Five Tips for Growing Healthy Succulents
The flowers have appeared in interior design magazines, wedding centerpieces, and on Instagram. At the moment, succulents are all the rage. This often-repeated claim is far from the truth. It can be easy, but it requires some mental adjustment. If you think of unrelenting sunshine, monsoon-like downpours, and the boomerang temperatures that define desert days, you may be more successful.
If you have trouble figuring out why your jade plant is dropping leaves or how to prevent your sedum from becoming more wrinkled day by day, there are some guidelines you can follow. Here are why succulent leaves turn black make, and how to ensure their success.
Giving them Too Little Light
Natural light from a plant's native habitat is perhaps the most difficult environmental variable to replicate indoors. It is easier to care for common houseplants. It is common to find them in your home as many are native to tropical jungles and accustomed to the changing periods of shade and light. When the sun passes over a forest canopy, the effect is natural.
On the other hand, if you put a plant that's used to enduring the heat of the sun for 12 hours on a window sill facing east, you will surely fail. Choose a south-facing window if possible, and if all windows face elsewhere, you may want to switch to a more forgiving succulent such as an aloe or consider planting a pothos instead.
Not Understanding Their Watering Needs
Only 9 inches of rain fall in the Chihuahuan Desert every year, a pittance compared to the lush landscapes we are used to. In the desert, though, it always pours when it rains. In order to make your own desert-dweller happy, try to replicate the rainfall patterns of its native habitat. Give your cacti a deluge of water instead of just a trickle.
To get the best results from succulents (and all types of plants), they should be completely submerged until the water starts to run out of the bottom of the pot. Wait until the soil has completely dried out before watering succulents again.
Choosing a Standard Potting Soil
The soil mix in most potted plants is suitable for almost any type of plant, including ferns and fiddle-leaf figs. Succulents can withstand one of the most extreme environments on Earth, which means the soil recommended for potting plants won't work for them.
If your succulent baby lives in a desert climate, change its soil to a desert-dweller mix, combining half potting soil with something inorganic like perlite. With this very well-draining, low-nutrient soil, succulents of all kinds will be able to flourish, no matter if theyre used to the high, dry Andes or the boiling Death Valley bottoms.
outside succulent plants succulents are bundled up in adorable little dishes, packed together cheek by jowl. Many plants dislike this arrangement, including succulents. One of the best ways to encourage mold growth and insect infestations is by overcrowding.
The second issue is that, although succulents can often survive on slim pickings, they still require food and water. There is too much competition for them to succeed. If you receive your succulents in a crowded arrangement, carefully separate them and give each one its own little desert sand dune.
Growing Impractical Types
Please don't grow saguaros indoors. I know it's hard to resist but don't. The wild things aren't meant for taming no matter how beautiful or beguiling their form may be. Instead choose tough little cookies that will happily accept your windowsill as home sweet home.
In the case of indoor conditions, Crossula would be an excellent choice, as would Sansevieria (also known as Sergeia). snake plant). The Mammillaria cacti (so named after their woolly hair, see image above) are also good options if you want a prickly plant companion.