10 Popular Succulent Varieties and How to Tell Them Apart

Walk into any garden center and the succulent section can feel overwhelming. Many of these plants look similar at first glance, and the labels are not always helpful. Learning to recognize the most common varieties makes it much easier to know what you are buying and how to care for it.

Echeveria

Echeveria is the classic rosette succulent most people picture when they think of succulents. The leaves are thick, smooth, and arranged in a tight, symmetrical spiral. Colors range from blue-green and gray to purple, pink, and near-orange, often with attractive edge coloring. Echeveria produces bell-shaped flowers on tall stalks. It needs bright light and dries out between waterings.

Haworthia

Haworthia looks a bit like a miniature aloe, with pointed, often translucent or windowed leaf tips that allow light to reach the inner tissue. Most haworthia plants stay small, under six inches wide. They are one of the few succulents that tolerate lower light conditions. The texture is typically rough or warty rather than smooth.

Sedum

Sedum is a large genus with enormous variety. Low-growing ground cover sedums like Sedum spurium spread in mats and are cold-hardy. Taller sedums form upright clumps with clusters of small star-shaped flowers. Most sedum leaves are rounded or oval, and the plants are notably tough and drought-tolerant once established.

Aloe

Aloe is recognizable by its long, lance-shaped leaves with serrated edges, arranged in a rosette that grows from a central point. The leaves are thick and gel-filled. Aloe vera is the most familiar, with its green leaves and occasional yellow spotting. Aloe vera gel inside the leaves has traditional uses for minor burns. Aloe plants produce tubular flowers in orange, yellow, or red.

Gasteria

Gasteria is closely related to aloe and haworthia. Its leaves are typically tongue-shaped and grow in two opposite rows (distichous arrangement) when young, later shifting to a rosette. The leaf surface is often rough and spotted. Gasteria is more shade-tolerant than most succulents and is a good choice for lower-light spots.

Sempervivum (Hens and Chicks)

Sempervivum forms tight, ground-level rosettes and spreads by producing clusters of smaller rosettes around the base of the main plant. Leaves are pointed and often edged with fine hairs or a web-like coating in some varieties. Colors range from green to burgundy to near-black. Sempervivum is one of the most cold-hardy succulents available.

Crassula

Crassula is a diverse genus that includes the popular jade plant (Crassula ovata), which has thick oval leaves on woody branching stems. Smaller crassula species include stacked-leaf varieties like the string of buttons. Most crassula plants are recognizable by their opposite leaf arrangement and tendency to form compact, geometric shapes.

Kalanchoe

Kalanchoe is commonly sold as a flowering houseplant with clusters of small bright flowers in red, orange, yellow, or pink. After flowering, the plant has scallop-edged leaves that are thick and waxy. Some kalanchoe species produce tiny plantlets along their leaf margins, earning the name mother of thousands.

Portulacaria (Elephant Bush)

Often mistaken for a miniature jade plant, portulacaria has small round leaves on reddish stems. It grows faster than jade and handles more sun and heat. A popular choice for bonsai.

Agave

Agave forms large rosettes of stiff, pointed leaves, often with a sharp terminal spine at the tip. Most agave plants take many years to reach maturity, then produce a single tall flower spike and die. They range from small compact varieties to very large landscape plants. The leaves are typically green or blue-green with toothed margins.