Bet you’ll fall in love with these heart-shaped succulents that bring their own interesting story to your home and garden!
Plants have their own way of expressing love by giving out beautiful foliage shapes, structures, and colors. This is where plants like heart-shaped (cordate) succulents come in. They are more than just an eye-catching centerpiece, symbolizing many things than just one- love, resilience, and uniqueness. Let’s check them out.
Heart-Shaped Succulents
1. String of Hearts
Botanical Name: Ceropegia woodii
The first one on this list originates from southern Africa and comes with a very interesting story! The genus name is given by Linnaeus, relating to the flower’s appearance as that of a “fountain of wax” from the word “keros”, meaning wax, and “pege”, meaning fountain. The waxy flowers are lined with small, downward-pointing hairs that act to trap small flies!
The String of Hearts is an evergreen succulent with a trailing nature of purplish stems that form a beautiful hanging plant. These purple stems bear opposite heart-shaped leaves of 1-2 cm in size and are dark green marbled with silver on the upper surface and green to purple on the undersides.
2. Sweetheart Hoya
Botanical Name: Hoya kerrii ‘Variegata’
When you see this cutie, you must know that it is a hybrid variety of the species ‘Hoya kerrii’. Hoyas are generally vines that showcase nice and pretty foliage with adorable flowers in dense clusters. This variety is one that has an almost accurate heart-shaped foliage that is again highlighted distinctly at the borders with a tinge of creamy white color.
Hoyas don’t ask for much more than well-draining soil and warm, humid conditions. However, you need to feed it during its active blooming period to promote blooming.
3. Emerald Ripple Peperomia
Botanical Name: Peperomia caperata
Emerald Ripple Peperomia is a compact, easy-to-grow houseplant native to the jungles of South America. It is valued for its adorable, cordate-shaped, and wrinkled leaves that are so dark green that they almost appear purple.
This succulent thrives best in medium light, such as filtered sunlight, and prefers soil that dries out between waterings. It can be very easily propagated through leaf or stem cuttings during the spring season and works beautifully in containers, hanging baskets, or as ground cover in frost-free regions.
4. Calico Kitten
Botanical Name: Crassula pellucida subsp. marginalis
This colorful subspecies of the Crassula genus is a charming, low-growing succulent with prostrate or scrambling branches and tiny heart-shaped, fleshy green leaves. It features varied shades of leaves starting as a variegated light green color that gradually develops a pinkish tinge as it matures in a cascading nature of its stems.
Calico kitten plants can typically reach up to 6 inches (15 cm) in height and the leaves often form pairs resembling small discs. In late spring to early summer, it produces a kinda white flowers. Like most succulents, it’s easy to care for but requires careful watering.
5. Candlestick Plant
Botanical Name: Adenia stylosa
Adenia stylosa is a pachycaul shrub or liana with a gnarled caudex resembling a melting candle. This plant is well known by plant lovers for its ornamental caudex and annual herbaceous stems.
Plus, it features cordate or bell-shaped leaves ranging from purple-violet to dark green, often having dark red veins. Moreover, it produces small, pale yellow or greenish-white flowers in spring and summer, with male and female blooms on separate plants.
Fact: Due to its horticultural demand, its populations are declining in areas of unregulated collection, especially by succulent collectors.
6. Million Hearts
Botanical Name: Dischidia ruscifolia
This beauty is an epiphytic succulent that is gaining momentum in popularity mostly because it is easy to grow and maintain! Besides, the tiny adorable heart-shaped foliage that forms in a face-to-face pattern on its cascading stem is just beautiful to look at.
You just need to give it a well-balanced feed once a month in the spring and summer and repot it every 2 years to keep its lushness and fuller look always alive.
Caution: Sadly, this succulent is toxic to humans and pets but if you are careful while handling it then there is nothing to worry about!
7. Sweetheart Hoya
Botanical Name: Hoya kerrii
Another Hoya beauty on this list! Hoya Kerrii is rather a simple one with no variegations but is quite popular as a Valentine’s Day gift because of its big and hardy heart-shaped foliage! The leaves have a leathery appeal that shines in the dark green color.
It originates from Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. In its natural habitat, it grows as a vining succulent that can reach several feet in length. However, it’s often sold as a single rooted leaf in a small pot exclusively during celebrations of love and friendship!
8. Living Pebbles
Botanical Name: Conophytum bilobum
Cute succulents like these are a delight to have as a plant lover! Conophytum bilobum, commonly known as “Living Pebble,” is a unique succulent native to the western regions of South Africa, including Little Namaqualand and the Northern Cape.
It is very popular for its bilobed, pebble-like, or lip-like leaves that also appear like small hearts bunched up together above the ground. The leaves show green to purplish compact clusters with triangular tips. Moreover, in autumn, it produces bright yellow or orange flowers that are among the largest in the Conophytum genus.
9. Cupid Peperomia
Botanical Name: Peperomia Scandens Variegata
The Cupid Peperomia with cordate leaves! This plant is truly nature’s green cupid that will shine as a centerpiece in your living room! It is also known as the Radiator Plant or False Philodendron in its local rainforests stretching from Mexico to South America.
Besides this easy-to-grow houseplant is an active climber in its natural habitat showcasing its variegated, heart-shaped leaves. However, it flourishes well in hanging baskets or on a high shelf indoors as well but is rarely seen to bloom in indoor conditions. You can even give it a bushier shape if you are good at pruning!
10. Little Missy Sedum
Botanical Name: Sedum ‘Little Missy’
At first glance, the Sedum Little Missy might not seem like much, especially when planted in large groups. Also, from a distance, it looks like a simple light green mat carpeting the ground. But in a closer look, you will see how the plant is covered in tiny, heart-shaped leaves with a refreshing apple green color, some varieties even feature variegated edges in cream or off-white.
One of the most intriguing features of the Little Missy is how its colors keep changing throughout the year. In warmer weather, the edges of its leaves develop a pinkish hue, which is also a lovely sign that the plant could be thirsty.
The list is pretty fascinating, right? Do us a favor and create a happy corner with these eye-catching succulents in your home to keep the love language going!
