Are you looking for a succulent that will flower? Most succulents and cacti are known for their foliage and the arrangement of leaves that almost look like flowers. However, there are succulents with stunning, showy flowers and others with delicate blooms.
If you want a flowering succulent, but don’t know which plant to pick, you’ve come to the right place. We’re going to walk you through some of our favorite, beautiful succulents that flower (when they are ready).
In this article, we will explore some of the most popular flowering succulents for you to add to your home or outdoor space.
Here are our personal favorite flowering succulents:
- Schlumbergera Bridgesii – Christmas Cactus
- Parodia Haselbergii – Scarlet Ball Cactus
- Crassula Rupestris – Baby’s Necklace Vine
- Crassula Ovata – Jade Plant
- Euphorbia Milii – Crown of Thorns
- Mammillaria Spinosissima – Spiny Pincushion Cactus
- Opuntia – Prickly Pear
- Stapelia Gigantea – Carrion Cactus
- Echeveria Derenbergii – Painted Lady
- Disocactus Ackermannii – Orchid Cactus
- Aloe Barbadensis Miller – Aloe Vera
- Lithops – Living Stones
- Echinopsis Chamaecereus – Peanut Cactus
- Portulaca Grandiflora – Moss Rose
- Graptopetalum Paraguayense – Ghost Plant
- Kalanchoe Blossfeldiana Calandiva – Flaming Katy
- Adenium Obesum – Desert Rose
- Oscularia Deltoides – Pink Ice Plant
We’ve got pictures and information about each below.
Schlumbergera Bridgesii – Christmas Cactus
The Christmas Cactus, Schlumbergera bridgesii, is known for its hanging shape and beautiful, colorful flowers that tend to bloom in winter. In the northern hemisphere, that’s usually around Christmas time and is where its common name comes from. In the southern hemisphere, they will tend to bloom from May to July.
There are other, similar varieties of Holiday Cactus that bloom with orange or red flowers. They are usually named after the time they bloom, such as the Thanksgiving Cactus (Schlumbergera Truncata) and the Easter Cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri).
They need bright, indirect light if they are to thrive and produce their showy blooms.
Parodia Haselbergii – Scarlet Ball Cactus
Scarlet Ball Cactus is a popular ball-shaped cactus with silvery white spines that blooms showy deep orange flowers.
It’s a fast grower and a heavy bloomer that will flower for long periods of time, and bloom regularly every year.
It’s native to Brazil and certain parts of South America. They are often solitary, but they can form clusters.
Crassula Rupestris – Baby’s Necklace Vine
Crassula succulents are plants that have over 200 known species, and they are known to flower the most readily compared to other succulents.
The Crassula Rupestris, nicknamed the Baby’s Necklace Vine, Rosary Vine or Bead Vine, is an absolutely stunning flowering succulent. This plant has green fleshy leaves that spiral around the stem, creating a stunning pattern.
When this plant flowers, we will see pink, yellow or white flowers, which add to the beauty of this plant.
Crassula Ovata – Jade Plant
The Crassula Ovata is also known as the Jade Plant. They are very easy to look after, making them very popular in many households.
These beautiful succulents produce flowers every year. The blooms are star-shaped pink or white flowers.
This succulent is well-branched, and the leaves are of an oval shape. They are dark green in color, and the woody stems and branches are fairly short and stubby.
Euphorbia Milii – Crown of Thorns
Euphorbia Milii, known as the Crown of Thorns plant, produces spectacular flowers. Native to Madagascar, this succulent looks more like a woody shrub with long thorns on its stems.
The flowers are fairly small and typically pink or red and appear usually in spring and summer, although they can last longer.
Despite its beauty, it is toxic with sharp thorns on its stems. Euphorbia milii should always be handled with care and kept away from children and pets.
Mammillaria Spinosissima – Spiny Pincushion Cactus
Mammillaria spinosissima, known as Spiny Pincushion Cactus is just one of a number of mammillaria cactus varieties that bloom striking, colorful flowers.
The spiny pincushion cactus blooms in late spring and summer with a halo fuschia-colored flowers around the crown of the plant.
Opuntia – Prickly Pear
The Opuntia is also known as the Prickly Pear. This succulent is more likely to flower in full sun. These plants are beautiful when they are in bloom.
This plant is made up of paddlelike cladodes. They reproduce asexually and the flowers on the plant are yellow, orange and pink in color and they are stunning flowers. The plant also grows some fruit in the form of a reddish berry.
Stapelia Gigantea – Carrion Cactus
Stapelia Gigantea, is also known as the Starfish Blossom, Carrion Cactus and Zulu Giant.
It blooms five-point flowers that are very large in size. These beautiful flowers are very eye-catching. They are typically red, or shades of red or brown, in color with markings and patterns. The blooms tend to appear in spring and summer.
While this flower looks fantastic, it has the odor of rotting meat, so it doesn’t smell very nice! Flies are the pollinators of these flowers, attracting flies because of their smell.
Echeveria Derenbergii – Painted Lady
Echeveria derenbergii, also known as Painted Lady, has fleshy, silver gray leaves that form stunning circular rosettes.
This plant then produces very attractive, bright orange flowers that appear on long stalks.
Echeveria is a species of succulents with stunning rosettes of leaves and beautiful flowers. There are over 1,000 different echeveria varieties but most flower in a similar style.
The flowers of Echeveria plants typically grow on tall, slender stems in dense clusters. While the individual flowers are small, the cluster-arrangements make an eye-catching display.
