7 Hanging Succulents To Love

I joke around in some of my posts and videos that I’m going to have to start hanging plants because I’m running out of floor and table space. Honestly, it’s not far from the truth. I just dig the look of hanging plants. Plus you know how I love me some succulents! Here are hanging succulents for your perusing pleasure.

All cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti. I understand it’s a bit vague. However, when most people hear the word “succulents”, those fleshy beauties come to mind; not the wacky, spiny specimens which grow here in the Sonoran Desert. The “fleshies” are what you’ll see in this post and in the video below. 

Sometimes you want an upright plant and sometimes you want a trailing plant. Many succulents get leggy or grow long stems over time and spill out of their pots or meander through a garden bed. You may have to prune, propagate and replant them but that’s not what I’m talking about here. These are bonafide trailing succulents and sold as such (often in hanging pots).

Trailing Fishhooks & Trailing Jade spill out of this beautiful pot.

How Do You Use Hanging Succulents?

In hanging pots, in containers or shelves attached to the wall, in living walls, terrariums, kissing balls, succulent art & as spillers to trail outs of pots like you see in the photo above.

How to Care for Hanging Succulents

It depends on the environment & how they’re being used. I’ve grown succulents in different climates – San Francisco, Santa Barbara & now Tucson. Plus, I’ve grown some of them indoors & all of them outdoors.

Here are 7 hanging succulents (plus 2 “extras”) to start or add to your collection.

This String Of Bananas grows on my patio. I started this plant from a few cuttings about 3 years ago. I prune it twice a year to keep it from getting too long & too thick.

String Of Bananas

Botanic name: Senecio radicans.

Note: This plant is closely related to the ever-popular String Of Pearls. It grows much faster & thicker, is tougher & grows much healthier for me outdoors here in Tucson. It grows with a String of Pearls in the same pot. You’ll see how much better the String Of Bananas is doing than the String Of Pearls in the video. So, if you’re having problems with a SOPs give a SOBs a try.

How to Care for String of Bananas

• Growing a String of Bananas Houseplant
• How to Grow a String of Bananas Outdoors
• Propagating a String of Bananas

This String Of Pearls trailed out of a pot in my garden in Santa Barbara.

String Of Pearls

Botanic name: Senecio rowleyanus. Other common name: String Of Beads.

Note: How people love this pearly plant! I grew quite a few String Of Pearls plants in Santa Barbara because I sold cuttings on amazon. These plants did so much better in SB than my 1 does here in Tucson. The coast of Southern California is ideal for growing fleshy succulents.

How to Care for String of Pearls

• Tips For Growing A String Of Pearls Plant Outdoors
• Problems You May Be Having with Growing a String of Pearls Indoors
• String Of Pearls Scented Plant Flowers and Making Them Bloom

My Fishhooks in front of my garage in Santa Barbara. I brought this plant with me when I moved. The trails grow long here in Tucson too.

String Of Fishhooks

Botanic name: Senecio radicans. Other common names: Fishhooks Senecio, Trailing Fishhooks.

Note: I have the grey variety. It did fine the 1st 2 years of growing outdoors here in Tucson & the trails had grown to be 6′ long & were hitting the ground. Last summer the heat took its toll & I cut the trails back to 2-3′ to stimulate new growth at the top.

How to Care for String of Fishhooks

• Fishhooks Senecio: An Easy-Care Trailing Succulent
• How to Prune a Trailing Fishhooks Succulent

This is Sedum morganium “Burrito”. The leaves grow tighter & plumper then do those of the Burro’s Tail but their care is the same.

Burro’s Tail Sedum

Botanic name: Senecio morganianum. Other common names: Burro’s Tail, Donkey’s Tail.

Note: This plant is a lovely silvery-green color. The leaves fall off very easily when planting or transplanting it. It was much plumper & robust in Santa Barbara. The dry, hot Tucson summers have shriveled the leaves but they’ll plump up a bit when cooler temperatures return.

How to Care for a Burro’s Tail Sedum

• How To Care For and Propagate Burro’s Tail
• Pruning and Propagating A Burro’s Tail Succulent
• How To Work With Hanging Succulents Without All The Leaves Falling Off

My sweet little Ruby Necklace. I plan on repotting it into a terra cotta in the next couple of months.

