Which Succulents Need Direct Sunlight

Arboretum Aeonium (Tree Anemone or Desert Pinwheel Rose)
Opuntia (Prickly Pear Cactus)
Tirucalli Euphorbia (Firestick Plants, Pencil Tree)
Agave.
Innocent Mandraliscae (Blue Chalk Sticks)

Does every succulent require full sun?

Contrary to popular perception, most succulents do not flourish when exposed to the warmest temperatures and most sunlight. Most succulents require sun protection, especially if the temperature exceeds 90 degrees or if they are little, even if they prefer a lot of light (and very few can thrive in full shade). The most vulnerable varieties to sunburn are those that are completely green, pale, or variegated. A word of advice: Choose plants that are red, gray, blue, or heavily spined (which serve to reflect the sun’s rays) if you intend to slam your succulents with the brightest sun possible.

Can succulents receive sunshine directly?

Since succulents come in a wide range of hues, forms, and sizes, their requirements and ideal environments will also vary. While some people thrive indoors, others favor the chilly temperature of the mountains. It’s crucial to understand the many types of succulents and their various needs before selecting how to best care for your succulents.

Succulents require various quantities of sunshine, depending on their color, species, and native environment. Succulents often benefit from 6 to 8 hours of sunlight per day. However, if succulents receive too much direct sunshine, they may develop brown blotches or even perish, especially when they are first planted.

Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about succulents and direct sunlight.

Do succulents kept inside require direct sunlight?

It might be challenging for succulents to receive adequate sunlight inside. They typically require 6 hours each day of bright, indirect sunshine outside.

However, indoors, you should put your succulents close to a window that receives light throughout the day. Place your succulents close to the brightest window or area of your house or office if this is not an option.

Watch this video to learn more:

Where do succulents thrive in nature?

Succulents thrive in hot, arid conditions and don’t mind a little neglect due to their unique capacity to store water. They are therefore ideally suited to growing indoors and are the perfect choice for anyone looking for low-maintenance houseplants. Follow these instructions for successful plant care if you’re choosing succulents for the first time.

Select a succulent that will thrive in your indoor environment.

The majority of succulents need direct sunshine, however if your home only has a shady area, choose low light-tolerant plants like mother-in-tongue. law’s A trailing variety, like string of bananas, is an excellent option if you intend to grow your succulent in a hanging planter. To learn about your succulents’ requirements for sunlight, size, and spread, always read the plant labels.

Give the plants a good draining potting material.

You should repot your succulent as soon as you get it home since nurseries always plant their succulents in soil that is overly rich and holds too much moisture. A coarse potting mix with sufficient drainage and aeration is a good place to start. You can use an African violet mix or unique cactus and succulent mixtures that you can purchase at the nursery. Add perlite or pumice to the cactus or African violet mix (up to 50% of the total potting mix, depending on your particular succulent’s moisture requirements) to further increase drainage and prevent compaction. To make sure the mixture is moist throughout, always moisten it before using.

Decide on a container.

When repotting, use a container that is at least 1 to 2 inches bigger than the nursery container and has a drainage hole. Avoid using glass containers (such mason jars or terrariums) for long-term potting since they prevent roots from breathing and over time may result in root rot. Place your plant inside the container and backfill with extra pre-moistened potting mix after filling the bottom one-third of the container with pre-moistened potting mix.

Put the succulent plant in a pot somewhere sunny.

Try to arrange your succulents close to a south or east-facing window because most succulents need at least six hours of sun each day. Insufficient sunlight may cause your succulents to become spindly or to extend toward the light.

Between waterings, allow the potting mix to dry out.

Overwatering succulents is the most common error people make with them. Watering more deeply but less frequently is preferable. Before the next watering, completely saturate the potting mix (while making sure the water drains out of the drainage hole properly). The plant can finally perish if the potting soil is left moist every day.

Succulents should be fertilized at least once a year.

Fertilizer works best for plants in the spring (when the days lengthen and new growth starts) and again in the late summer. Use a water-soluble, balanced fertilizer (such as 8-8-8 or 10-10-10) that has been diluted to half the strength indicated on the container. Since succulents are semi-dormant in the winter, there is no need to nourish them. Because they are not actively growing, they do not require the nutrient boost.

