other possibilities are Crassula, which does the opposite leaf arrangement, or even Cotyledon with a similar growth habit.

Crassula capitella, the Campfire jade on this page looks a lot like it in leaf shape, not so much in color.

Hope that helps get you started, anyway.

Jacki

Need help to identify some succulents!

by Maria Clara
(Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil)

Hi, I recently was given four succulents and I'm not sure how to take good care of them, since I don't know for sure "who" they are.
Below are the pictures!
Thanks :)

Hi Maria Clara, you have a great start to a collection there; all of these are quite forgiving of neglect, abandonment or outright abuse, and will thrive in your home or garden as long as they get three important requirements:

Ample water when growing, reduced water in winter or when growth slows, and allowing the soil to dry out considerably before watering again.

Bright light, if indoors, a south or east facing window is perfect, outdoors, afternoon shade is best if you are in a really hot and dry area.

Well drained soil is essential. Depending on where these were grown, they could be potted into really unsuitable soil, such as a peat or manure based potting soil. Although many other greenhouse plants like this type of soil, succulents resent it, and in some cases it can be fatal as there are root rot organisms in soil that holds too much moisture.

So, here goes for identification: A) is some kind of x Graptoveria, Pachyveria or other related hybrid. Sorry, I can't pin it down any more than that, but see the page on how to grow Echeveria and follow the guidelines there.

B) is indeed Echeveria pulidonis - this one looks like it needs more light. You can see more about it here.

C) is either a Crassula or Cotyledon, I'm not sure which.

D) is a Kalanchoe tomentosa, or the Panda Plant or Chocolate Soldier. You can see more about Panda Plant on Dave's Garden Website.

For general succulent care this page gives an overview.

Best of luck with your new collection!
Jacki

what is the name of this particular madagascar?

has madagascar trunk but leaves are not spiny thin like most. they are wider,all green and shiny and just grow on top umbrella like. this plant has been this small height for three years. two larger ones exact to this are tremendous and bloomed white flowers.keep being told its a madagascar but cant find one like it.

I'm not 100% clear on what you mean by madagascar?? Do you mean the Madagascar Palm, by chance? This is known as Pachypodium lamerei. The white flowers sound fantastic, I would love to see a picture of those. If you've subscribed to see comments from other people on this post, you'll probably get an answer from one of my other visitors about your plant - be patient!

Jacki

evergreen waxy leaves with single stem and tiny pink flowers

by Jan
(Liverpool)

evergreen waxy leaves with single stem and tiny pink flowers. I think the name has some nobility in the title. Very pretty tiny pink flowers blooming from a single stem. Spreads quickly, attractive leaves, not spikey, round leaves with cut-out edges, provides great ground cover, not sure whether it is a succulent, when I bought it, I was told it was called Duke or Earl (maybe) of something, I can't remember what he said?

Hi Jan, the only thing that comes to mind is Kenilworth Ivy, which is known as Cymbalaria muralis. Could this be it? I've seen this great little plant scrambling over brick walls and down the sides of steps, or even in hanging baskets. It would be great to know if this is your mystery plant.
Happy Gardening!
Jacki

Spindly, blue-green succulent from Home Depot

by Lauren
(IL)

I bought this plant from Home Depot, where it came with a generic tag labeling it a succulent, but it had no other information.
The plant is about 8" tall and is doing well in bright, indirect sunlight with infrequent waterings. It has blue-green, finger-like leaves that sprout from a woody stem. There are little tufts of almost invisible hairs at the tops of each stem where new leaves form. The leaves near the bottom shrivel rapidly and drop off, but new leaves are continuously forming.
If anyone has any information about this plant, I'd love to find out more. Thanks!

Hi Lauren, I have to give you credit for taking on a challenge, that's for sure! I'm not 100% sure, but I'm thinking this plant (whatever it is) has at some time been kept in almost complete darkness. I'm pretty sure it shouldn't look like this, with the drooping leaves and the long spaces between them.

If I was to guess at what this might be, I would say it's possibly some kind of x Graptoveria. If you want to try and salvage it, I would probably try and propagate some of the leaves, or take a couple of stem cuttings, just to see if the resulting plant looks a bit more recognizable.

I find that once a plant has been let go to this extent, it's almost impossible to get it to recover it's former glory; however, propagating it and starting over with a new young plant, then providing the right conditions from the start will give you a perfectly adapted specimen.
Happy Succulent Growing!
Jacki


See more here: Succulent Plant Propagation or buy the Succulent Plant Propagation E-Book.

Looks like a diamond in the center...

