Plants are a great addition to any home, adding life to an otherwise dull space. The problem is that the majority look at plant care and maintenance as a tedious chore. This is where succulents come in.
Succulents are one of the easiest plants to take care of. To start your collection, you will want to know what are the best succulents to pair together. With this knowledge, it’ll be easier to take good care of your plants.
Jump to:
- What to Consider When Combining Succulents
- Growth Needs
- Height
- Thriller
- Filler
- Spiller
- Season Dormancy
- Color
- Best Succulents to Pair Together
- Agave, Echeveria, and Sempervivum
- Aeonium, Graptopetalum, Kalanchoe, and Aloe
- Haworthia Zebra, Cymbiformis, String of Pearls, and Sempervivum Calcareum
- Echeveria Neon Breaker, Echeveria Painted Lady, and Sedum Golden Moss
- Pairing Succulents Together
What to Consider When Combining Succulents
Before we give you a list of the best succulents to grow together, let’s first talk about the factors that contribute to this. Some succulents may look great when they’re in the same pot, but is it the best idea? To better understand that, here’s what you need to know.
Growth Needs
Probably the most important thing you need to consider when combining succulents is their growth needs. Some succulents need watering twice or thrice a week; others will only need it once every seven days.
Additionally, there are succulents that prefer being under direct, full sunlight, while others only need partial sun. Therefore, when you combine succulents with different needs, it would be particularly difficult for you to give them the right amount of care or support.
The worst-case scenario is that one of them will inevitably die, either from too much water and sunlight or the lack of them.
Height
Once you’ve considered which of your succulents have similar needs, you can now proceed with managing the visual outcome of the plants. One factor that is vital in making sure your succulents look great is height.
Generally, you need three types of succulents when decorating.
Thriller
Thrillers are the main attraction of your succulent arrangement. These are taller and larger plants that will stand above the other succulents in the pot.
Filler
The thrillers will not stand out if there aren’t supporting plants around them. These succulents are called fillers. Fillers complement the thrillers to add texture and style to your arrangement.
Spiller
Once the thrillers and fillers are in place, you may still find some empty spaces in the arrangement that ruin the overall look of the pot. Fillers may not fit in these spaces, though, and that’s when you use spillers. With all of these three together, your arrangement will look visually-appealing, thriving, healthy.
Season Dormancy
Just like other plants, succulents also have their own blooming seasons. Obviously, you will want them to bloom at the same time. It will ruin your arrangement if some of the plants bloom during summer and others in winter.
For this very reason, it would be best to learn about your succulents and their season dormancy. You will receive the best results when you group plants in a pot that go in the same dormancy category. Choosing succulents that bloom in the same period is crucial if you want your arrangement to be an attention-grabber.
Color
One of the many things you will love about succulents is their vibrant colors. Some succulents grow in different shades of green, while others produce blue, pink, white, or red flowers. Additionally, some succulents will react to their environment.
If you place them in hot temperatures or under direct sunlight, they will produce brighter colors. You may want to keep these things in mind when grouping your plants.
Once you have a good grasp of their colors in full bloom, determine which ones look great together. For example, you can try going monochromatic and use succulents of the same color but have different shades.
On the other hand, you can also try complementing them by contrasting their colors. Red and green, purple and yellow, or orange and blue are just some examples of stunning color schemes.
Best Succulents to Pair Together
A quick trip to the local garden center will show you hundreds of choices. You probably have preferences already, but what are the best succulents to grow together?
Considering the list of requirements you have to meet when pairing succulents, here are the best combinations:
- INCLUDED IN PURCHASE | (12) Succulents of different varieties. Each succulent may vary from pictures shown. Succulents come...
- WATERING NEEDS | Water 1x/week. During dormancy (winter), 1x every 2 -3 weeks. Completely soak the soil, then dry out...
- FERTILIZING NEEDS | During the growing season, a balanced fertilizer, which has been diluted to ¼ strength, can be added to...
- BEAUTIFUL, EASY CARE LIVE PLANTS: Featuring eye-catching foliage and flowers, succulents look exotic but are among the lowest...
- NATURAL HOME DECOR: Succulents are extremely versatile and look great when incorporated into a wide variety of room decor....
- PERFECT FOR GIFTS AND EVENTS: A succulent plant can easily be used in a wreath arrangement of real plants, table...
Agave, Echeveria, and Sempervivum
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The echeveria and the sempervivum both form rosette-shaped leaves that resemble a rose. The only difference is that sempervivum has more pointed tips than echeveria.
Depending on your personal preferences, you can use one of them as thrillers and the other as fillers. Then, the tiny agaves can function as spillers around the arrangement.
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If you decide to do this, make sure that you regularly trim the stem of the agave. Otherwise, it will grow bigger than the thrillers.
The best thing about this group is that they are all winter-dormant. What this means is that if you tend to them carefully and consistently, they will bloom during the colder season and make your house look beautiful.
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Aeonium, Graptopetalum, Kalanchoe, and Aloe
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Aeoniums grow deep purple or bright green leaves that will make your arrangement more vibrant. On the other hand, the graptopetalum is often of a pale green or gray color.
The aloe produces vertical, spike-shaped leaves, while the kalanchoe is a small succulent that grows flowers in its blooming season. You can use the aeoniums as the thriller or the main piece of the arrangement.
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Follow it up with the graptopetalum and aloe as fillers to complement the thriller. Lastly, place the tiny kalanchoes around the pot.
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As you can imagine, this group will give you the most vibrant arrangement of succulents. The best part? All of them are summer-dormant, which means you can have beautiful plants and flowers from June to August.
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Haworthia Zebra, Cymbiformis, String of Pearls, and Sempervivum Calcareum
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The haworthia zebra is a vertical succulent that looks like an aloe vera. However, it has stripe lines running horizontally across the leaves. You can use this as the thriller for this next arrangement.
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With their rosette-shaped leaves, the haworthia cymbiformis and sempervivum calcareum look similar. Place them perpendicular to the thriller and use them as fillers to complement the haworthia zebra.
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Of course, you will still see some empty spaces around your pot. Use the string of pearls as spillers to complete the look of your arrangement.
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Gently mist them occasionally or water them once a week at most. These succulents wouldn’t fight for the resources because they do not need too much water.
Echeveria Neon Breaker, Echeveria Painted Lady, and Sedum Golden Moss
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The echeveria neon breaker is an ash-gray succulent that forms rosette-shaped leaves. If you place it in the middle of the pot as the thriller, it will work well as the main attraction of your arrangement.
While it will also produce rosette-shaped leaves, the echeveria painted lady is significantly smaller than the echeveria neon breaker. Furthermore, the leaves are almost always of green color. This succulent would be better as fillers.
Once the neon breaker is in the center of the pot, plant the painted ladies around the thriller. The bright green leaves will complement the paler ash-gray color of the neon breaker.
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Lastly, fill out the empty spaces by using the sedum golden moss. This succulent is a tiny plant and is probably the best spiller you could have.
All of them do not need too much water, which makes them great together. Also, their growth needs are almost similar, so you don’t need any special treatment for each type.
Pairing Succulents Together
Succulents are the best plants to have at home. They don’t require too much maintenance, so you will still have a lot of free time on your hands. Additionally, they will produce vibrant colors that significantly improves the visual appeal of your home.
Before you start planting them in pots, you should first learn which are the best succulents to pair together. This knowledge will prevent you from accidentally killing them while also making sure they look great in full bloom.