Succulents are currently among the most well-liked garden plants, particularly among younger gardeners who are trend-conscious. It makes sense that these plants are now adorning so many patios, porches, and windowsills. They require very little upkeep and can withstand drought. Additionally, several succulent kinds are a wonderful conversation starter due to their unusual appearance.
A group of plants known as succulents have large, water-retentive leaves that are thick and succulent. Jade plants, kalanchoes, hens and chicks, and even aloe vera plants are examples of vintage varieties that you may already be familiar with. However, there are now a large variety of plant forms, leaf hues, and growth behaviors among the hundreds of distinct succulent plants that can be found at your neighborhood garden center.
Succulents of the Agave, Crassula, Dudleya, Echeveria, Sedum, Haworthia, and Sempervivum species varieties are some of the most well-liked varieties.
It’s time to consider how to overwinter any succulents you may have grown this year in patio pots or your garden. The plants can be left outside all winter long if the kinds you chose are completely winter hardy in Western Pennsylvania. This group includes hardy chickens and chicks.
However, the vast majority of succulent plants offered for sale these days in garden centers are not hardy in our gardening region. Combining that with the cost of these plants, you’ll probably want to figure out a way to overwinter them so you can use them in your garden the following year as well. Succulent plants can be overwintered in three different methods.
1. Use indoor succulent plants for the winter. On an indoor sunny windowsill, the majority of succulents thrive. The key to successfully overwintering succulents as indoor plants is to drastically reduce their watering requirements. If kept excessively damp, many succulents will actually rot, therefore water succulents used as houseplants throughout the winter just once every six to eight weeks. As you water, take care to keep the leaves dry. Additionally, you should keep the plants in a room that is not overly hot or chilly. Avoid forced air registers and cold drafts.
2. Semi-dormant succulents overwinter. Succulents don’t go into full dormancy, but it is possible to drive them into a semi-dormancy by severely limiting their access to water, drastically reducing their exposure to light, and maintaining them in an environment where the temperature is just above freezing. I raise about 50 succulents and cacti outdoors in my garden throughout the summer and overwinter them in this way.
I relocate my succulent pots into our linked, but unheated garage when the low 50s are reached at night. The garage has two modest windows. The pots are arranged along the garage’s sidewalls, and I neglect them the entire winter. I don’t fertilize or water the plants. They enter a semi-dormant phase where no active growth takes place.
I move the pots outside on warm days in mid- to late-March and lightly water them, taking care to keep the foliage dry. When the threat of frost has gone in mid-May, I move the pots back into the garage once they have drained and put them back up on my patio.
3. Use cuttings to overwinter succulents. Taking cuttings of your succulent plants is another approach to ensure that they survive the winter without harm. The majority of succulents are simple to grow from leaf cuttings. Fill several tidy plastic pots with a coarse, cacti-specific potting soil to accomplish this. With a sharp knife, remove a single leaf off the mother plant. Dip the cut end of the leaf into rooting hormone (which is sold at nearby garden centers or online), and then press the cut end of the leaf down into the pot of soil by about a half-inch. The pot or leaf cutting should not be covered, but it should be watered in at planting time and any other time the soil feels fully dry.
At the base of the clipped leaf, a new plantlet will emerge in a matter of weeks. Eventually, the old leaf will wither away, leaving only the new plant. If you want to grow your succulent collection over the winter, take lots of cuttings. Keep your succulent cuttings out of direct sunlight, but on a sunny windowsill. Another choice is to place them 18 to 20 hours per day in grow lamps. As long as you don’t overwater succulents, taking leaf cuttings from them is quite easy.
Prepare succulents for indoor living
Spray your succulents with a surface pesticide before bringing them inside. To ensure that your succulents are pest-free, this preparation should take place at least 3 weeks before their indoor adaption. By doing this, you can stop insects and other pests from spreading to your indoor plants.
After clearing the garbage, weeds, and leaves, look for any indications of an infestation. Change the soil if you notice flies gathering around the succulents. When you bring them inside your home, they will quickly spread to the neighboring plants if you don’t.
