Succulents grow lush and beautiful with a modest feeding of manure tea, diluted fish emulsion, or a balanced fertilizer (15-15-15). Liquid fertilizers that are concentrated should be diluted. Roots could be harmed if this is not done.
Use one Moo Poo tea bag per three gallons of water, steeped overnight, for succulents growing in containers. Pour until it runs out the bottom starting at the plant’s base. Alternately, apply half-diluted fish emulsion.
Although in-ground succulents don’t technically require fertilization, you can encourage lush spring growth by applying Ironite per the instructions on the package, ideally before a winter storm. Apply a balanced granular fertilizer in the spring (if you like to; it is not required).
Can I feed succulents standard plant food?
For instance, let’s imagine you have a smaller succulent and you want to promote healthy growth, using the jade plant I stated previously as an example. How do you go about that?
Succulents may hold a respectable amount of dissolved nutrients in addition to their propensity for holding water. Your succulent might try to grow too quickly if you overfertilize it. This may make your jade plant appear weedy or stringy because they are far more resilient plants. Weak stems and possibly smaller, more flexible leaves are to be expected. You should avoid overfertilizing.
However, you also don’t want to fertilize too little. If your garden’s soil is sandy and well-draining, inadequate fertilization may lead the plant to appear to be in suspended animation. Although it won’t look horrible, it won’t grow any bigger or normally produce flowers in that manner.
In order for it to develop normally and be able to control its own weight and growth as it grows, the objective is to provide it with what it needs—but just barely enough. The majority of succulents can survive without fertilizer, but even a small amount can persuade the plant that its location is ideal for growth.
What Fertilizer To Use
There aren’t many general fertilizers for succulents available, which is partially due to the wide variety available and the difficulty in determining which to use without knowing the unique plant you have. This can be a problem because many garden centers sell trays of plants with the simple label “assorted succulents.”
If you can, identify the sort of plant you have by going to your local succulent club; you can then find out from them what the best fertilizer combination is for your species. A little aloe vera plant will experience it differently than a huge jade plant or cholla cactus.
But don’t worry if you don’t belong to a succulent club or just are unable to determine the species of your plant on your own. For your succulent, you can use a typical, balanced fertilizer, just in a smaller amount. Usually, I use an all-purpose fertilizer concentrate with the ratio 8-8-8. Make a batch at its normal strength, then use it as fertilizer by diluting it by adding 2–3 times as much water. At that strength, once a month is generally plenty.
When You Need A Special Fertilizer
You could be tempted to purchase a specific fertilizer if you’re attempting to promote flowering, which can be extremely attractive, especially in species like the Christmas cactus. Potassium and phosphorous, particularly the phosphorous, are the components that tend to motivate the plant to bloom while nitrogen promotes the growth of the plant itself.
There are many fertilizers sold as “cactus fertilizers,” both organic and inorganic mixtures that are heavy in everything else and low in nitrogen. But as most of these are intended to be applied straight from the bottle and more frequently than other fertilizers, they have already been greatly diluted. When you’re buying, exercise caution!
Espoma Organic Cactus Food, a concentrated liquid fertilizer, is an exception to this restriction. It dilutes to a 1-2-2 fertilizer when mixed with water. It doesn’t pose a difficulty to fertilize with it once a week to twice a month, and it works fairly effectively to encourage growth and blooming.
Schultz Cactus Plus, another concentrate that dilutions down in water to a 2-7-7 range, is another liquid fertilizer that is marginally more effective. This is particularly effective at encouraging blooming, especially in Christmas cacti and other species with profuse flowers. This is something that is used monthly and only needs a few drops of this with your water to work.
These succulent fertilizers won’t do anything for your plant unless you’re attempting to encourage flowering, and non-flowering succulent species won’t require the extra-high quantities of flowering nutrients. In certain cases, selecting a balanced fertilizer and manually diluting it will suffice.
