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Succulent Garden Ideas for Small Spaces and Containers

Succulents fail from wet feet, not from neglect. The grit mix, the containers that work, and which species survive a winter outdoors.

By Salma 4 min read Save to Pinterest — opens Pinterest in a new tab
Sempervivum rosettes growing from the side pockets of a terracotta strawberry pot
Photo: JamesDeMers, Pixabay Content License, via Pixabay
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Succulents are sold as the plant you cannot kill, and then they die. Almost always from being wet, and almost always in winter rather than summer.

The mix

This is the whole job. Get it right and the rest is easy.

  • About 50/50 potting compost and coarse mineral grit
  • Horticultural grit, pumice or perlite — not sand. Fine sand plus compost makes something closer to concrete
  • Cut bagged cactus compost further with grit. On its own it is formulated for indoor pots and holds too much water outdoors
  • Test it: wet the mix, and it should drain within a few seconds rather than staying glossy
  • Top-dress with grit or fine gravel so the plant’s neck sits on something dry. This single detail prevents a lot of crown rot

No drainage hole, no succulent

Decorative bowls without a hole are sold with succulents planted in them constantly. They are a sealed reservoir under a plant that cannot tolerate one.

Drill it, or plant something else. Gravel in the base does not substitute — it raises the saturated layer into the roots rather than draining it.

Small-space formats that work

Shallow bowls and pans

Succulent roots are shallow and wide. A 3 to 4 inch deep pan suits them better than a deep pot and dries faster between waterings. Terracotta is ideal because it breathes.

An old sink or trough

The classic alpine container. Crock the plughole so it drains but does not wash the mix out, fill with the gritty mix, and plant a mixed sempervivum collection. Sits happily outside all year in most temperate climates.

A dry stone wall or gaps in paving

Sempervivum will colonise a wall crevice with a pocket of gritty mix pushed in behind it, and sedum seeds itself into paving joints. No watering, no maintenance, and it looks established within two seasons.

Vertical panel

  1. Build a shallow box, two to three inches deep, with a mesh or slatted face
  2. Fill with gritty mix, plant through the gaps
  3. Leave it flat for four to six weeks until the roots knit
  4. Water it flat, then hang it
  5. Expect to fill gaps in the first year

Sempervivum and small sedums are the right plants for this. Rosette echeverias look best and will not survive a frost outdoors.

A drilled colander, a toolbox, a hollow log

Anything shallow with drainage. This is the one plant group where the container can be almost anything without the plant minding.

Which plants, by whether they stay out

Hardiness, which decides the planting
PlantOutdoors through frostNotes
Sempervivum (houseleek)Yes, very hardyThe backbone. Offsets freely
Hardy sedumYesSedum spurium, acre, album
DelospermaYes, with sharp drainageLong flowering
Hardy opuntiaYes, in dry coldNeeds very dry winter
EcheveriaNoBring in, or treat as annual
AeoniumNoFrost-tender
Crassula, jadeNoIndoors over winter
Aloe (most)NoA few species excepted

Watering, and the winter rule

  • Summer, in containers: soak thoroughly, then leave until the mix is dry through. Often one to three weeks
  • Summer, in the ground: usually nothing after the first season in a temperate climate
  • Winter: stop. A cold wet pot is how most outdoor succulents die
  • Where winters are wet, move containers under an eave or a cold frame, or tip them on their side so rain runs out
  • Never water on a schedule. Check the mix

Propagate rather than buy

Sempervivum makes offsets around the parent — twist one off with a bit of stem and press it into gritty mix and it roots in weeks.

Most sedums root from a fallen leaf or a snapped stem laid on the surface. A full trough can be filled from two or three bought plants in a season, which is how the expensive-looking collections are actually made.

Mistakes

  • A sealed decorative bowl. The most common one
  • Ordinary potting compost, uncut with grit
  • Deep pots holding a reservoir under shallow roots
  • Winter watering
  • Mixing tender and hardy in one planting that stays outside, so half of it dies in November
  • Full shade, where they stretch, go green and flop
  • Glass terrariums outdoors, which cook and hold water at the same time

Common questions

What is the best soil for outdoor succulents?

Roughly half potting compost and half coarse mineral grit — horticultural grit, pumice or perlite. Bagged cactus compost is usually still too water-retentive on its own outdoors, so cut it further with grit. The aim is a mix that wets through and then drains within seconds rather than holding moisture, because outdoor succulents die from sitting wet far more often than from drought.

Which succulents survive winter outdoors?

Sempervivum (houseleeks) and most hardy sedums survive hard frost and are the backbone of any outdoor succulent planting in a cold climate. Delosperma, some sempervivoideae and a few opuntia are also reliably hardy. Echeveria, aeonium, crassula and most of what is sold as houseplant succulents are not — they need to come indoors or into a frost-free porch. Wet cold kills far more than dry cold, so drainage matters as much as hardiness rating.

Do succulents need full sun?

Most want at least six hours, and colour depends on it — the reds, purples and oranges people buy them for only develop in strong light, and plants in shade go green and stretch. The exception is scorch on a newly moved plant: one bought from a shaded garden centre shelf and put straight into full southern sun can burn. Move them into full sun over a week or two.

What containers work for succulents?

Anything shallow with a real drainage hole. Terracotta is the classic because it breathes and dries quickly, which suits them, and shallow bowls suit their shallow roots better than deep pots. Old sinks, troughs, drilled colanders, wall pockets and gaps in a dry stone wall all work. Avoid deep pots without drainage and avoid glass terrariums outdoors, which cook the plants and hold water.

How do I make a vertical succulent planter?

Build a shallow box with a mesh or slatted face, fill it with a gritty mix, plant through the gaps and leave it flat for several weeks until the roots knit before hanging it upright. Water it flat too, or the water runs straight off the face. Sempervivum and small sedums suit this best because they root quickly and stay compact. Expect to re-plant gaps in the first year.

How often should outdoor succulents be watered?

In the ground, in a temperate climate, often not at all after the first season. In containers, water thoroughly when the mix is dry through and then leave it until it dries again — commonly every one to three weeks in summer, and not at all in winter. Winter watering is the killer: a cold wet pot rots the roots, so move containers under cover or tip them on their side where rain is heavy.

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