Make sure your succulent is in a pot with a drainage hole and well-draining soil. Because outdoor environments frequently have greater ventilation, a proper soil mixture is essential for indoor growing of succulents. Succulents need sufficient air circulation to sustain healthy roots. To improve drainage, you can also add pumice or perlite to the potting medium.
In addition to these actions, gradually cut back on the watering of your succulents. The plants will go into dormancy and be able to endure the harsh winter with the help of less water and a lower temperature.
Bring the succulents inside 
Stop watering your indoor succulents and allow the soil to dry up. Water them lightly during the winter, just enough to prevent dehydration. Ensure that the temperature is consistently between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
Providing enough light for succulents in the winter is another factor to take into account for indoor adaption. If your succulents have been kept outdoors for a while, they may have grown accustomed to regular exposure to intense light. It’s better to replicate their growing environment indoors. A sunny windowsill can provide 6–8 hours of bright light in warm zones 9–11, but in places with little sunlight, you might want to consider obtaining a succulent growth lamp.
Fluorescent lighting will promote healthy, stress-free plant growth, especially for non-dormant succulents.
Do succulents require indoor space in the winter?
Each summer, soft succulents can enjoy some sunshine outside, but they must return indoors before it becomes too cold. Pay attention to the light, air, soil, and water conditions as you bring your plants indoors for the winter.
Light
Naturally, indoor places receive less sunlight, especially during the winter. Sun-loving succulents should be placed close to a sunny window. To stop the pots from fading and straining, rotate them frequently. Add a grow light to rooms that don’t get enough natural light, or try indoor succulent varieties. For rooms with particularly low light levels, we suggest Haworthia, Jade, and Gasteria.
Do succulents survive the cold outside?
Some succulents will thrive outside all year for you if you live in a climate with four seasons, particularly one with harsh winters, but most won’t.
Although most won’t endure prolonged frigid conditions, each succulent has varied temperature requirements.
But there is a whole class of gorgeous cold-tolerant plants that are largely ignored in the succulent world! Many individuals are unaware of their existence or how numerous they are.
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Even if your environment dips well below freezing for the majority of the winter, you may still keep a lovely succulent garden outdoors using Sempervivums, select Sedums, and their hardy Opuntia relatives.
I started off growing succulents in Utah, which has a Zone 5 environment. I didn’t know there were succulents that could endure snow, therefore I was primarily cultivating succulents indoors.
Fortunately, Mountain Crest Gardens was recommended to me, and as a result, my succulent garden underwent significant improvement. According to my knowledge, Mountain Crest Gardens is the main source of cold-tolerant succulent species.
Their nursery is really located in a mountain valley near Mount Shasta in northern California, where they receive snow all winter. They have the most exquisite assortment of succulents that can withstand chilly temperatures.
These Sempervivums, Sedums, and Opuntias (also known as “Prickly Pear Cactus”) are wonderful since they can also survive in more temperate climes!
In the video below, you can learn more about what succulents can withstand below-freezing temperatures:
I have many sizable pots full of Sempervivums and Sedums that made the journey and are now flourishing here in Arizona, in addition to the numerous plants I did plant in the ground for my parents in Utah. I also want to expand my collection here with some cold-tolerant Opuntia.
Sempervivums are significantly harder than other rosettes succulents, such Echeverias, and make excellent rosettes if you are unfamiliar with how these succulents look. The color choices are also quite beautiful, ranging from pinks, reds, and purples to greens, yellows, and blues. You truly receive the entire rainbow!
The resilient Sedums are more of a ground cover and come in a wide range of forms, textures, and hues. You’ll find that some of them generate a wonderful trailing effect over the edge of your succulent pots, which looks fantastic when combined with Sempervivums.
My eye has been particularly drawn to the tough Opuntia. I was able to visit the Waterwise Botanical Gardens in Escondido, California, when they introduced a line of cold-hard Opuntias a few years ago. The most stunning flowers you’ll ever see on a succulent are produced by these plants in the spring, despite the fact that they may look like regular “Prickly Pear” cactus on the outside.
Opuntia “Pina Colada,” which has a blossom that truly changes colors, was one of my all-time favorites. It changes from being an orangey-pink color to yellow with pink and orange stripes in the middle the following day.
