Many of the most popular and stunning succulents will need to be taken indoors for the winter unless you are fortunate enough to live in a place where it does not get below freezing. Although a greenhouse is ideal, few gardeners have access to one. Fortunately, it’s simple to overwinter most succulents inside.
There is a vast variety of various plants classified as succulents, some of which have very particular requirements. But the advice provided here will help most widely cultivated succulents survive the winter.
When grown inside, succulents frequently develop a habit of being stretched out and lanky, producing weak and unsightly plants by spring. When care for succulents indoors throughout the winter, light, water, and temperature are three crucial considerations that can help to reduce this.
Light is Critical
Light is the main component in succulent survival during the winter. Succulents will extend if there is insufficient light in an effort to get closer to the source. In general, succulents want full sun. Although it can be challenging to do so inside, expose them to as much direct sunshine as you can. The ideal window is one that faces south, though east or west windows can also be used.
If there is inadequate natural light, fluorescent lights may be employed. It’s crucial to keep the plants between the bulbs and 1 to 2 inches away from them. Over a distance of 3 inches, fluorescent light is practically useless to plants. For plant growth, incandescent lights emit the wrong spectrum of light and becoming too hot.
Succulents Need Little Water During the Winter
It is always preferable for succulents to be too dry than too moist. This is particularly true in the winter, when plants experience less-than-ideal lighting conditions and below-average temperatures. During the winter, keep your succulents on the dry side. Just enough water should be provided to prevent plant shriveling. You might just need to water once every 10 to 14 days in a cold area.
Keep the plant itself dry at all times, especially rosette plants like Echeverias. The plant will swiftly decay and become mush as water will collect in the rosette’s center. Keep in mind that keeping a succulent moist will destroy it quickly!
Cool Temperatures are Good
The majority of succulents do not require extra warmth during the cold. It’s crucial to prevent them from freezing. The ideal temperature range is between 45 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit. The plants will remain in a semi-dormant state if kept cool. With the lower light intensity indoors during the winter, a warm environment fosters the growth of the plants, resulting in lanky plants.
No Fertilizer Needed
During the autumn and winter, succulents do not require any fertilizer. Instead of encouraging the plants to develop, you want to maintain them alive.
I’ve had great luck using these methods to overwinter plants like Echeveria, tender Sedum, Aeonium, Agave, Aloe, Crassula, Graptoveria, Kalanchoe, Faucaria, and Senecio.
The plants may endure the winter in a semi-dormant state with little stretching if you keep them sunny, dry, and cool. The succulents can be put back outside for a summer of sunbathing once the weather is no longer frosty.
Can succulents in pots endure the winter?
Yes, it is the answer. Although certain succulents can withstand frost, they are frequently thought of as drought-tolerant plants. They flourish in chilly, snowy conditions, and the extreme cold even brings out their magnificent, vivid colors. They are referred to as “Hard Succulents.” Sempervivum, Sedum, and Euphorbias genera contain some of the most hardy succulents. You may plant such succulents outside all year round because the majority of them can withstand temperatures as low as -20F (Hardiness Zone 5).
“Soft Succulents” are another group of succulents that are more susceptible to frost. When the weather drops below freezing, they must be winterized inside.
Succulents may be outdoors in the winter.
There are many succulents that can endure the winter outside, even in extremely cold locations. These
Succulents that are hardy thrive in chilly, snowy winters. Sempervivum heuffelii, which maintains vivid colors for Winter Interest, is one of our favorites. The frost-hardy Sedum cultivars are especially recommended since they create excellent ground covers in practically all regions.
Ice plant Oscularia Deltoides
Oscularia Deltoides, a succulent that is native to South Africa, with hefty, green leaves and blooms in the summer with purple daisy-like flowers. You may cultivate this succulent both inside and outside. It needs soil that drains properly and only light irrigation.
General Care: You may grow this succulent both inside and outside. They need a soil that drains properly and only light irrigation. Before you rehydrate the soil, make sure it is completely dry. Pink Ice Plants naturally need more watering when planted in full sun as opposed to partial sunlight.
It is hardy and can withstand temperatures as low as 15-20°F. However, prolonged exposure to cold temperatures and frost can harm ice plants.
Agave Butterfly
This rosettes succulent, native to the semi-arid Mexican regions of Puebla and Oaxaca, matures to a height of 2 feet. Its broad, cream-colored leaves are grayish green in tone. When the weather gets cooler, it enters dormancy after aggressively growing during the spring and summer.
In general, this plant needs bright, full sun outdoors because it loves the sun. It thrives in pots with drainage holes and stony, mineral soils. You’ll notice new offsets or “pups” growing around the mother plant’s base over time.
Hardiness: Agave Butterfly grows extremely slowly and can withstand extreme heat and protracted drought. This cultivar can tolerate light freezing down to 22F.
Although these succulents can withstand extremely severe temperatures, like other succulents, they require sufficient drainage in their growing location in the garden to prevent rot from melting snow.
Before planting them outside in snowy conditions, you must gradually acclimate cold-hardy succulents that you have grown in warmer climates. Even though they don’t seem so nice in the winter, these two varieties of succulents, which are among the most hardy, will come back lush and robust.
In the winter, should I cover my succulents?
If you have a variety of succulents that can survive the winter outside, you might wish to do so. Your plump outdoor greens still require adequate care, though, otherwise the frost risked damaging them.
Not to mention that your plant’s roots could decay due to the winter’s damp soil. Additionally, if your region gets too much rain during the cold season, the succulents’ cells will swell. Additionally, the plant cell walls may rupture as a result of the frost. As a result, it is crucial to take precautions to safeguard your plant from all of these harmful situations.
