11 Low light Succulents for Desk & Coffee Table

Succulents can upgrade the authenticity of any room or place in a matter of seconds. The unique shapes and striking shades of colors make succulents truly justifies the demand in the market for decoration purposes.

Why Succulents are just perfect for the Coffee Tables & Desks?

These plants require extremely less care and a minimal amount of water to grow. This will save you a lot of hassle especially if you live a busy lifestyle.
They will enhance the sophistication and appearance of the table as well as of the room.
Succulents are known for their air cleaning abilities and removing harmful wastes like formaldehyde, benzene, etc.
Refreshes the air: They particularly emit oxygen even at night, unlike other plants that make them truly unique.
Soothing Touch of Greenery: As per popular studies having greenery indoors can help you to have a better mood and will improve your focus.

So without further adieu let’s dive onto some of the best succulents you can have for decorating the coffee table and work desks in your home.

Burrows Tail

Scientific Name: Sedum morangium

sedum succulent balcony — Photo by Van L from Pexels

It is a warm climate loving plant well suited to drought conditions. It produces long stems and thick leaves in swamps that further gives it a unique look. It is a must-have succulent, especially for decorative purposes.

Sedum morangium is also known as donkey”s tail and produces pink flowers in the summer season.

How to care for Burrow”s Tail:

Only water them when the soil becomes dry and they do well with bright sunlight.
The plant drops off leaves quite easily when compared with other succulents so don’t get alarmed.
Make sure they are in healthy condition and don’t have color patches on them. You can produce newer plants with the leaves.
They do well with the watering of once or twice a month. Make sure the pot has drainage holes and cactus soil. You can use a tray to collect excess water.
Trim the plant from time to time to keep it in shape.

Jade Plant

Scientific Name: Crassula ovata

Jade plants are one of the most simplistic succulents to grow. This is one of the reasons it’s quite popularly being kept in offices and apartments. They require little attention and are even considered as a token of good luck.

How to care for Jade Plant:

The only thing you need to be wary about the care of a jade plant is to not overwater it. They are extremely susceptible to root rot so only water the plant when the potting soil feels truly dry.
Jade Plants like being exposed to the indirect sun so preferably keep them in a room that gets juts enough sunlight. Keep an eye to see if the plant is stretching or not as that is an indicator that it needs better sunlight.

Lithops

Scientific Name: Lithops viridis

Also Called: Pebble plants

Native to South Africa, This succulent is widely used as an ornamental plant.

They only grow a few inches long and the leaves of the plant look like solid stones hence the name living stone plant.
Lithops tend to grow in clusters and come in a variety of colors. They produce beautiful and elegant yellow and white flowers during winter.

How to care for Lithops:

Lithops are prone to extremely dry conditions so they have superior water storage and usage system in place. Make sure you have very little organic matter in the soil mixture. Load the mixture with inorganic drainage friendly material like coarse sand, volcanic rocks, perlite, etc. Use a ratio of 75 to 25 for inorganic and organic matters.
As for watering do not water them frequently during the summer as they remain dormant during that time. You can water them scarcely throughout the other than this time. After autumn tries enhancing watering frequency and wait until the soil is dry the next time you water it.
Try not to avoid it during the winter as its primary growing phase is during that time. Doing that can stunt the plant growth and keep them in warmer temperature as they can’t handle cold that well. You can resume watering again in spring.

Hens and Chicks

Scientific Name: Sempervivum tectorum

They have a distinct shape that instantly draws attention. It is extremely short in size and comes in a lot of colors.

They have a rosette shape and ideally, it is best if you can place them on the coffee table of the south or east-facing room that gets sufficient bright sunlight. Produces white and reddish flowers that look gorgeous.
This genus has about 40 species under their wing so you can have a huge variety to choose from.

They are tremendously beginner-friendly and suitable to grow if you have a busy lifestyle as they are hard to kill. Like all succulents, they can put up with underwatering but is sensitive to overwatering.

