Today, succulents are a favorite among people of all ages because of how simple they are to grow, how compact their growth is, and how carefree they are. Over the next ten to fifteen years, their appeal will continue to rise. Succulents are a popular choice for green gifting alternatives because they can be given to practically anyone, whether they are a gardener or not, and are easy to care for.
Succulents can endure extreme circumstances. When caring for your succulents, there are a few things to bear in mind.
The best container for your succulents
Large pots are not necessary for succulents. Drainage is the most crucial consideration when choosing a planter or container for your succulents. A sizable drainage hole is required for succulent planters in order to allow for quick drainage after watering. The potting mix, which we will discuss later, is another crucial aspect in this.
To prevent calcium stains on their branches or leaves, you should never water them directly from the top but rather sideways on the base. Avoid overwatering or underwatering the plants as this might stunt plant growth.
The best potting medium for your succulent
Succulents require a special soilless potting mix, unlike regular houseplants. Despite the market being flooded with succulent potting mixes, it is relatively simple to build your own at home. The potting soil is one of the main stress sites for succulents, along with irrigation.
To prevent rot, the potting mixture must be adequately aerated and allow the roots to breathe. As a healthy root system correlates with healthier shoot growth, a loose mix also allows the weak root system to flourish and move readily through the planter. It won’t retain too much moisture if the loose mix is well-draining.
Equal amounts of drainage material and construction material should be present in a good succulent potting mix. Excellent materials include perlite, coarse sand, wood chips, neem cake powder, compost, and cocopeat. You can either save yourself the trouble and buy a pre-made succulent potting mix by combining them in equal parts.
The correct way to water your succulent
Succulents thrive in drier conditions, don’t need frequent watering, and are incredibly drought resistant. Only until the potting soil is fully dry and then some more do they require watering.
It doesn’t need water if the soil has even a tiny bit of moisture. In the afternoon, when succulents are dozing off, they absorb and use the water. In order to prevent leaf burn, it’s crucial to water succulents from the side and be careful not to damp the leaves. Water your succulent until water begins to drain through the drainage hole, then allow the water to drain entirely.
The right light for your succulent
Parents of plants often worry that their plants won’t survive once they get them home from the nursery. The majority of the plants in nurseries are cared for inside enclosed greenhouses. After bringing the plants inside, gradually introduce them to the sun. gradually acclimate them to some sun, then full sun.
Although the majority of succulents thrive in the sun, they cannot stand the intense afternoon sun of the Indian summer. When they are outdoors, they thrive in 3–4 hours of sunshine, and indoors, they thrive in the brightest indirect light. Their ideal indoor locations would be near windows or balconies that face south, as well as windowsills or balconies that face east or west and receive early morning or late afternoon sun. Lack of light will cause the plant to become lanky. Beautiful colors and higher growth are guaranteed by good lighting.
Ventilation for your succulent
Succulents need adequate air to dry out the soil, particularly during the winter when they need to breathe. Plants can choke and rot in non-ventilated settings and containers as a result of moisture buildup.
Don’t put succulents with other tropical houseplants as this can increase the amount of moisture in the air around them. Instead, make sure that air can easily circulate around them.
The right growing temperature for your succulent
Hardy plants known as succulents do best in a temperature range between 15 and 45 degrees. In the winter, they do fall dormant and need much less water to live.
The correct fertilizers for your succulent
In the spring and summer, when they are actively growing, succulents need diluted nutrients. It works by being fertilized with any generic plant fertilizer once a month. Every month, use one teaspoon of bone meal, or apply 19:19:19 N:P:K foliar spray twice a month.
Winter care for your succulents
- Don’t keep succulents outside in the winter since they can’t endure the cold.
- Root rot can happen when the soil is wet in the winter. Because of this, watering is much less frequent in the winter.
- Add a layer of sand on top of the soil if the moisture in the soil prevents it from drying out quickly in the winter.
- If you don’t want to move the plant around, pick a spot that is between 50 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
Agave
Hardy and evergreen, agave has a huge rosette of stiff, narrow, upright leaves with evenly distributed spines. They are slow-growing plants that benefit from some carelessness!
Furcraea
Furcraea is a tough, stemless, evergreen succulent that does well in hot, arid to tropical climates like India. They are cultivated for their striped foliage, which grows in a fountain of tall, sword-shaped leaves that resemble undulating ribbons.
Senecio
Senecio is a fast-growing succulent with vines that, once established, is incredibly drought tolerant and bears tiny, white flowers with a cinnamon aroma. They look stunning when placed in hanging plants.