Other Fertilizer Options
Compost tea is a wonderful choice if you want to give a non-fertilizer alternative a try. You may either buy compost teabags like those made by Malibu Compost or make your own using compost from your own compost pile. Compost teas that have already been concentrated are also offered. Compost tea not only feeds the plant, but it also feeds the beneficial soil bacteria that keep your succulent free of pests and soil issues.
You can use practically any balanced NPK fertilizer for them if you’d prefer a granular slow-release fertilizer to a liquid fertilizer. However, before spreading it around the plants, reduce the recommended amount by half because they actually don’t require so much fertilizer to survive.
Choosing chemical fertilizers over organic ones may be better for those who grow their succulents indoors. Many organic products have a distinct scent that may not be desirable inside. Therefore, if you raise succulents indoors, you might want to think about using a product similar to a well-known commercial brand, such Miracle-succulent Gro’s formula. The smell isn’t as strong in your home!
How To Fertilize Your Succulents
You need to be mindful of how you’re fertilizing your plants. Some succulents may not be used to being wet because they only experience rain in brief bursts. Other types include those that live in jungles and encounter water more as a mist than as regular rainfall. However, you should never apply fertilizer directly to the plant.
The majority of fertilizer mixtures, especially the liquids, can have adverse effects when applied to the leaves or flowers of succulents because the nutrients aren’t absorbed in that method. Always feed your succulents at ground level, ideally all around the perimeter of the plant over the root mass. Using a garden sprayer, apply straight to the soil, being careful not to spray any onto the succulents. A backpack sprayer can also be used for this.
It is a good idea to use something like an indoor watering can for plants that are more closely spaced apart. The watering can’s thin nozzle makes it simple to prevent your plants from being splashed in the face and makes it simple to apply fertilizer where it will be most beneficial: at the plant’s roots.
You should discontinue routine fertilizer during the cold season if you live somewhere with a chilly winter. In colder climates, many succulents frequently enter a dormant state. Winter and fall are not the times to fertilize them because the plant will not benefit from it.
When spring arrives, it’s time to start fertilizing once more. Spring is also a great time to divide and repot any congested plants because it allows them time to settle in before the heat. If you decide to repot your plants in the spring, fertilize them afterward to help them wake up and begin to thrive once more.
In some regions, particularly those that don’t experience strong freezes like some sections of California, there are succulents that can grow over the winter. Although they can be fertilized all year round, these tend to grow most during the winter. It is preferable to fertilize those plants in the fall or early winter, and then monitor their growth to see whether they require more fertilization in the spring.
Are succulents a suitable fit for Miracle Gro plant food?
All succulents require sunshine, permeable soil. By combining one part Miracle-Gro Garden Soil for Cactus, Palm & Citrus with one part native soil, the planting area can be improved. Succulent plants will benefit from the increased soil nutrients and density.
Can I feed succulents with liquid plant food?
Succulents are excellent for both novice plant parents and seasoned plant parents. They require so little upkeep that practically anyone can keep them alive. They still need some level of care, even though they are low maintenance. Now let’s look at how to go about purchasing the food your succulents will need to survive and flourish.
What Do Succulent Foods Contain?
Like any other plant food, succulent fertilizers primarily contain three components:
- Nitrogen
- Phosphorus
- Potassium
On the plant food, these ingredients are identified as NPK. These are their combined chemical formulae (N for nitrogen, P for phosphorus, and K for potassium.) The NPK ratio, which denotes the distribution of N, P, and K in the plant food, will be listed by fertilizer makers. Now let’s quickly review the three primary components and how they help succulent plants grow:
Nitrogen
Good ol’ nitrogen is a crucial component for your succulent and aids in promoting leaf and stem growth. You should opt for a fertilizer with a somewhat high “N” ratio if your plant’s leaves are starting to turn yellow. Anything from 5 to 15 ought to be a safe estimate if your plant’s leaves don’t seem to be yellowing.
Phosphorus
The typical symptom of phosphorus shortage in plants is the presence of greenish-purple leaves. This nutrient, which aids in the growth of stems and flowers, should range from 5 to 15%. If the P ratio is greater than the N and K ratios, that is also perfectly acceptable.
