Music One of the wonderful things about certain succulents is the way they will give you brilliant colors in the foliage when they're stressed. Here's a good example of that. In the center is an aloe that has turned a deep bread and brown and yet still is flucked with white spots. While the aloe is surrounded by a seedum that has turned beautifully yellow, this seedum, wind pampered with rich soil, partial shade, fertilizer, regular water, is going to turn green. It's going to revert to green. But given full hot sun, heat less water than it really was, it turns bright yellow. So what is stressing and how do you make it happen? Because if these plants are not stressed, you won't get this kind of color and yet they're perfectly healthy. It's stressing meaning, giving it a little bit more sun, more heat or cold, less water, less rich soil and no fertilizer. Make them anxious and a little nervous. And Beverly Baldwin, author of Designing with Succulents and Succulent Container Gardens.