Not only have succulents and cacti become fashionable as desirable house plants, but…
In addition to being well-liked house plants, succulents and cacti are currently fashionable in prints, home decor, and even wedding themes. Why are people so fascinated by these strange plants? In addition to being minimal care and simple to cultivate, these chubby plants are a quick and easy method to make an urban sanctuary that brings wonder and lushness into your life.
Here are the top 5 reasons to adore these unusual plants:
They come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors
These peculiar plants have evolved to take on a range of odd-looking shapes and hues as a result of their need to live in harsh settings. There is undoubtedly one for everyone among the varieties available, which come in forms like conventional flowers and brain-shaped growths as well as hues like dusty mint and gradient pinks. Like any plant, succulents and cacti can develop a variety of growth patterns based on their container, watering schedule, and exposure to sunlight. You can simply make a living art sculpture or a distinctive arrangement display for your home, gifts, or to sell in your store with the variety of adorable and oddball pots that are readily accessible.
They are easy to take care of (and water conservation)
Cacti and succulents are well renowned for not needing water all the time. They can thrive in their natural habitat because of the thick leaves and bodies that store water. These infants, which are primarily found in arid regions of the planet, are designed to endure in harsh conditions when water is scarce. They make excellent gifts for both indoor and outdoor gardeners, first-time plant owners, busy people who frequently travel, and children who wish to learn more about plants because of their hardiness and moderate development.
One can become many
This brings up the following important point. You can save the roots, fallen appendages, or cuttings to repot and grow new succulents if yours is sick or not looking so well. Dry off cuttings, remove roots, and plant as usual in well-drained soil. Propagating new cuttings or dropped appendages can help you start a new activity. The wonderful thing is that you can grow several plants from only one seed.
Watching them grow can be like magic
You may have observed the various forms your plant can take on if you have taken care of any plant throughout its various growth stages. It can be exhilarating and startling to watch your plant come to life, developing new appendages and ephemeral blossoms.
5. Plants enrich your life.
The most evident advantage is that plants clean the air in our environment and produce oxygen. Additionally, being surrounded by pleasant things automatically improves your attitude and happiness. You can learn valuable lessons about adaptability, resilience, and overcoming obstacles as you watch your plant baby develop. Plants provide some goodness to your life whether you grow them indoors or outside.
What makes succulents so unique?
Because they can uplift a space and a person’s mood and are even known to reduce indoor pollutants, houseplants are a popular addition to many houses. However, some indoor plants are better for you than others. Succulents are among the greatest indoor plants for the following six reasons:
1. They are tolerant of dry, enclosed environments.
2. They require little watering.
Unlike other houseplants, succulents can endure limited watering because to a special adaption. They do not require watering as regularly as other plants because of their ability to store water in their thick, fleshy leaves, stems, and larger roots. Even their name derives from this characteristic; “succulent” is a translation of the Latin word succulentus, which means “containing juice,” according to the Online Etymology Dictionary.
- You can shove your fingers into the soil two-knuckles deep, and they come out dry.
- The normally glossy leaves start to wilt.
- The leaves shrink or pucker.
3. They don’t need a lot of fertilizer.
During the warmer months of the year, you only need to fertilize succulent plants three or four times overall. You can use only approximately half of the fertilizer you would normally spend on a standard houseplant because they don’t need as much feeding, which results in cost savings.
4. They resemble living works of art.
5. You may create indoor gardens with them.
- same growth rates
- similar watering requirements
- like what the sun requires (i.e., don’t mix a succulent that prefers the partial shade with one that requires full sunlight)
6. They will look good in your house.
Why are succulents so popular with people?
Succulents Are Simple To Care For Succulents are reported to be well-liked since they have a place in practically everyone’s house. These plants were welcomed in homes even by those who lack the time to care for them. These plants may survive with little maintenance.
What stands for a succulent?
You undoubtedly want to make your loved one’s event the most unforgettable possible whenever it involves an occasion for them. You’ll want to do everything you can to make them feel unique for that reason. Giving them something that showcases treasured values in that case is the best option.
Give them succulents as a gift if you want to show them your honest feelings. Not to mention that these colorful plants with active leaves have intriguing symbolic meanings that can help you express your actual feelings to the one you care about the most! Succulent symbolism varies greatly throughout cultures, according to various sources.