Although some varieties of succulents can withstand below-freezing conditions, none of the species prefers frequent watering or excessive humidity throughout the year. Succulents prefer healthy soil that drains well, good airflow, and bright sunlight. Here are some precautions you should take to ensure your in-ground plants are taken care of over the winter.
Build a Greenhouse
The majority of succulents cannot withstand temperatures below 25 F during the winter nights. Bring your succulents into a DIY greenhouse if your area has the same winter temperatures, or if you have a gazebo, cover it with 5mm plastic and move your succulents there. Make sure to securely anchor the plastic, and tape the seams. You can even include a little heater if the temperature falls any lower.
Cover Your Succulents
Cover your outside succulent plants with bed sheets if your region occasionally suffers frost. Row covers and nonwoven fabrics, which are often constructed of spun nylon, are further options. Your plants will be protected when it is 2-4 degrees below freezing if you cover them with such blankets.
Additionally, don’t remove the dried leaves from your plants because they protect them from high temperatures. Move your plants that are sensitive to cold under a tree, deck, or eaves; this will prevent heat from escaping.
How can a succulent be revived?
Even the greatest succulent container gardens eventually begin to appear overgrown and neglected. The plants in your container can be given a quick once-over to make them look more presentable and new.
- Start by getting rid of all of the old growth from the pot. Anything you want to use again should be saved.
- Cut the tops off succulents like graptosedum and sensitive sedum that have long, thick stalks. Leave a few inches of stem bare by removing the bottom leaves.
- Remove rosette succulents like Echeveria, Sempervivum, and others together with their root balls. It could be essential to take off the head if the echeveria has grown up on a tall stalk of dead growth.
- Succulents that create mats and are attractive enough to be reused, like sedums, should be pulled up by the roots.
- Refill your planter with new dirt after emptying it.
- Replant the succulents after that. Work your way outward starting with the largest, central plant. (Note: In order for the cut plant tissue to callus over, it is ideal to let fresh cuttings sit outside in the open for a few days. This will lessen the likelihood of bacteria getting into the plant tissue. This is the best and most advised course of action. However, you can plant right away and it usually works fine if you let the cuttings heal in dry soil.) If your new container has any barren spots, you might want to think about adding a top dressing like stones.
- Finally, water sparingly for the first several weeks in your new succulent container garden. The cuttings will have more time to recover and grow roots as a result. Then, water it frequently as you would any container for succulents.
Keep in mind that now is the ideal time to incorporate any new plants you want to use into a lanky succulent garden.
When should I water my succulents after winter?
During the months that are not winter, when the temperature is above 40 degrees, you should water your succulents every other week. You should only water your succulent once a month in the winter (when the temperature falls below 40 degrees), as it goes dormant at this period.
A few situations constitute an exception to this rule. Because their tiny leaves can’t hold as much water as other varieties with larger leaves, some varieties of succulents need to be watered more frequently. In the non-winter months, feel free to give these small leaf succulents a water if they appear to be thirsty. When they are thirsty, succulents generally exhibit a wrinkled appearance. But always keep in mind that being underwater is preferable to being overwater.
Do succulents grown indoors go dormant?
True dormancy is not experienced by succulents cultivated indoors. As a result, you’ll discover that propagating or transplanting succulents indoors throughout the year is not a problem.
Waiting until the succulent is in its active growing season is optimal for succulents growing outside. The spring and fall seasons are often when you’ll see the best effects.
Extremes in temperature will be your main obstacles when transplanting or planting succulents outdoors.
For my sister-in-law in Southern California, I planted several succulents. The succulents were outside in the ground when we planted them in June, but because of the heat wave, they were experiencing temperatures near to 100F. (38C).
These little 2 (5 cm) succulents didn’t have time to adjust to that scorching temperature and the full sun because the place we were putting them in was also in full sunlight. The majority of them perished.
Even cold-hardy varieties of succulents would freeze if I tried to plant them outside in the midst of the winter when I still lived in Utah since they weren’t used to the extremely cold temperatures.
Succulents can, however, be planted all year round provided you give them a beautiful, temperate climate without too many extremes.
Because (shocking, I know…) they are growing more throughout their active growing season, you’ll discover that your succulents take transplanting better. As a result, they will heal more quickly and acclimate to their new surroundings more quickly.
The process of propagating succulents is comparable. In the end, spring or fall, when that particular succulent is beginning its active growing season, are the greatest times of year. The growth of these plants can be propagated at other seasons of the year, but it will often be slower.
Again, this is relevant to succulents grown outside. Succulents grown indoors can be easily reproduced all year long and develop at a similar rate.
How can I tell whether a succulent is in dormancy?
Different types of succulents require different temperatures to enter dormancy. Sempervivums can withstand cold temperatures, can resist frost, and may even become dormant. Echeverias, though, can become dormant at warmer temperatures and are more delicate. Several telltale symptoms that a succulent is beginning “A sign that a plant is sleeping is when it fully ceases producing new growth, turns yellow or brown, and then drops or hangs limply down the edges of the succulent stem. The rosettes may shrink in some rosette-forming succulent plants.
The first strategy is to doa “Test for snap-scratch. It has been tested on a variety of plants and was recommended by Oklahoma State University. Simply select a short branch and give it a severe bend. A good succulent won’t bend readily, and when it snaps, the luscious green interior is visible. The branch will bend readily and the interior will appear dry if the plant is dead. Try scratching the stem if the succulent has no branches. The succulent will be green and feel damp below if it is still alive.
Checking the roots of your succulent might help you determine whether it is dead or simply needs more rest. The roots are healthy even though the plant may appear to be dead. To check if the roots of your succulents are shriveled, dried, or mushy, you can take them out of the pot. Your succulents are probably dormant if they aren’t. Succulents with caudex, like Adenium Desert Rose, frequently lose leaves while dormant, yet their caudex still appears to be in good health and is full-looking.