Let me tell you, I am SO excited to review Succulent Market. I’ve been a fan of succulents for years because they were the first houseplants I was able to keep alive as a recovering black-thumbed houseplant killer. As a habitual underwaterer, succulents are great plants for me! I also love that they come in so many different funky shapes and colors. What’s not to love about succulents?!
Choosing and Receiving Plants From Succulent Market
I had a great time picking out the four plants I wanted to order from Succulent Market. There were so many to choose from! And yes, it took me a long time to decide. I brought in reinforcements from a few plant-loving girlfriends to make the final decision.
I settled on a Kalanchoe Thyrsiflora (paddle plant), a Haworthia Cooperi (this has been a wish-list plant for years!), an echeveria purple pearl to add some color to all my greenery, and a Crassula Gollum (or, as I call them, “Shrek-Ear Plants”).
Once I placed my order, my box arrived in about two days. The plants were packed with paper and were in remarkably great shape considering that FedEx had left the box sitting in a puddle. (FedEx is not my favorite delivery service, but I digress.)
When I unboxed the plants, I actually gasped. I didn’t expect them to be so large and well-established.
They were so healthy!
I’ve ordered plants in the mail before and they almost always show up with some battle damage (don’t even get me started on the alocasia I ordered by mail) or they’re tiny and young. That’s not a problem per se, but sometimes it’s nice to get a big, robust plant. Succulents do tend to ship well thanks to their sturdy leaves, but these guys shipped beautifully.
For the most part, the plants were as beautiful and vibrant as they looked on the website. The paddle plant wasn’t quite as colorful as the picture on the site showed, but the plant was still healthy. It’s possible this plant didn’t get enough light to produce that kind of coloration.
My room has several large north-facing windows that provide pretty good light, but almost no direct light. I may need to get a few grow lights to help my succulent babies reach their color potential!
I placed them on my desk with all my other small plants, including a lot of other succulent buddies. The potting substrate was bone-dry, so I watered them a day or two after they showed up. I watered the purple pearl and paddle plant from the top, but since the haworthia and crassula were so packed in their pots, I bottom-watered them to avoid dumping water over the top. (They responded well to this method, btw.)
I’ve continued to water the plants about every 10 days when the soil feels dry. So far, I’ve left them in their plastic grower’s pots that they came in, which have a lot of drainage, so it doesn’t take the soil long to dry out. The potting mix is also very fine and light, and drains quickly. I’ve noticed the paddle plant especially seems to dry out in a hurry.
I’m also one of those houseplant owners that names their plants. So within a couple weeks, all these guys had names. My houseplant names run the gamut from clever to boring to downright stupid, which tends to happen when you have over two dozen plants.
If you’re interested (and even if you’re not):
- Kalanchoe Thyrsiflora: Paddy (I know, so bad.)
- Haworthia Cooperi: Bubbles (not as original as “Kermit the Fig,” my fiddle leaf fig, but it stuck)
- Crassula Gollum: Shrek, of course (Though the obvious choice for this plant, and for this fantasy nerd, would have been “Gollum.” Maybe for another plant.)
- Echeveria Purple Pearl: Julian (Don’t ask me why, it just worked.)
Succulent Market Review: One Month Later
A month later, my plants look amazing!
Within two weeks, I started seeing new leaves on the paddle plant.
I’ve noticed that the color is fading, so I think I might need to fix my lighting situation. Still, the plant is healthy and growing!
My echeveria purple pearl is growing too, though I might also need light. It appears to be stretching a bit, and the color is a little duller than it was when it first arrived. (Not the plant’s fault, just a signal to adjust my environment for my plant babies.)
This past month also included two weeks of traveling when I left my plants in the hands of a semi-competent plant sitter (sorry, Mom, it’s true). Despite this, they still look great and they’re growing beautifully.
I may go pot shopping and repot them into prettier planters soon. I live in a remote mountain town, and sometimes getting to the garden store takes some planning ahead. Shrek and Bubbles in particular are pretty stuffed in their pots and might need an upgrade soon. Or I might separate them to make baby plants! (Have a Shrek and Fiona, maybe?)
My Take on Succulent Market
My overall take on Succulent Market: They were great to work with, the plants were well-packed and very healthy, their prices are great, and they have lots of variety! I’d absolutely order from them again, and they’re probably my new favorite online succulent retailer. I highly recommend them and I’ve already told all my planty friends about them!
They have so many different plants to choose from—so many, in fact, that it actually took me a few days to narrow down my choices and finally pick a few to order. (Or maybe I’m just extra-indecisive, hard to say.)
Succulent Market has tons of varieties of haworthia, echeveria, cactuses, aloe, etc. You’ll find lots of common, popular succulents as well as some that you don’t see as often. You can also buy mature plants like the one I got or massive packs of succulent cuttings for giving as gifts, starting baby plants, or making arrangements!
You can buy your succulents individually or in packs. I highly recommend the 4 or 6 packs for a very good price.
There are also some varieties in plastic hanging planters. (I’ve got my eye on that string of pearls!) I might snag one of these next!
You can get some that are already potted up in pretty planters if you want to skip the repotting drama altogether. (I don’t blame you, repotting is my least favorite part of plant care.)
You can sign up for a 10%-off code and get a free succulent while you’re at it, which I think is a great deal. Their succulents are already so affordable, especially considering how big and healthy they are. I’ve paid a lot more for tiny succulents, so this was a great deal for me.
I can’t wait to order again—Succulent Market might just become my new go-to for birthday presents for my plant-loving friends, and whenever I need a succulent fix.
Check out Succulent Market here!
For More Houseplant Resources:
The Last Houseplant Book You Will Ever Need