For instance, among Native American Indians, the cactus is a symbol of resilience and defense. They think that owning cacti will bring its owners success and prosperity. Additionally, even though cacti can survive and grow in arid environments, they stand for maternal love. Cactus is hence the greatest choice if you’re considering giving your mother something unexpected.
According to Feng Shui, succulents like crassula can bring good fortune and shield their owner from evil spirits and bad energy. In Japanese culture, giving a succulent to someone as a present is a common way to express affection.
Succulent is generally recognized as a representation of tenacity, strength, and unselfish love. So giving succulents as a gift to the one you care about the most would be a wonderful way to express your unwavering devotion.
Try creating your own with this customizable gift box if you’re searching for a more unique take on our gift box.
What makes a succulent desirable?
resistive to drought
Succulents have developed into drought-resistant plants because of their special water-holding abilities. Succulents have become a common sight in people’s gardens and landscapes, which is not surprising given the effects of climate change and the increase in drought incidences. The drought began in Northern California in 2011, and it continued there for seven years, until 2017, after I arrived there in 2010. Particularly in extremely dry situations, succulents offer great ground cover. Around here, it is typical to see lawns replaced with drought-tolerant plants. For a drought-resistant environment, many succulent and cacti species offer a diversity of varied hues and textures. Whereas the majority of plants would not survive, they flourish in dry, arid environments. In fact, giving a succulent plant too much attention and water can destroy it.
They are robust, low-maintenance plants.
Succulents are resilient, low-maintenance plants that are not only drought-resistant but also hardy. Given the proper growing conditions, these low care plants demand little to no effort in your garden or inside. To survive, they do need the proper potting mix and occasional watering. These plants are among the simplest to take care of once you understand the fundamentals, though. In fact, I’ve come dangerously close to killing too many of these plants from neglect, too much or too little sun, etc., but the majority recover with the right care.
beautiful, distinctive proportions, shapes, and hues
Succulents have a wide range of distinctive shapes, colors, textures, and characteristics. Each plant has distinctive traits of its own. Their extraordinary variety of colors showcases their wonderful beauty. As you grow to know these plants, you learn that varied lighting conditions cause them to change color. Some plants change color from a deep green in the shade to a vibrant crimson or orange in direct sunlight. Almost any color, from white to dark purple or black, is available. They come in a variety of unique designs; some are formed like pebbles, while others trail and get a few feet long.
They are simple to reproduce
Propagation is one low-cost option to expand your collection of succulents. By using a piece of an existing plant to create a new plant, you can expand your collection of plants through propagation. There are various propagation methods. Cuttings, stem cuttings, leaf cuttings, offsets, or seeds from an established plant are frequently used for propagation. Some succulent plants are more straightforward to multiply than others. To start propagating properly, it requires some experience, some research, and some trial and error, but the payoff is well worth the effort.
The ability to grow anywhere
Succulents can be cultivated both indoors and outside. Most succulents need a bright environment, though not always in direct sunlight. They could flourish in either a brightly lit area indoors or a somewhat shaded patio outdoors. They don’t have a preference for the type of pot you plant them in, but they do need drainage holes because they don’t like to sit in water. It is best if the soil has quick drainage. They can thrive in environments where the majority of plants struggle, given the appropriate conditions.
have several inventive applications
Nowadays, succulents are widely available. They have been utilized as wedding centerpieces, placed in adorable little jars in coffee shops or shops, miniature jewelry, and even real books that have been turned into plants. You may see them in arrangements where the plants appear to be in distress, yet because of their hardiness, they are able to endure when most plants could not. Succulents can likely withstand harsh conditions for a considerable amount of time before dying, at least until they are transferred to or repotted in a more suitable environment. Given the right care, these plants can continue to grow and flourish while being transported. They are a perfect plant choice for exquisite arrangements and designs because of their special features, which are used in a variety of arrangements and patterns.
