Google works really well for me. Ebay too. I just use the search string 'succulent' to find plants that I like the growing habit of. Once I get the botanical name, I search out care.

I choose one plant at a time, acquire it, then learn all I can about it and how I can take care of it in my environment, before moving on to another.

I've killed a succulent or two hundred, lol.
Kidding.
No I'm not.
=D

For watering, the combination of amount of light, amount of roots, type of media, and size of pot are all related. Get the balance right & you'll learn how *not* to drown your potted plants.

If a plant has adequate enough light to support it, it will take up water from the potting media via roots. For succulents, it should be a quick draining gritty mix, if the mix is too wet, small roots may drown.

The decrease in roots means there's less to take up water, leaving your potting media wetter than ideal. Too much of that & fungus & rot can set it, or, the lack of roots to support the rest of the plant, means leaves will drop.

Here in NY, challenges are to get enough light to the plants. This means a very gritty mix is beneficial and as much bright light as possible (this time of year). It helps to stick a skewer or chopstick in the pot, pull it out before watering. If it's wet, don't water. If it's damp, check back in a day or so.

If it doesn't dry out, check the health of the plant.
If that checks out, you're good for the time being, but you should note that *this* particular succulent likes more moisture. One example is P. afra. (I have 2 of these guys that I keep more damp than my other plants. I thought I was nuts, as I've killed 2 of these in the past, but another GW member verified that they really DO like more water.)

If plant is struggling, amend for better draining media....or more water retentive media. Whichever is appropriate.

To sum up; light, potting media, amount of roots, general health of plant all dictate how much to water.

You can't find that in a reference book or website ;)

Hope that helps some ;)

I agree with hookilau. His general advice is good and comes from experience. I'm also a newbie, i've just started this year and i've killed so many plants (tillandsias in particular hate me, so do haworthias and sedum and cryptanthus and echeveria... eh, the list goes on. Thanks for the tips hookilau, I've killed a lot of P. afra too!). You just have to keep at it.

I usually have an idea of which family my succulents come from (thanks google) and then there are several sites i consult -- not all of them have complete information or contain all the succulent names since there are so many. So you have to cross-reference, i don't think there is one such site. There are books by Debra Lee Baldwin as I've seen online but i myself don't have one. From the pictures in blogs and online plant stores (or google images), you can specify the species name and go on from there. And if you're still confused, you can post a pic here which i eventually did.

I see you live in India, i live in the Philippines so our climate is more similar. I'm lucky the succulents here are not very expensive so i if i kill one, i'll just buy another one (just a second or third time) and try my best to learn from my previous experience. I'm also into propagating because at the rate i'm killing plants, even though they're not that pricey, it all adds up in the end. And the fulfillment of finally getting a plant to live and thrive has no equal cost.

hookilau and brown_panda, Thanks for the suggestions.

yes, google is the best option :)