Haworthia
Haworthias, a succulent that is well-known for its rosette of hefty, stiff, erect leaves, are a delight to grow and are available in a variety of sizes and designs. They are also quite simple to grow.
Echeveria
Echeveria, one of the most popular succulents, is adored for its rose-like shape and fleshy leaves that come in a variety of colors. Summertime flowers are produced by the evergreen echeveria.
Sedum
Sedum is renowned for its lush, supple foliage that becomes heavy with age. With gorgeously soft blue-green foliage, it looks fantastic trailing out of erect planters. They do well indoors and enjoy bright shade or moderate sun.
Hens and ChickSempervivum tectorum
This succulent develops in a rosette-like cluster. The surrounding plants are called chicks, while the central plant is known as the hen. The offspring establishes its own roots and grows into a separate plant.
How should summertime succulent care be handled?
9 Plant-Care Tips on How to Take Care of Succulents (And Not Kill Them)
- Ensure That Your Succulents Receive Enough Light.
- Repeatedly rotate your succulents.
- Depending on the Season, Drink Water.
- Directly water the soil.
- Keep your succulents tidy.
- Pick a container with a drainage system.
- In the proper soil, grow succulents.
- Eliminate bugs.
How frequently should summertime succulents be watered?
These drought-tolerant greens are among the easiest plants to care for, but most people believe they need to be watered frequently. They contend that succulents may live without water or with very little water.
The latter is true, but only to a certain amount; succulents’ plump leaves retain a lot of water, so they require less regular watering than other greens, even in the summer. To give you an idea, indoor succulents need to be watered once a week, whereas outdoor or in-ground succulents require watering at least once every 10 days or two weeks.
For succulents placed in black plastic pots, this procedure will vary (either they are grown indoors or outdoors). This is due to the fact that the black pot’s hue might make the area around your plant hotter. Also keep in mind that rising temperatures cause moisture in the soil to evaporate more quickly, necessitating more frequent watering of your succulent plants.
Make it a habit to periodically examine the soil of your succulents to see whether they already need watering if transferring to a more welcoming container is not an option for you. Simply insert a finger inside it, at least one inch deep. It’s time for a nice soak in water if the soil seems dry. If not, don’t.
Additionally, watering them early in the day will help them dry out and prevent rot.
In the summer, where should I keep my succulents?
Summer is coming up quickly! Additionally, proper watering is crucial for happy, healthy succulents as temps climb.
There is a widespread misperception that succulents require little or no water. Given that such fat leaves store a variety of reserves for the plants, there is some validity to the statement “require very little.” However, because of their reserves, they require less irrigation overall than other plants. The truth is that succulents like water, and they prefer to be deeply irrigated, once their reserves have been somewhat depleted.
Frequency
You should water your succulents roughly once a week if you are keeping them outside or in a greenhouse throughout the summer. The soil should be getting close to being completely dry, but not for too long.
Technique
Make sure to water established plants until their deepest roots are submerged in water. As a general rule, keep watering until water begins to emerge from the pot’s bottom. Deep watering will encourage strong root development, which will make the plants healthier. A less established plant and a shallow root system are the results of frequent, superficial watering.
But succulents don’t like to stay in moist environments for too long. Drainage is crucial, thus. In the ground, adding some pumice to your soil will improve drainage. A well-draining potting mix and a container with a drainage hole will work for your container garden.
Here is an illustration of two identical haworthias that were cultivated using various watering techniques. Lightly watered on the left, intensively watered on the right till the water flowed out of the bottom of the pot. The end result is that the haworthia on the left is smaller and its root system is less established. The haworthia to the right is full, has a solid root structure, and is beautifully colored green.
Timing
The optimum time of day to water succulent plants in the summer is in the early morning before temperatures rise. You may prevent hot water from sitting in the crown of your plant and perhaps scorching it by avoiding watering in the afternoon when temperatures are at their highest.
If watering in the morning is not possible, watering in the evening is an option. This is a bad idea to do in the cold, though. In the colder months, keeping the plants damp all night makes them more vulnerable to fungus. To be safe from such cultural concerns, we err on the side of keeping our plants a little dry over the winter.
Exposure
Remember that, like us, succulents require a little more sun protection during these hot summer months. If their leaves are left in the sun for an extended amount of time, they will burn. We advise keeping your succulents in a position with dappled shade from a tree or under an awning for partial shade.
