Succulents! Now I’m talking Succu-lents! Succulent crave all the Succulent love they can get. Succulents are very beautiful and one of the most charming houseplants that you can take care of. Succulents are little cacti that grow in dry climates with poor soil. The key to letting your succulent thrive is to give them lots of sunlight, plenty of water and just enough food.
Hardiness
Succulents are known to be one of the hardiest houseplants that can also survive in dry climates, which makes them a great option for indoor plant care. Succu-lents come from desert regions and thrive best under hot and sunny conditions. Succulent plants do not require too much water or fertilizer, which means that succulents are easy to grow and maintain indoors. Succulent plants grow slowly and rarely become unruly or messy as they don’t need pruning often.
Ensure Your Succulents Get Enough Light.
Succu-lents thrive and love light and would need approximately six hours of sun daily depending on the type of succulent. Succulents that are newly planted should be kept away from direct sunlight as they can easily scorch when placed in direct sunlight. Slowly introduce them to full sunlight or provide shade with a sheer curtain.
Seasonal Waterings
Overwatering succulents will easily kill the plant so ensure there are periods of dry soil in between watering. Succu-lents need more energy during the growth phase. During the spring and summer seasons, succu-lents flourish and are aggressively sucking up nutrients and water; followed by a resting phase during the fall and winter months. Overwatering can be disastrous for the plant, so ensure you have periods of dry soil before watering.
Succulents Care
Dust will eventually accumulate on the surfaces of your indoor plant which leads to stunted growth. Clean and wipe off the surfaces of leaves and spines gently with a moist cloth and use a soft brush to remove dust and dirt from places that are hard to reach.
Proper Drainage
Succu-lents don’t like to sit in waterlogged soil, so drainage is important to prevent rot. Your container should have a drainage hole to allow excess water to escape. Terra-cotta pots are ideal for beginners.
Plant Succulents in the Right Soil
Succulent need soil that drains, so regular potting soil—or dirt from your yard—won’t do. Choose cactus soil or mix potting soil with sand, pumice, or perlite. Succulent roots are very fragile so be gentle when repotting.
Preventing and Treating Pest and Bugs
Pests and bugs should generally not be a problem for indoor succu-lents, but there may be instances where you may have to deal with bugs. The most common pests are scale, mealybugs, and root mealybugs. Less common pests include spider mites and fungus gnats. Control of these pests can be challenging because of their size and the fact that they can easily hide in less conspicuous places that make them hard to detect. Gnats are generally attracted to succu-lents that are planted in soil that are wet due to poor soil drainage.
To get rid of eggs and larvae, spray the soil with 70 percent isopropyl alcohol. Mealybugs are another pest succulent owners have to deal with. Overwatering and over-fertilizing are the common causes of mealybugs. Move infected plants away from other succulents and spray with 70 percent isopropyl alcohol.
Feeding Succulents
Succu-lents need very little fertilizer, light feedings during the spring and summer growing season would be ideal. Do not over-fertilize as this can cause your succu-lents to grow too quickly and become weak.
Move Your Succulents Frequently
Make it a point to move your Succulent if left in direct sun. Left untouched in the sun for an extended period of time will cause only one side of the plant to receive more sunlight depriving the other side of light. Succu-lents will naturally tilt towards the sun, so moving them around often will ensure the plant stands straight.
