The difficulties in raising succulent plants range from the super easy to the extremely difficult, challenging even to the experienced grower. Even the names can be scary!

If you're new to the hobby, this is definitely the page for you. However, even the most seasoned among us have a few things to learn.

First, an introduction to the names.

Secondly some suggested easy but interesting plants to grow.

And, finally, some suggestions regarding the 'how' of growing succulents - how to care for indoor cacti and succulents.

One definition of a succulent is any plant that possesses succulent tissue, storing moisture in stem, leaves or roots, making the plant temporarily independent from external water supply. Many plant families have some species which are succulent, but some are especially notable for this feature. So much so that to many people "cactus" has come to mean any succulent plant.

But that's not true. As the old saying goes, "All cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti." (Actually, even a few cacti aren't really succulent.) And so the divisions on this site: Cacti (from the Western Hemisphere), Haworthias (a group of succulent plants from Southern Africa); Lithops and other mimicry plants (Mimicry plants used here refers to a group of succulent plants of a number of different genera in the family Aizoaceae. They include Lithops, Conophytums, Fenestraria and about 14 other similar genera.);Echeverias (hens & chicks type plants, mostly from Mexico); and "Other Succulents" (a "catch all" for other succulent plants from many different plant families).

Most succulent plants are known by their botanical or Latinized names and only a few of them have generally accepted common names. This can be intimidating to the newcomer. When common names are used, they're often applied to more than one species and individual species often have more than one common name, which can be even more confusing than the botanical names. (In our plant lists, we generally try to note common names when we know of them.)

Therefore, there's just no escaping the Latin, but hang in there...it's not that hard. After all, you already know a lot of botanical (latinized) names: Rhododendron, for example (based on two Greek words). The basics are this: each plant has two names, genus and species. The genus is always capitalized and is the larger group of similar plants. (Plural for genus is genera) For example, Lithops is a genus. The individual plants within the genus are the species. For example, Lithops helmuthii. (Both the singular and plural of species is 'species'.) The standard is for both of these names to be printed in italics. There may also be a variety (var.) or subspecies (ssp. or subsp.) Sometimes, as is the general practice on this site, the name of the person (often abbreviated) who published and named the plant is added following the botanical name. For example: Lithops helmuthii L. Bol. (abbreviation for Harriet Margaret Loisa Bolus [1877-1970]) Names for cultivars and hybrids will be added following the species name and will be in single quotes. (For more detailed information about botanical names, go here.)

One final note about botanical names. There is often more than one 'correct' name for a plant, as botanical names are always a work in progress. Only by consensus does a name become 'accepted' across the board. (For example: We list several Notocacti, but many - if not most - now consider Notocactus to be subsumed by Parodia. We list it as Notocactus with the synonymy noted.)