The flowers are often tubular, with vibrant colors that range from shades of pink, red, orange, and yellow to pale hues of white and pastels.
Disocactus Ackermannii – Orchid Cactus
This orchid cactus is a great succulent if you are looking for one with beautiful flowers. This plant doesn’t bloom very frequently, but when it does it is beautiful. The plant will actually only flower through the night a few times each year.
This plant won’t flower in the first two years of its life. You will have to have this flower for a long time before seeing any flowers.
The plant will blossom by itself, but if you give them more light, they are more likely to blossom.
Disocactus ackermannii, also known as Orchid Cactus, is a trailing succulent with long, flat stems in a deep green color.
Orchid cactus has stunning flowers that are large and showy, with a shape reminiscent of orchids, hence the plant’s common name. The flowers can vary in color, ranging from vibrant shades of red, pink, orange, and yellow to softer hues like white or pastels.
The flowers of Disocactus ackermannii typically open up at night and close during the daytime. They usually bloom in spring or summer.
Aloe Vera
Aloe is a beautiful succulent that flowers in a very unique and beautiful way.
This is a beautiful succulent plant that flowers in the summer. If you put your aloe vera plant outside during the summer then the plant will create a cluster of tubular orange or yellow flowers on the end of a long stalk.
Most aloes flower in the same way.
Lithops – Living Stones
Lithops are small plants that literally look like stones, hence the name, Living Stones.
Each fall, a healthy lithop will flower with a central, colorful, daisy-like bloom.
On average, lithops will not flower until they are around 3 years old.
Echinopsis Chamaecereus – Peanut Cactus
Echinopsis chamaecereus, commonly known as the Peanut Cactus, and often referred to by it’s old name of Chamaecereus silvestrii, is known for its beautiful and vibrant flowers.
The Peanut cactus has a short, compact stem – similar in shape to a peanut shell- and the flowers are relatively large compared to the size of the plant itself.
The Echinopsis chamaecereus blooms are usually brightly colored, with shades of red, orange, pink, or yellow being the most common.
These flowers will appear every year in the spring, and this blossom is very beautiful.
You are more likely to see the flowers if you place the plant in direct sunlight. Make sure that it is not too hot for the plant, though as this can stunt its growth.
They typically bloom during the spring and summer months, usually for a short period. Each individual flower usually opens up for only one day, but the plant can produce multiple flowers.
Portulaca Grandiflora – Moss Rose
The Portulaca grandiflora plant, commonly known as Moss Rose, is a low-growing succulent with slender, trailing stems that sprawl along the ground or cascade over the edges of containers. The stems are covered with plump, fleshy, small green leaves.
The flowers are vibrant and showy. They come in a wide range of bright colors, including pink, red, orange, yellow, and white. The blooms are relatively small and typically appear in summer.
Graptopetalum Paraguayense – Ghost Plant
Graptopetalum paraguayense, known as the Ghost Plant, or Mother of Pearl, has plump, fleshy pale green-grey leaves. The leaves are arranged in a rosette that resembles a beautiful flower. In spring, Ghost Plant blooms with small, delicate star-shaped flowers that appear in clusters on long stalks.
The colors of the flowers range from pale pink and lavender to creamy white or even light yellow, resembling iridescent pearls.
Kalanchoe Blossfeldiana Calandiva – Flaming Katy
Kalanchoe Blossfeldiana Calandiva, also known as Flaming Katy, is a popular flowering succulent.
The plant itself has compact, upright thick, fleshy leaves that are dark green and glossy. The edges of the leaves are scalloped. It blooms prolifically with multiple flowers in tight clusters. The flowers can be shades of red, pink, orange, yellow, and white. They are star-shaped with multiple layers of petals. The flowers rise above the foliage on sturdy stems.
The flowers of Kalanchoe Blossfeldiana Calandiva are long-lasting, blooming from late winter to late spring.
Adenium Obesum – Desert Rose
Adenium Obesum, commonly known as the Desert Rose, has beautiful pink flowers that appear in early spring.
The plant will often remain in bloom for up to 8 weeks.
It is a popular house and garden succulent due to its unusual shape and stunning flowers. Unfortunately, it is highly toxic to cats, dogs and other pets.
great as indoor houseplants, and they also thrive outdoors in warm weather.
Oscularia Deltoides – Pink Ice Plant
Oscularia Deltoides , also known as Pink Ice Plant, originates from South Africa and Namibia.
It produces pink flower that have a daisy-like appearance. These plants can become completely covered in these blossoms.
The plant itself has fleshy grey-green leaves with toothed edges. The word ‘osculum’ in Latin actually means small mouth. This refers to the toothed leaves of the succulent.
Monocarpic Succulents
We have not included any monocarpic succulents in our article, despite there being a wide range that display spectacular flowers.
Monocarpic succulents flower only once and then die. Often, they have produced sufficient offsets and offspring that you may not notice the death of the mother plant, but this post was intended for plants that flower regularly, once mature. Whereas monocarpic plants tend to live for many years before flowering just the once.
Monocarpic plants include some agaves, most aeoniums and sempervivums and mother of millions plant.
If you’d like to read more, check out our article on Monocarpic Succulents and Succulent Death Blooms.
Final Thoughts
This is just a selection of the many, beautiful flowering succulents. They are our favorite and include some of the showiest, brightest and boldest flowers, plus some delicate blooms for variety.
Depending on the temperature and climate in the area that you live in, most of these succulents will thrive both indoors or outdoors.
We hope you love this wonderful selection as much as we do and enjoy the vibrancy and beauty they bring to your home or outdoor space.