A jade plant can it tolerate full sun?

Succulent houseplants like jade plants are remarkably hardy and simple to grow indoors.

In addition, they can live a very long time with the right care! Find out how to take care of your jade plant.

About Jade Plants

Jade plants have a tiny, tree-like appearance with their thick, woody stems and oval-shaped leaves that makes them highly tempting for use as a decorative houseplant. When planted indoors, they can grow to a height of three feet or more and survive a very long period, frequently being passed down from generation to generation.

Jade plants thrive in the warm, dry environments seen in most homes. During the growing season (spring and summer), the plant must be kept moist, and during the dormant season, it must be kept dry (fall, winter). Jade is extremely prone to rot, thus the soil should be allowed to completely dry out between waterings even throughout the growing season.

In locations with a mild, dry climate all year round, jade plants can be grown outdoors as landscape plants (typically Zone 10 and warmer). It is preferable to grow jade in containers and bring them inside when the temperature drops below 50F because they are quite sensitive to cold damage (10C).

How to Plant Jade Plants

Because jade plants have a propensity to become top-heavy and topple over, choose a broad, sturdy pot with a modest depth.
Use a soil that can drain well since too much moisture might encourage fungi that cause diseases like root rot. You can use a general-purpose potting mix, but you should add more perlite to it to improve drainage. The ideal potting mix to perlite ratio is 2:1. Alternately, use a pre-made potting mix for cacti or succulents.
Don’t water a jade plant right away after planting it. The roots can settle and heal from any damage by delaying watering for a few days to a week.

A thick, scaly trunk that gives older jade plants its iconic tree-like look may emerge. Trambler58/Shutterstock provided the image.

How to Start a Jade Plant from a Leaf or Stem Cutting

Jade plants are succulents, making them incredibly simple to grow from solitary leaves or cuttings. This is how:

Take a stem cutting or a leaf from an established plant. A 23-inch stem cutting that has at least two leaf pairs would be considered ideal. The callous that forms over the cut region will assist to avoid rot and promote rooted. Once you have your leaf or cutting, let it sit for a few days in a warm environment.
Get a pot and some potting soil that drains properly. Use fairly moist, but not soggy, soil.
Lay the leaf horizontally on top of the dirt, burying the cut end partially in the soil. If you have a stem cutting, plant it upright in the ground (if it won’t stand on its own, support it with a few small rocks or toothpicks).
Put the pot in a cozy location with strong, filtered light. Avoid watering.
The leaf or cutting will begin putting out roots within a week or two. Give the plant a light poke or tug a week or two later to check if it has roots itself. Wait a little longer and test it (gently!) every few days if it hasn’t already.
Water the plant well and gently after it appears to have taken root. To water the plant delicately without significantly upsetting the roots, use a tool similar to a turkey baster. You want to encourage the roots to grow downward for water, not towards the surface, so make sure you don’t only soak the top layer of the soil.
Once the plant is well-established, keep it out of direct sunlight and let the soil dry out between waterings.

Lighting

At least six hours of bright light per day should be provided for jade plants. Large, established jade plants may tolerate more direct sunshine; young plants should be kept in bright, indirect sunlight.
Kitchens and offices with south-facing windows are frequently fantastic places with just the right amount of light, as are windows with a western orientation.
Jade plants that are kept in low light can become leggy and top heavy, which makes them susceptible to damage if they fall over or become unable to support their own branches!

Temperature

Jade plants like somewhat cooler temperatures at night and in the winter (down to 55F / 13C), but they grow best at room temperature (65 to 75F / 18 to 24C).
It should be noted that jade are not frost tolerant, so if you leave yours outside during the summer, bring it inside as soon as the temperature drops to about 50F (10C) in the fall.
Jade plants should be kept out of drafty locations and away from cold windows throughout the winter. Jade plants may lose their leaves if exposed to freezing temperatures.