reasonably priced
You may buy a wide variety of reasonably priced succulents because of their popularity. I’ve ordered inexpensive plants both locally and online. I have conflicting views about the online plant purchases I made. More resilient plants exist than others. Hardier plants with less delicate leaves or components typically transport better. I like to get them locally. Purchasing locally may enable you to reduce your shipping costs, depending on where you are. Additionally, it enables you to personally inspect the plant before buying. Purchasing locally will also offer you an idea of the kinds of plants that can be grown in your area, as your neighborhood plant nursery is likely to stock the varieties that are best suited to the growing conditions there. Having said that, purchasing succulents online is unquestionably a cost-effective choice if you’re looking for a certain variety that is uncommon or difficult to obtain locally. Additionally, purchasing online may be the greatest and most cost-effective option if you need to buy in bulk for a specific purpose, like using them as party favors.
Why do young people prefer succulents?
Due to millennials’ worldwide desire for the plants, there has been an increase in theft and smuggling.
At the weekend, when I casually scrolled through Instagram stories, I was shocked to witness a crime being committed. Home CCTV footage of a man stealing my friend’s cactus cut short my routine frenzy of macha lattes and kid boomerangs. The cactus appeared to be flourishing when it was placed in a doorway in Clapham, south London—at least, it did until the thief swiftly snatched it out of its container. The bad guy understood what he was going for, therefore it was obvious that this was a targeted attack.
He may have been a part of a global criminal wave, it turns out. This week, two South Korean men in Cape Town were convicted guilty of smuggling 60,000 miniature succulents from South Africa and Namibia and were sentenced to significant fines and suspended jail terms. This conviction was the fourth of its kind in recent months.
It appears that millennials’ desire for decorative green houseplant “pets” has peaked. Succulent lunacy is well on its way to defining our own horticultural age, echoing the boom-and-bust calamity of tulip fever in 17th-century Holland.
Since it took this long, I must admit that I’m astonished. As a “millennial gardener” myself, I’ve seen the succulent fever develop over the past ten years (in a way that most succulents exposed to British temperatures and light levels rarely will). After beginning in 2013, crassulas, kalanchoes, and echeverias soon filled store shelves and were frequently dusted with glitter. These days, it’s almost impossible to get a coffee without having to consider the impending demise of the grossly overwatered haworthia in the center of the table.
Succulents and indoor plants are dear to millennials because they provide a concrete means of interacting with nature.
The important thing to understand about houseplant crazes is that they are cyclical, much like many other things we place in our homes. When my mother first did it in the 1970s, having little cacti and succulents in your room and hanging them up in macrame hangers was all the rage. Before that, the 1930s Hollywood celebrities who relocated to Palm Springs were fond of cacti. Since then, cactus rustling has been a concern, which is why the anti-plant trafficking Lacey Act was introduced in 1981. Not that it made much of a difference: by 2018, so many tall saguaros in Arizona were being uprooted at night that park rangers had to microchip their cactus.
For the staff at London’s Kew Gardens, who nurture three plants of each type before placing any on show, this is all depressingly familiar ground. An impossible-to-find small water lily was stolen from the glasshouses in 2014, and even a visit to Crimewatch couldn’t save it.
Not that our obsession with plants necessarily leads to crime. Frequently, it is only a dangerous activity. A few young Victorian women perished while searching for a rare species of fern, much like the unlucky individuals who plunge to their lives from cliffs while trying to take the perfect selfie. Teenage girls’ pteridomania, often known as “fern fever, was a common passion in the middle of the 19th century. The rituals involved searching the countryside with a trowel and an identification book before pressing their find with a coffee-table book. Rare plants were routinely uprooted from the ground, which always had an adverse effect on the local species.
The terrible part is that these crazes typically have excellent intentions hidden behind them. Because they provide a physical connection to nature that is lacking in a society that is becoming more and more reliant on screens, millennials are drawn to succulents and other houseplants. For the first time in generations, society had permitted those young Victorian women to venture outside and interact crudely with nature. Both groups had to put up with dwindling gardens and unreliable leased housing; in other words, they both really needed the quiet delight of seeing green leaves spread out all about them.
Humans are hard-wired to respond to nature, just like all other species. In Shetland, “green prescriptions” are given to those with mental-health disorders because it has been demonstrated that exposure to the outside world is so beneficial. Cactus crime frequently starts with a basic, understandable yearning for some greenery.