Succulents for Hot Climates

Choosing the right plant for a hot position

Succulents for hot climates split into three roles: groundcovers, rosettes and features. For covering a hot bank or verge, Blue Chalk Sticks (Senecio mandraliscae) sits at 30cm tall, spreads to about a metre and knits into a solid blue carpet. Ice plants and gazanias do the same job with flowers. For pots, borders and rockery pockets, choose the rosette formers: 'Blue Glow' agave holds a neat 45cm rosette edged in red, and Queen Victoria agave stays even tighter. For a feature with real presence, jade builds to a dense 1m shrub and the Dragon Tree slowly makes a 4m sculpture.

Where succulents for hot climates earn their keep

These are the beds that break ordinary plants: north and west facing walls, strips beside driveways, unirrigated verges and inland gardens where summer sits in the forties for days. Succulents store their own water, so they keep their looks while lawns brown off. They suit Perth, Adelaide and inland towns especially well, handle coastal salt in large part, and most cope with Brisbane humidity when drainage is sharp. If your whole garden runs this way, our arid and semi arid climate range is built on the same logic. The trade-off is cold: most of these tolerate a light frost only, so gardeners in frosty districts should favour pots they can move.

Planting and spacing

Plant into free draining soil, or mound beds 20cm to 30cm high where the ground is heavy. Space Blue Chalk Sticks at 40cm centres for cover within a couple of seasons, 'Blue Glow' agaves at 600mm for a massed display, and Silver Spoons kalanchoe at 40cm for a silver grey groundcover. Gravel mulch reflects less heat onto the foliage than dark bark and will not hold moisture against the stems. Even the toughest succulent establishes faster with a deep weekly drink through its first summer; after that, rain does most of the work.

Care through summer and winter

In extreme heatwaves, young plants appreciate temporary shade cloth, but established plants ride it out. Water deeply and rarely rather than lightly and often, ease off completely as nights cool, and feed once in spring at half strength. Winter wet is the main killer, which is why drainage matters more than any other decision. Our waterwise garden guide covers companion plantings that live on the same rations.

Common questions

Do succulents need shade in extreme heat?

Established plants generally do not. Fresh plantings are the exception: give them some afternoon protection through their first heatwave and water deeply the evening before a scorcher is forecast.

Can these handle frost as well as heat?

Some inland gardens serve both extremes. About half this range tolerates a light frost, but hard freezes will mark or kill most succulents, so in cold winter districts grow the tender types in pots and move them under cover.

What is the best succulent groundcover for a hot bank?

Blue Chalk Sticks at 40cm centres is the reliable answer, with ice plant for flower colour in the gaps. Both root as they spread, which helps bind loose slopes.

Will these grow in Brisbane humidity?

Most will. The majority of this range carries the subtropical climate tag, and the recipe is raised free draining beds, gravel mulch and air movement. The full succulent and cactus range notes climate suitability on every product page.