It's green near the bottom, purple near the center. After it's been watered the water appears in the center and resembles a diamond. New growth are tiny little buds.

This is most likely some type of Echeveria, which come in all shapes, colors and sizes. They're very drought tolerant, but can't survive any frost at all, so depending on where you are these are indoor plants for the winter, and outdoor patio plants during the summer.

For more on how to grow Echeveria see this page.

Happy Echeveria Growing!
Jacki

Mystery succulent

by Miesha Griffin
(Biloxi, Mississippi, USA)

Red branches, small green leaves. Bloomed once (tiny yellow flowers) but only for a day.

Hi Miesha, until you said that it has tiny yellow flowers, I was going to suggest that this might be Portulacaria afra, the Elephants Food, but they have pink flowers in clusters; so, sorry I don't know what it could be.

Hopefully someone will recognize it soon for you.

Jacki

Phil the little slow growing green guy.

by Justin
(St. Paul Minnesota)

This plant gets leaves in the spring/summer but loses most of them over winter. It has not flowered but has more leaves now than ever. The height of the main body is 2-3 inches. The shape is like a Christmas tree with little spikes sticking out where the leaves used to be.

Hi Justin, I'm not sure what this plant is, unfortunately. I can tell you that it probably would be happier, and not lose its leaves if it gets more light over the winter. The cupping of the leaves indicates that it's needing more light too.

I recommend a grow light, used with a timer so the plant gets 12 hours of light, all year round.

Most succulent house plants originate near to the equator, where they get warm temperatures all year, and a steady twelve hours of daylight. Even a bright window in northern climates just doesn't give them the same kind of growing conditions.

Hope that helps with your little guy.
Jacki


See more here: Grow Lights

Succulent House Plants

Succulent Care

Found a 2ft tall succulent with drooping green spiked leaved

by Michael N
(San Francisco, CA)

Someone threw this out on the street! It looked like it had only been there for a few hours, still in good shape, but I knew I had to save it.

Can you tell me what this plant is?

Hi Michael, this looks like some kind of Aloe, but honestly, it's not supposed to look like this, so it's no surprise that they kicked it to the curb. It appears that it wasn't getting enough light - these plants require really bright light to look their best and keep their leaves upright.

If you're thinking you might want to try and resurrect it, here's what I suggest: Get the mindset that you have to be cruel to be kind, and unscrew the top of the stem, just like unscrewing a light bulb. Make sure you get at least four leaves, and then let it dry out considerably. If you look closely, you'll see white or pale yellow nodes, which are actually adventitious roots.

After a couple of days, you can plant the top part in some dry potting soil, and in a few days to weeks, start watering it. Don't be too kind to it, or you'll kill it with kindness.

Hope this helps with your project,
Jacki


See these pages for more:

Aloe Plants

Aloe Succulent Plants

Succulent Plant Propagation

was once beautiful

by Bianca
(Valencia, Ca, USA)

Sorry- I have tried twice to upload the pics.

I bought this succulent at a farmer's market in a town where I no longer live. It was small and beautiful when I got her. She stood on her one limb, petals(?) like a shining sun. She was happy for about 8 months until a strong wind tipped her over, broke her pot and was lost under the debris from the wind.

Upon finding her, she had curled up like a clam. I packed her in our move and repotted her. She opened up and took off! She must have grown 3 feet in just a few months!! It was remarkable!!! Then, she started to flower...and then start to look a little haggard- we moved her to the other side of our patio- still, full sun, same pot, but she fell over due to the top-heavyness. Since then she has been looking sicklier and sicklier by the day and breaks my heart.

I can't plant her in the ground because our yard gets so much water. I was told to cut off her flower and some of her stem and most of her stem, but have been too scared too. We actually cut off a lot of her blooms because the owner of a nursery said that they may be sucking the life out of the plant...

I thought it might be my husband- watering her too much...but he says he doesn't so now I'm left wondering if she has reached her end?? I've had her for about a year and a half. She stayed around the same size until I repotted her.

I cannot locate her anywhere. Any suggestions??

She looks very different now than when I first had her. She had long petals about 6".

Hi Bianca, unfortunately, what you have now is the senesced flower stalk of an Aeonium. These are monocarpic, which means that they die after blooming. In many cases they have produced pups close to the stem at soil level to take up the slack from the flowering stalk.

I'm sorry, but this one is done, dead, over and your husband is off the hook - the plant would have died no matter what care it had. Not to worry, where you live there will be the opportunity to find more, as the conditions there are perfect for these heat loving succulents.

Find out more about these fascinating plants here: Aeonium.