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and don't have winter growing types. If you're keeping them warm all year, you really need to water all year, but probably a bit less in the winter. Winter growing kinds will need watering about once every 2 to 4 weeks in the winter. You really have to learn to tell when things are looking thirsty. The stemless Messembrianthemums are very fussy about when they get watered and they're all different!

Fertilizer: Accepted wisdom says that succulents like low nitrogen fertilizer. However I think balanced fertilizer (with trace elements) is perfectly OK.

Compost: Succulents will grow well in wide range of composts. Many people use peat based compost. Others use inorganic compost composed of things like pumice, perlite and sand. I mostly use a perlite-based compost and the only things I've found it doesn't work for are Bulbines. Anacampseros and, more so, Avonia like loam based compost.

Pots: Old books recommend clay pots but plastic works just fine. Don't put plants in pots smaller than about 5cm as this will really dwarf the plants. If you're going to put multiple plants in the same container, make sure they like similar conditions and grow at about the same speed. Don't mix winter and summer growing plants or cacti and Crassulaceae (the latter take over) and don't mix stemless Messembrianthemums with anything.

Pests and diseases: Again complicated as pests keep evolving immunity and the availability of insecticides keeps changing. The main problems are: Mealy bugs (white fuzzy things that look a bit like small woodlice), root mealy bugs (similar but live in the soil), red spider mites (very small, cause brown scaring) and various types of rot. Many people use systemic insecticides and fungicides every year or so but crassulaceae really don't like systemic insecticides or Malathion. Red spider mites don't like being sprayed with water. I use bulb powder in the compost to prevent fungus and root mealy bugs. If you can put your plants outside or let them get cold in the winter, it will help keep the pests down. If you have a plant that dies at the base, you can often chop off the dead and dying bits and get what's left to take root. You may also be able to graft the top bit.

Some more easily grown succulents (good to start with): Aeonium, Agave, Aloe, Apteranthus, Beaucarnia, Carpobotros, Cereus, Crassula, Dracena, Delosperma, Echeveria, Echinopsis (now includes Lobivia, Trichocereus etc.), Euphorbia (some, remember there are tropical and cooler climate species), Gasteria, Graptopetalum, Gymnocalycium, Haworthia, Kalanchoe, Lampranthus, Lithops, Mammillaria (easy species include: boccasana, gracilis and prolifera), Notocactus, Opuntia, Pachyphytum, Plectranthus, Rebutia, Sedum (warmer climate kinds the cold climate types should be grown in the garden in a cold climate), Senecio.

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