I was actually stuck growing all of my succulents indoors this summer. I am planning on doing a writeup about the current results. The big thing is whether or not they manage to survive this winter. I also wouldn't really call any of these shade *loving*. That being said, there are apparently a number of shade-loving Amaryllids that are rather succulent, and might work. Clivias are neat and apparently can take a lot of shade. Haemanthus albiflos, from what I gather, is jungle understory plant, although from my understanding there are some fairly similar looking Haemanthus which are full-sun, desert plants, so check labels. Ledebouria socialis is in the hyacinth? subfamily? and also pretty easy. Some general observations: - Haworthias attenuata/fasciata (are these the same thing?) grow more or less fine on a windowsill and will even flower. A lot. Which would be great except their flower spikes are boring and huge and mostly just get tangled in other things. NOT sure how the more fenestrated ones like cooperi or retusa would do, though. I tend to think they'd want more light. - Jungle cacti like Zygocactus or Rhipsalis aren't too problematic. Desert cacti are pretty much a lost cause and I wouldn't even bother. I have had luck with Leuchtenbergias, so far, though I'm not sure how that'll last. Oh, so far I've had essentially zero success with globural/barrel-shaped cacti, if that's worth anything. Pereskias and Pereskiopsises will probably do fine but those are leafy and barely succulent, so... - In terms of Euphorbias, I have an E. Lactae, E. greenwayi, and an E. antiquorum 'tortilis' (something like that) growing on a north-facing windowsill. Growth has been pretty robust, consistent, and not etiolated or weird or anything. I've also seen E. Trigonas doing pretty well indoors for long periods of time. In general the Euphorbias, compared to the cacti, have not been problematic for me. I'd avoid the medusoid kinds, though. My E. Flanagani and E. Globosa are basically vines, now, although they actually did that outside, too, so I don't know what they want. I'm also not having as much luck with my E. anoplia. It looks like it's etiolating somewhat but I'm not sure to what extent at this point. - Leafy things will probably do better because leave collect light or something. I think I read that, somewhere. - The two Alluaudias I have seem to be doing alright, although growth has been inconsistent. That was true when i had them outside, though. The Montagnacii hasn't done anything since I bought it, and my three-branched Procera only has one branch that ever puts out growth. - Echeverias I have a really hard time with. They tend to etiolate REALLY badly for me indoors. Some fall apart. Some actually start growing normally after awhile. Some just attract mealies and make life miserable for everyone. I'd tend to group those with desert cacti in the "don't even bother" group. - I've seen Pacyhpodiums (geayi and lamerei I think) growing fairly robustly indoors, although these were in like lobbies that had huge, glass windows. Might be worth a try if you can get one for reasonably cheap? - Mesembs as a whole are another really questionable group that I haven't done much with because lithops are notoriously rot prone. I'm sort of having success with my Trichodiadem bulbosum, but I'm not sure about the Faucaria. Both looked bad in the winter -- the former defoliated, the latter deflated. Both revitalized quite suddenly this spring, but I'm NOT thinking that the Faucaria is growing normally, although the extent of this and its future impact isn't really clear. - Avonia quinaria's actually proven surprisingly easy so far. That was surprising.

Thank you both. The E. pearl Von nurnberg with the orange coleus nearby is one of my favorites as well. Normally the coleus get pretty leggy since I'm too lazy/apathetic to bother trimming, but this one is C. Orange Compacta, and it as stayed really full.

Peggy, I live not very far from Minneapolis and so we obviously get more rain in the part of Minnesota I live in compared to where you are at. You may be able to grow some species I can't grow here. I have tried these and either the cold or being cold and wet at the same time killed them: Opuntia imbricata, Agave utahensis. Agave utahensis may only be hardy to -10 degrees F. Opuntia imbricata survived one winter and its supposedly hardy in Michigan which is a slightly warmer zone than here. The spot where all my cacti and succulents are isn't elevated but it has been amended with sand and also rocks on the bottom of that to allow better drainage. There is at least a 1 foot layer of just rocks at the bottom. I figured its better so it drains through instead of using well drained soil with a clay or poor draining soil below. Bath tub effect if you know what i mean. These have survived: Opuntia polyacantha, Opuntia compressa/humifusa, Echinocereus viridiflorus. I also tried Pediocactus simpsonii and I know for a fact it wasn't the cold that killed it but probably because it wasn't always watered well in the summer( it grows high up in the mountains where it usually gets adequate rainfall) or else it was the summer heat. Pedio's don't mind cold they actually grow alot in the springtime, what they hate is heat especially humid heat. Your best bet is to start them from seed yourself and especially not provenance information. The Opuntia polyacantha that i started the seeds were collected from Alberta, Canada so they are obviously cold hardy. Im suprized they survived though since it is also a much drier climate in Alberta than the Twin Cities. The Echinocereus viridflorus was collected from Hot springs, South Dakota. Opuntia compressa from New Jersey. It said cold and wet no problem but one year one plant either got damaged from a winter storm or something it rotted. I took a pad and planted indoors in March and replanted it in a pot and put outdoors in the ground in May. I think Opuntia polyacantha is hardier. I never tried Escobaria vivipara but it would be a good one and its similar to Echinocereus viridiflorus except it would have the pink flowers. I mean they are the same in size and belong to the same subfamily: Cactoideae Opuntias are less evolved and belong to Opuntiodeae.

Thank you. Looked up all suggestions. Love the look of many of them. The sun my front beds will get is a hot sun that lasts the majority of the day. I think that some of these may not fair well in that ??? Still trying to figure that out. We don't have an irrigation system and although NC has had and gets plenty of rain I noticed yesterday while out there that my one bed and dry and cracked soil in one area, surprisingly but then again it hasn't rained in a few days here. One bed is bordered by the driveway on one side of it and Bermuda grass on three two sides and the house itself on one side. It was suggested by the project manager for our builder than I put some type of divider in between grass (Bermuda ugh) and bed because he said Bermuda grows horizontally and will grow into the bed and is a pain to get out once in. So we plan on taking that suggestion. The other bed is grass on one side and house on the back and driveway on two sides. I think that because of this the ground cover will be contained to the beds relatively easily based on what everyone has said. The back beds that will be against our house are in the shade as I type this and I think might be a great place for the Vinca Minor Amy suggested . I like the idea of a flowering one for that area too. Doug is the Angelina Sedum actually a succulent? If so I am assuming more drought and heat/sun tolerant that most that have been listed?