The amazing thing is that these cold-tolerant Opuntias are now available on Mountain Crest Gardens’ website thanks to a collaboration between Mountain Crest Gardens and Waterwise Botanicals.
So everyone who lives somewhere with four seasons, don’t forget to think about these incredible succulents! You’ll find that being able to observe some color and life in the midst of winter is very satisfying, in my opinion. Nothing compares to the Opuntias blooming at the start of spring, though!
It’s fascinating to observe how these hardy plants recover with vibrant, gorgeous hues even after spending the winter months buried beneath several feet or inches of snow. My awe for succulents never wanes!
Ice plant Oscularia Deltoides
Oscularia Deltoides, a succulent that is native to South Africa, with hefty, green leaves and blooms in the summer with purple daisy-like flowers. You may cultivate this succulent both inside and outside. It needs soil that drains properly and only light irrigation.
General Care: You may grow this succulent both inside and outside. They need a soil that drains properly and only light irrigation. Before you rehydrate the soil, make sure it is completely dry. Pink Ice Plants naturally need more watering when planted in full sun as opposed to partial sunlight.
It is hardy and can withstand temperatures as low as 15-20°F. However, prolonged exposure to cold temperatures and frost can harm ice plants.
Agave Butterfly
This rosettes succulent, native to the semi-arid Mexican regions of Puebla and Oaxaca, matures to a height of 2 feet. Its broad, cream-colored leaves are grayish green in tone. When the weather gets cooler, it enters dormancy after aggressively growing during the spring and summer.
In general, this plant needs bright, full sun outdoors because it loves the sun. It thrives in pots with drainage holes and stony, mineral soils. You’ll notice new offsets or “pups” growing around the mother plant’s base over time.
Hardiness: Agave Butterfly grows extremely slowly and can withstand extreme heat and protracted drought. This cultivar can tolerate light freezing down to 22F.
Although these succulents can withstand extremely severe temperatures, like other succulents, they require sufficient drainage in their growing location in the garden to prevent rot from melting snow.
Before planting them outside in snowy conditions, you must gradually acclimate cold-hardy succulents that you have grown in warmer climates. Even though they don’t seem so nice in the winter, these two varieties of succulents, which are among the most hardy, will come back lush and robust.
How should succulents be stored?
It’s not quite as simple to grow succulents as everyone claims. Here are a few ideas that can guarantee your success.
Do you hang your head in shame if we claim that succulents are the easiest plants to grow? I promise you’re not alone. Succulents follow their own set of rules but are nonetheless quite simple to take care of because they are plants that have evolved to thrive in severe conditions and for extended periods without much water. To maintain your succulent kids healthy and living, use the advice in the following section.
Do succulents grown indoors go dormant?
True dormancy is not experienced by succulents cultivated indoors. As a result, you’ll discover that propagating or transplanting succulents indoors throughout the year is not a problem.
Waiting until the succulent is in its active growing season is optimal for succulents growing outside. The spring and fall seasons are often when you’ll see the best effects.
Extremes in temperature will be your main obstacles when transplanting or planting succulents outdoors.
For my sister-in-law in Southern California, I planted several succulents. The succulents were outside in the ground when we planted them in June, but because of the heat wave, they were experiencing temperatures near to 100F. (38C).
These little 2 (5 cm) succulents didn’t have time to adjust to that scorching temperature and the full sun because the place we were putting them in was also in full sunlight. The majority of them perished.
Even cold-hardy varieties of succulents would freeze if I tried to plant them outside in the midst of the winter when I still lived in Utah since they weren’t used to the extremely cold temperatures.
Succulents can, however, be planted all year round provided you give them a beautiful, temperate climate without too many extremes.
Because (shocking, I know…) they are growing more throughout their active growing season, you’ll discover that your succulents take transplanting better. As a result, they will heal more quickly and acclimate to their new surroundings more quickly.
The process of propagating succulents is comparable. In the end, spring or fall, when that particular succulent is beginning its active growing season, are the greatest times of year. The growth of these plants can be propagated at other seasons of the year, but it will often be slower.
Again, this is relevant to succulents grown outside. Succulents grown indoors can be easily reproduced all year long and develop at a similar rate.