Succulent plants are trendy for a reason. With juicy leaves, stems, or roots, succulents form a vast and diverse group of plants, offering easy-care choices for your home. Plus, they look stunning planted alone or as companions.

The color variation of succulents seems almost endless: blue-green, chartreuse, pink, red, yellow, white, burgundy, almost black, variegated, and more. The leaves may be rounded, needlelike, berrylike, ruffled, or spiky. Many have an enticing "touch me" quality - even cacti.

All cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti.

While some types of succulents have somewhat exacting care requirements, most are easy to grow because they evolved with special water-storage tissues that allow them to survive in environments that are too dry for most other plants.

Succulents like the dry humidity and warm conditions found in most homes, and while they like direct light, they can adapt to lower light. They all prefer a fast-draining potting medium that's not watered too often. Allow the soil to dry out between waterings.

Give succulents as much sun as possible. Succulents are desert plants. They thrive in hot places with plenty of sunshine. It’s no surprise that a sun-loving plant doesn’t enjoy life in my dimly lit apartment.

Start with the green ones. The greener their leaves, the greater the chances that they’ll survive inside. Pass up the gray ones, the blue ones, and the purple ones, and head straight for succulents with bright green leaves.