Ghost plant

Full sun brings out the pink and grey bloom; in shade the leaves go plain green and the stems stretch.

Summer-growing: water in the warm months once the mix is dry through, and give almost nothing from November to March.

Half grit, half peat-free compost, in a shallow pot. The waxy bloom on the leaves is easily rubbed off and never returns on that leaf, so plant it where it won't be brushed against.

Cut back long trailing stems in spring to keep the plant full, and use the pieces as cuttings. Rosettes that have stretched can be beheaded and re-rooted like an Aeonium.

A half-strength feed once in late spring at most. Graptopetalum kept lean stays compact and keeps its colour; fed, it greens up and loses the whole point of growing it.

The classic leaf-cutting succulent: a fallen leaf left on dry compost will root and make a new plant on its own, which is why it is often called the plant that propagates itself. Whole rosettes and stem pieces root just as readily.