How to care for Hens and Chicks:

It likes to be kept in a cactus soil mix and requires very little watering.
They like a temperature of 18 to 24 degrees Celcius and do not do well under extreme temperatures both upwards and downwards and goes into a semi-dormant stage.
Have them planted in well-drained soil and they will be good to go.
They have a tendency to produce daughter plants quite regularly from the adjacent areas. Remove the new ones from time to time to prevent overcrowding.

Ball Cactus

Scientific Name: Parodia magnifica

These succulents are native to South America and are one of the best cacti you need to grow in your home especially if you have no experience with cacti before.

Matured plants produce pink, yellow, red-colored flowers during the summer, depending on the species.

Even though they are cacti, they dont like full sun and prefers to be kept inside under exposure to the indirect sun.

How to care for Ball Cactus:

They grow well on a cactus soil mix and prefer normal watering just like all other succulents.

Water the plant when the soil feels dry.
In winter remember to cut back on watering but don’t provide long breaks of many weeks.
They require a little more frequent watering than other cacti varieties.
Loves the morning sun and the afternoon sun so ideally suited to be kept in the East facing rooms.

Plush plant

Scientific Name: Echeveria harmsii

The elegant feature of this plant is its green broad leaves with pink edges. It generally produces orange flowers during summer.

They are mostly considered to be safe for pets.

How to care for Plush Plant:

Plush plants grow best when kept at a place that gets bright sun throughout the day. Ideally, it’s best that you place them on a coffee table in a room that has a south-facing window or balcony.
It is one of the few succulents that can tolerate low temperatures of 1 to 10 degrees Celcius. However preferably avoid exposing them to cold temperatures.
Has an active growing season in summer, totally dormant in winter, so cut back on watering.

Ponytail Palm

Scientific Name: Beaucarnea recurvata.

Another name: Elephant”s Foot.

Well, the name may suggest it’s a palm however it belongs to the agave family of succulents. Their unique palm-like shape and pack of leaves at the top gives them the resemblance of a palm and hence the name.

The plant is also called elephant foot as it stores water at the base of the stem which hence has a characteristic shape.
It will truly make any place look stylish and distinguished.
It can grow enormous if grown outside in the garden. However, indoors it is grown as a bonsai and can reach a height of 4 feet while growing indoors. Read this post on how to make a succulent Bonsai at home for more info.

How to take Care of Ponytail Palm:

It is quite easy to take care of Ponytail Palm.

Trim the branches off from time to time, preferably do a proper heavy trimming before the start of the growing season, and do minimal pruning rest of the year.
Loves bright sunlight can adopt with full sun as well as indirect sunlight. Ideally, keep them in desks of south-facing rooms or even east-facing ones.
Place them in a compact pot not too much large, in a cactus mix soil, and water them only when the soil is dry. Try not fertilizing more than twice a year.

Snake Plant

Scientific Name: Dracaena trifasciata

Other Name: mother-in-law’s tongue.

The leaves grow in dense clusters and are several feet tall. This provides them with a unique look and feel.

Snake Plants are adaptable with a bit of neglect and can cope up with low light conditions pretty easily. Snake plants are one of the best air purifying succulents out there. Helps in removing toxins like benzene, formaldehyde from the air, and constantly supplies fresh oxygen.

The plant is toxic when ingested. So keep it away from pets and children.

How to care for Snake Plants:

The best thing is snake plants are highly considerate about sunlight needs. They adjust pretty well under bright light conditions and even under low light ones. Ideally, place it in a room that gets bright light.
Grow them in a cactus mix soil and water only when soil is dry.
While watering avoids watering the leaves and target the soil only. Never mist the leaves with a sprayer. Snake plants like to be drenched not misted.
They can survive pretty well once their basic needs are fulfilled. So perfect plant for beginners.

Medicinal Aloe

Scientific Name: Aloe vera

Aloe vera is probably the most popular succulent in the world. It hs been grown indoors for thousands of years owing to its striking looks, great adaptability with low light, and herbal medicinal properties.

