When looking through the bouquets of bright flowers to send to a friend, don’t forget succulents for a unique and lasting gift. A variety of colors and requiring little maintenance, a beautiful succulent selection can be contained in a little container for those small offices or rooms. They are a gift that lasts for years.

Succulents are plants that store water in their leaves. The leaves are thick and fleshy to hold the water. They prefer warm climates and do not like a lot of humidity. They still need to be watered periodically, but can last many days between watering. Perfect for the busy household.

Many succulents don’t like cold weather. Some will change color depending on their location. A plant that gets less light than normal will have a dull green look while plants that get more sun may turn pink, orange, purple or red. This is called “blushing” and is typical of a succulent getting accustomed to a new location with more or less sunlight.

Succulents are not only hardy plants, but they propagate easily. Some plants may grow a new plant simply from a leaf that has fallen off. Other plants sprout small buds that when planted produce a new plant.

These plants like a coarse soil, sometimes called cactus soil at the garden store. They like the top half inch of soil to stay dry so water lightly to prevent over watering. They grow quickly during the spring and summer and much more slowly in fall and winter. They do need bright, direct sunlight to stay healthy.

Some popular succulents that make excellent gifts include:

Burro’s tail – Good as a hanging plant, Burro’s tail drapes over the basket to create leaves up to three feet long. Gray-green or gray-blue, they prefer medium to strong light. Blooming rarely, delicate pink or red flowers may show up at the end of the stems.

Christmas cactus – This medium to dark green plant develops bright red, white and pink flowers at the end of the leaves. Attention to the lighting and watering can encourage this plant to flower sooner.

Hens-and-Chicks – The leaves on this succulent form rosettes that look like flowers. The leaves are flat, pointed and overlap to create the rosette. More than one succulent is referred to by this name because they all produce small plants (chicks) that are identical to the mother (hen) plant. Colors range from olive to pink depending on sun and water conditions.

Jade Plant – This is a favorite gift because it is easy to maintain. The thick stems and leaves are often tinged with a bit of red. The jade plant can be allowed to spread or pinch off the leaves so it grows tall and topped with leaves.

A variety of succulents can be combined by us at Nanz & Craft in one container for a unique gift. A number of plants in a shallow dish become a miniature cactus garden in the middle of the home or office. The next time you want to send a gift of flowers, consider a lasting gift of hardy and beautiful succulents.