The health of your succulent depends on water. A vigorous plant that is more resistant to pests and disease will result from good root health and good watering. Additionally, the other living organisms in your garden need on water. Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds are just a few of the pollinators that depend on the water we water our plants with.
Can succulents endure the heat?
Don’t allow the hot, harsh sun hurt your succulents! Unlike frost (temperatures of 32 degrees Fahrenheit or lower), heat normally poses no threat to succulents. The majority of plants can tolerate temperatures higher than you’re comfortable with, as shown by greenhouse temperatures that rise into the triple digits on hot days, despite the fact that some don’t seem to thrive in temperatures above 80 or 90 degrees F. Succulents, though, can succumb to heat and sunlight. All smooth-leaved succulents, excluding desert cacti and agaves, require sun protection in the summer, especially when the temperature rises beyond 80 degrees.
If you live in an arid climate ~
- Identify the sun’s position relative to your property. In North America, plants growing on the north side of your house will receive the least solar exposure while those growing on the south will receive the most. My garden, which faces east, receives early sunlight and midday shade. West-facing gardens receive early shade and afternoon sun.
- When temperatures are at their highest in the middle of the day, “bright shade” (no direct sun but not deep shade) is great for non-desert succulents. For low-light succulents like haworthias, bright shade is needed. Visit our website’s Shade Succulents page to learn more. View my video about Shade Succulents.
Above: Although robust, the echeverias on the left in the brilliant shade have lost their color. The borders of those exposed to more sun are red, but they are smaller due to some stress.
- Keep track of where each new plant you purchase was situated in the nursery. Was it in the open or covered by a tarp? It will need to be “hardened off” (shaded, especially in the afternoon) until it acclimates, even if it is a “full sun” succulent like an agave. This kind of exposure is like tanning: Start with 30 minutes of sun, then gradually increase it by about an hour per day.
- Aloes and crassulas need at least a half-worth day’s of sun to turn red and orange, but not so much that the tips of the leaves shrivel or burn. (Read “How to Stress Succulents and Why You Should. “).
Above: Dryness and heat stress this jade (Crassula ovata). To maintain its life, the plant is gently draining its leaves. However, leaves will be plump and greener after irrigation or rain (which could take months).
- Cover exposed, horizontal stems of trailing succulents (aloes, senecios, othonna, and the like) with dry leaves or mulch to prevent burnt stems from impairing the ability of the plants to transfer moisture from roots to leaves.
- Use floating row covers (preferably), shade cloth, old sheets, or temporary shade structures to protect newly installed plants and in-ground succulents prone to sunburn. I employ rusty window screens. In an emergency, place upright leafy tree trimmings next to a plant you wish to preserve, on the side that receives the most sunlight. Or, in keeping with the sun’s movement throughout the day, use outside furniture.
Above: Aloe brevifolia, a stunning but stressed plant, has closed its rosettes and changed color from blue to pink.
- Learn how plants defend themselves. When the sun becomes unpleasant, succulents can’t flee to the shade, so some species create their own. Succulents with rosettes, such dudleyas, aeoniums, and some types of aloe, close their rosettes to save their critical cores. Lower leaves that become dry but don’t drop off serve a service by protecting flimsy stems from the sun in the summer and the cold in the winter.
- Where shade will be needed during the long, hot summer afternoons, plant trees and plants. (The Companion Plants chapter in Designing with Succulents, 2nd ed., has information on low-water cultivars suitable for succulent gardens.)
What sunburn looks like
The floppy leaves of this agave stretch (and weaken) the cells in those areas that are most exposed to sunlight.
Succulents with white, beige, or black patches have been sunburned, which causes irreparable cell damage comparable to frost. The plant is alright, but scars will endure just as long as the leaf.
These aeoniums generally have sunburn on the underside of their lowest leaves, which they will shed in a few months anyhow. Very effective, wouldn’t you say?
Several months later, the same aeoniums. Only a few scorched leaves are still visible.
It is preferable if the damaged parts are on the outer leaves because fresh growth from the rosette’s center will eventually cover up burnt spots. In any event, lower leaves naturally wither and fall off, damage or not. Recovery from a sunburn could take several months to a year, depending on the succulent and the time of year.
Related Info:
Summertime Succulent Watering. Okay, everyone is aware that succulents require little water. They aren’t “no-water plants,” though. Even though they might make it through the summer without irrigation… [Read more…]
A heat wave shouldn’t ruin your succulents. Succulents that are exposed to the scorching sun may burn when a heat wave follows cool weather. The beige or brown patches that develop as a result of sunburn cannot be removed. [Read more…]
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