Aloe gel is extremely soothing for the skin and hair. Whenever you need it, you can pierce off a leaf and use the gel for applying onto your skin by maybe diluting it a bit. It’s been used for taking care of the skin and hair since ancient civilizations dating back multiple thousands of years.
You can aloe gel as your natural makeup remover or for moistening dry skin.
Has tolerance to lower temperatures.

How to care for Aloe Vera:

Aloe Vera loves being kept in a sunny bright room. However, adjusts well to low light conditions. Grows just over 3 feet tall so will be a perfect addition to your table.
Has low watering needs. Only water when the soil is dry, so it can be once in 5-10 days.
More or less it is extremely easy to take care of aloe vera and if you dont end up overwatering them, they will just be fine.

String of Bananas

Scientific Name: Senecio Radicans

This is an extremely attractive looking plant that looks wonderful sitting on a coffee table or a desk.

Unlike most succulents, they are fast-growing and the overflowing look of the leaves makes it really attractive.

If receives optimum light it can produce sweet looking flowers in the winter. They are not cold tolerant leaf-shaped as bananas. This gives them a unique appearance found in no other plant.

How to care for a String of Bananas:

Owing to the fast growth of the leaves, you can trim the plant from time to time to keep it in shape. Trimming will further stimulate better growth.
They love bright indirect light so preferably keep them on coffee tables beside the window.
They do well with eastern windows as String of Bananas loves morning sun. These plants need 4 to 6 hours of bright light even indoors for proper growth. In case the plant shows signs of underexposure to the sun( stretching, stunted growth) consider using grow lights.
Avoid watering the leaves and target the stem base only.
The watering need is typical of most succulents. water only when soil is dry.

Bears Paws

Scientific Name: Cotyledon Tomentosa

The plant gets its name owing to the claw-like shape of the leaves.
The succulent is one of the cutest plants and is highly adorable especially if you have a small coffee table or desk.
Leaves can easily fall off when touched so be wary of this.
Produces orange-colored flowers in summer and maximally grows up to 3 feet.

How to care for Bear Paws:

Stores water pretty well so water less often even in growing seasons. Only water when soil is dry and make sure to have drainage holes in the pot.
Tolerates full sun as well as indirect sun. So keep it in any room that gets proper light.
Soil need is typical of succulents.

General Caring tips for all these Succulents

Only water them when the potting soil feels extremely dry. overwatering can harm the plant so roughly water them once in 7 to 10 days in summer and once in 15 to 21 days in Winter however the soil dampness will play the role here.
Preferably keep them in a room that gets somewhat bright sunlight throughout the year. If the coffee table region does not get much sunlight you can consider the option of using artificial lights in the room for their better growth.
Always grow succulents in a soil that has superior drainage. This is their fundamental need without which they cannot survive. Use the cactus mix soil for the best results as it’s extremely drainage friendly. You can even make your own soil for succulents at home.
Have the succulents grow in pots having drainage holes. This is a must if you wanna provide them with a top-notch drainage facility. YOu can keep a tray and empty it later after watering. You can also grow them in pots without holes in that case refer to this guide on water succulents without drainage.
Water them early in the morning and never after evening. Succulents hate damp soil so water after the sun goes down, can hurt them in the longer run. Read this post to know more about when at what time of the day should you water succulents.
Once the plant has grown you can consider the possibility of propagation and multiplying the number of succulents in the house for free. Use stem cutting with sterile scissors or simply use healthy leaves and let them heal or callus for few days before replanting them in a new pot.
Always keep an eye over your succulents for signs of distress. Mostly these are hardy plants and do quite well under low maintenance however improper watering schedules or sunlight issues can cause problems.

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Conclusion

Succulents are one of the best plants you can grow indoors. It has minimal needs and has unique colors and striking features. You will also have a huge variety of options to choose from.

These 11 succulents have been chosen based on their sunlight needs and appearance. These succulents are not only suitable for growing indoors but will instantly elevate the look of your coffee table.

So out of these 11 which ones are your pick for decorating your home? Let me know in the comments below!