Watering

It’s crucial to properly water jade plants. The main problem that most people have with their jade plants is improper watering.
The plant will need more water in the spring and summer when it is actively growing than at other times of the year. Jade plants should be deeply watered (enough moisture should be absorbed into the soil, not only at the surface), followed by a wait period during which the soil should largely dry out before you water it once more. This implies that depending on how rapidly the soil dries out in the location where you keep your plant, you can end up watering it once a week or once a month.
The plant may go dormant in the fall and winter, which will cause it to stall or stop growing altogether. It won’t require much water during this time. Water it even less frequently than you would in the spring and summer, letting the soil completely dry out in between. Large, mature jades may only require one or two waterings during their whole dormant season.
When watering, try to avoid sprinkling water on the leaves because this might cause rot in a humid atmosphere.
If your tap water is not perfect, you should use distilled or filtered water to water jade plants because they can be sensitive to minerals in tap water.
It is a sign that the plant needs MORE water if it begins to drop its leaves, shrivels up, or develops brown spots on its leaves.
The plant is receiving TOO MUCH water if the leaves start to wilt and become soggy.

Fertilizing

Jade plants shouldn’t be fed frequently, as they don’t need a lot of nutrients. Use a diluted mixture of a typical liquid houseplant fertilizer or a cactus and succulent fertilizer.

Repotting Jade Plants

Being root-bound in a small pot doesn’t bother jade plants. In actuality, keeping them tied to their roots will make the jade smaller and easier to handle.
Every two to three years, repot young jade plants to promote growth. Repot older jade as necessary or once per four or five years.
Early in the spring, right before the growth season starts, transplant.
Don’t water the plant for about a week after repotting. Before fertilizing, you should wait at least a month to avoid unintentionally burning new roots.

If exposed to enough light, some jade cultivars can grow crimson leaf tips. Mauricio Acosta Rojas/Shutterstock photo

There are numerous varieties of jade plants, ranging from the common, green-leafed jade to several variegated species. Some intriguing jades to look out for include the following:

The lovely leaves of “Hummel’s Sunset” have yellow and crimson tips.
‘Tricolor’ has leaves with white and cream variegation.
The tubular leaves of “ET’s Fingers” have red tips. a peculiarity
The leaves of mature plants can be used to create new jade plants. For more information, see the Planting section (above).
Keep a jade plant root-bound in a tiny pot and withhold water to induce flowering. Wintertime temperatures that are cooler also encourage blossoming.
Some people consider jade plants to be a symbol of luck and fortune; they are one of numerous plants known as the “money plant.”
Jade plants make excellent gifts that can last a lifetime and be passed down from generation to generation due to their long lifespans and resilience.
Under stems and leaves, mealybugs or scale may be hidden. Use a spray bottle of water to get rid of the pests, or gently wipe them off with some rubbing alcohol and a paper towel or cotton swab. The bugs’ offspring must be eliminated through repeated sprays. It could be preferable to take a clean cutting from the plant and start over if it is overly infested.

What do succulents mean by full sun?

It is essential to gauge your garden’s exposure to the sun before you begin. For example, because the large surrounding trees will block the sun for the majority of the day, you cannot create a meadow in a forest clearing or power line easement.

The definitions of the numerous phrases related to sun exposure that you may read or find on plant labels have some fuzziness. “Full sun necessitates at least six hours of direct sunlight each day, but certain plants, including vegetables, require eight to 10 hours.

The plant requires 3-6 hours of direct sunlight every day, whether it is in partial sun or partial shade. Sometimes, people will use both words interchangeably. Being sheltered in the morning is different from being shaded from the sweltering afternoon sun, though.

“Partially shaded usually means the plant requires more sun and can withstand more heat.”

The plant should be shielded from the afternoon sun, according to partial shade.

“Shade does not necessarily imply total darkness. More plants can survive in dappled shade than in extremely dark shade.

Regardless of the label, a plant’s tolerance for or requirement for sunlight depends on the amount of water it receives as well as the sun’s intensity.

You might be in for some shocks if you carefully map out how much sun each area of your garden receives. During the rest of the day, what appears scorching hot at midday may actually be dappled shade. When the shrubs need light to create the flowers for the following year, what is dappled sun in April may be full shade in July. Once the trees have begun to leaf out, develop a chart and record your observations every hour.