Ruby Necklace

Botanic name: Othonna capensis. Other common name: Little Pickles.

Note: Ruby Necklace has beautiful red-purple stems & yellow daisy-like flowers in winter & spring (growing outdoors in Tucson anyway). The stems are very thin & the leaves are plump but they don’t fall off nearly as easily as do those of the Burro’s Tail Sedum.

I haven’t done a care post on this yet. I have it growing on my side patio in bright shade & water it every 5 days when the temps. are over 100F. Otherwise, it’s once a week & every 2-3 weeks in the winter months.

The solid green form of Elephant’s Food.

My Variegated Elephant’s Foot. The color intensifies & it gets tinged with pink in the cooler months.

Elephant’s Food

Botanic name: Portulacaria afra. Other common names: Miniature Jade, Elephant Plant, Small Leaf Jade.

Note: My plant you see above is the variegated form. It also comes in a sold green form. This succulent has thick stems & thick leaves making it sturdier & hardier to the sun than the other succulents listed above. My variegated 1 grows in 2-3 hours of early morning summer sun & the solid green in 6 hours of sun.

I water both of mine once a week in the hot months & every 3 weeks in the winter months. They can take a good amount of the desert sun, especially the solid green form. Speaking of the green form, I’ve seen it growing as a shrub 5-6′ tall.

Trailing Jades make a fine ground cover when growing outdoors & can trail up to 4′ indoors .

Trailing Jade

Botanic name: Senecio jacobsenii (Kleinia petraea). Other common name: Hanging Jade.

Note: This succulent is a great ground cover. It grew in my front garden in Santa Barbara & trailed along the ground & spilled over the rocks. This plant has thick stems & larger leaves than the other succulents listed above. However, I’ve never seen it growing here in Tucson & doubt it could take the hot desert sun.

Hanging Succulents and Sun (Outdoors)

I grow all my fleshy succulents in the bright shade here in Tucson with the exception of the Elephant’s Food. In someplace like Santa Barbara part sun or full sun is fine. Here’s a post & video I did on how much sun succulents need.

Hanging Succulents and Sun (Indoors)

When growing succulents indoors, they need high light. Just be sure to keep them out of direct, hot sun. In other words, don’t put them right in any west facing windows.

Most of the succulents I now have growing in Tucson are grown from cuttings I brought from Santa Barbara garden. I’ve grown all the above trailing succulents outdoors.

Indoors I’ve grown the String Of Pearls, String Of Bananas, String Of Fishhooks & Elephant’s Food. The 2 which have done the best for me as houseplants are the String Of Bananas & Elephants Food.

Any of these are worth a try indoors. Just remember high light, low water.

The 2 “Extras”

I currently grow these 2 plants indoors with success. Although they’re not sold as hanging succulents, both will trail over time. They’re both epiphytic cacti with fleshy leaves & no spines.

My Thanksgiving Cactus was repotted a couple of months ago & has plenty of new growth. Bring on those holiday blooms!

Christmas Cactus

Most sold on the market are Thanksgiving Cacti but are sold as CC. Some growers now call them Holiday Cactus. If you didn’t know, they’re sold when in bloom in November & December. You can see a mature hanging plant here.

How to Care for Christmas Cactus

• Everything You Need to Know About Growing Christmas Cactus
• How To Propagate Christmas Cactus By Stem Cuttings
• Houseplant Repotting: Christmas Cactus
• What Causes Christmas Cactus Leaves To Turn Orange?
• Can Christmas Cactus Flower More Than Once A Year?

Dancing Bones; 1 of my favs!

Dancing Bones

I love my Hatiora. It was planted in a pot with no drainage over a year ago & is doing great. I’m planting on repotting it into a bigger pot late this summer/early fall. To clarify, you can see a mature pendulous plant here.

Variegated Elephant’s Food, Sedum Burritos & Trailing Fishhooks grow up a stair railing in Old town San Diego.

Are you into hanging plants too? I’m sure you can find a hanging succulent or 2 from this list to love!

Happy Gardening!

Succulents, Trailing Houseplants, and More

We have plenty more succulent posts and videos here.

• How To Grow String Of Hearts
• How To Care For A Hoya Houseplant
• Pothos Care: The Easiest Trailing Houseplant

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