Rose Succulents Are Like a Bouquet of Flowers That Never Wilts

A big bouquet of roses is the ultimate romantic gesture, and they're one of the prettiest flowers to display in your home. Perhaps the next best thing to real roses, which tend to have a short life span, is a longer lasting lookalike plant called the mountain rose succulent (Greenovia dodrantalis). Succulents are fantastic at mimicking the appearance of all sorts of things such as jumping dolphins, rain drops, and small stones, and this particular succulent has tightly packed leaves arranged in layers much like a rose's petals. And there's a rare pink version that looks even more like a rose bud about to open. With the right care, rose succulents make adorable houseplants.

Rose succulents work well as an indoor plant if you give them bright light or put them under grow lights, but you can grow them outdoors as well, provided you place them in a shaded spot because direct sunlight can burn the leaves. Rose succulents are only hardy in Zones 10 and 11 where it doesn't freeze in the winter, so if you live in a colder region, remember to bring these plants indoors until the weather warms up again in spring. Much like other succulents, these plants don't require much water and don't appreciate moisture sitting on their leaves so make sure to water them carefully.

A full-grown mountain rose reaches about six inches in height. Over time, it may produce pups or offsets, which are smaller versions of itself that are attached to the main plant by thin stems. You can easily propagate your succulent by snipping these smaller plants off and growing them in another container. Sometimes rose succulents will even produce small yellow flowers in spring that may result in seeds.

Because mountain roses can be hard to find for sale, and the pink variety is even more rare, growing these succulents from seeds may be your best bet. You can purchase seeds like these Greenovia Succulent Seeds ($4, Etsy), but it can take up to two years before your plant would develop a rose-like appearance.

It's still worth it to splurge on fresh roses every now and then, but rose succulents are one way to bring the look of cut flowers to your home year-round. These cute houseplants are just as easy to grow as any other succulent, but they're a lot more fun than the usual hens-and-chicks you're used to seeing everywhere.