Potassium
Potassium, or “K,” aids in the defense of your small succulent against pathogens and disease. You should, as a general rule, look for potassium to nitrogen ratios that are equal. However, if the edges of your leaves are going brown, it may be worthwhile to add more potassium-focused fertilizer.
Buying Tips for the Premium Quality Succulent Foods
Now that you are aware of the essential elements of succulent cuisine, you can make a more intelligent choice while shopping for one.
A healthy blend
There are other ingredients in plant diets besides NPK. The better ones, like those on our list of the best ones, also have a wealth of nutrients like microorganisms, minerals, and humic acid, which work wonders with NPK to support plant health and growth.
Safety
Do you know that some fertilizer mixtures, despite being created solely to, well, boost the growth of your plant’s leaves, are actually quite poisonous to them? Intrigued? Well, direct exposure is the key.
Your succulents’ leaves may suffer if you apply such plant meals directly to them. Therefore, either make sure that your new plant food won’t harm the leaves when it comes in contact with them or be cautious while applying it and use it exclusively on the potting soil. Additionally, you want to pick fertilizers that are eco-friendly and arrive in recyclable packaging.
What Are the Different Types of Succulent Foods?
Generally speaking, there are three categories of succulent foods:
- Succulent fertilizer in liquid form
- succulent fertilizer in capsule form
- Granulated fertilizer for succulents
Their form is what distinguishes them. Now let’s examine what distinguishes each category from the others:
Liquid food for succulents
Succulent liquid fertilizers typically come in spray or dropper bottles. As directed by the manufacturer, you only spread them on the plant’s leaves or the soil. Just watch out that the liquid fertilizer does not drop off the leaves of your succulents, since this could be harmful.
Capsule food for succulents
The capsulated plant feeds are designed to be buried in the ground. Over time, it decomposes and releases the nutrients. The capsule’s compact design makes it very convenient and simple to operate. If it is okay to touch the leaves, you can even break the capsule and sprinkle the fertilizer on your plant.
Granulated food for succulents
The most common type of tasty food is fertilizer in granular form. Simply scratch it into the soil to apply it, and then water the soil to activate the nutrients.
All three succulent plant food options can be either organic or inorganic fertilizers. Worm castings or fish emulsion might be present in organic fertilizers. Few chemical ingredients are typically present in non-organic fertilizers to encourage plant growth.
Longevity
We get that you want to preserve your tiny succulent for as long as you can. We therefore ensured that its meal persisted in your system for a lengthy time as well. We made sure the fertilizer was packaged to be long-lasting and easy to store, and it also came in large serving volumes.
Scent
If there is one thing that fertilizers are known for, it is their foul odor. Therefore, we took care to ensure that each of our top options was either scent-free or had a pleasing aroma.
Application
Maintaining your greens shouldn’t be difficult. Our team made it a point to only shortlist plant feeds that could be applied to your plant and soil with ease, as a result.
Check out the video below for additional advice on when and how to fertilize your succulents.
Succulents may fertilizer burn them?
Get a large watering can and fill it with a gallon of water to prepare your fertilizer. Then add your plant food. If you use that much plant food, your fertilizer will be excessively strong and burn your succulents, which is definitely not what you want. Don’t follow the directions on the back of the bottle!
What kind of succulent plant food is best?
The NPK ratio of Espoma’s organic indoor plant food is 2-2-2, indicating that it has a well-balanced combination of macronutrients to benefit a range of houseplants. It’s built with natural components, making it a fantastic option for organic gardening. For novices who have a tendency to overfertilize plants, this product is a great choice because the macronutrient ratios are very low.
Apply this Espoma product to the soil of the plant by combining 2 teaspoons of the liquid fertilizer with 1 quart of water. The manufacturer advises applying it every two to four weeks.
- Liquid kind
- Approximately 8 ounces
- Ratio of NPK: 2-2-2
- balanced 2-2-2 pattern
- appropriate for all indoor plants
- inexpensive price
- Only one size is offered.