How to Grow Succulents? Beginner's Care Methods and Things to Note

Many plant lovers hope to find a valuable article on succulent care methods and things to note, hoping to gain useful knowledge for themselves from a single article. For plant lovers, the new experience of veteran growers is worth more than a thousand identical theoretical lessons.

There are many kinds of succulents. For example, the common Crassulaceae, Aizoaceae, and Cactaceae can all be called succulents, but their care methods differ, so plant lovers must understand this clearly. This article mainly discusses Crassulaceae succulents, which are the common succulents we see.

Brief Overview

Many friends who have just fallen into the succulent rabbit hole worry about many things, such as what pot to use, the soil mix ratio, what fertilizer to use and how often, watering frequency, and so on. Veteran growers never worry about these things. Why? Because experienced growers understand that pot, soil, water, fertilizer, environment, and plant are an interacting whole, and focusing on any single factor alone is meaningless.

For example, if the pot is very breathable, then finer soil particles are not a problem; if the soil is coarse-grained with very little fine material, then more frequent watering is necessary; if the soil has a relatively high proportion of organic matter such as peat, then very little fertilizer is needed; if it is the growing season and the plant is grown outdoors with good ventilation, then supply plenty of fertilizer and water; if the environment is mainly indoors, then use small pots as much as possible and strictly control water; and so on. Of course, beginners lack knowledge and do not have experience they can draw on at will, so they should still operate conservatively.

Every succulent lover longs for the beauty of Crassulaceae. Low temperature, ultraviolet light, water control, and ventilation are where the magic of shaping and coloring lies. Many people talk about temperature difference. I personally disagree. I believe low temperature is what really hits the key point, and taking temperature difference as the essential factor is inaccurate. Low temperature and a large temperature difference are not the same concept. In our Northeast region, there is a temperature difference of more than ten degrees in every season, but Crassulaceae are not beautiful in summer. Why? Because the temperature is not low enough. As beginners, you must understand the relationship between ultraviolet light and glass. Because glass contains silicon, it blocks most ultraviolet light in sunlight, and ultraviolet light is essential for the beauty of Crassulaceae.

We must understand one principle: why are Crassulaceae beautiful? So-called beauty is an emergency response of Crassulaceae to harsh living conditions, indicating that the environment is not suitable for growth. Strong ultraviolet light, low temperature, lack of water, and other factors unfavorable to growth cause the plant to close its leaves and change pigments to cope with the harsh environment, and at the same time they also reduce growth speed. Therefore, growth and beauty are a pair of contradictions. Beginners often ask: why do the beautiful Crassulaceae I bought turn into green vegetables and lose their beauty? The answer is that they are growing, they have obtained a superior environment, and they are eating heartily. So the extreme of beauty is abnormality. If you want Crassulaceae to be beautiful, do not treat them well. Abuse them!

1. Choosing Pots

I personally like coarse ceramic pots. First, they are very breathable. Second, because my soil mix contains a lot of perlite, ceramic pots can ensure stability during outdoor growing and will not be blown over by strong wind. Coarse ceramic pots are cheap and come in a very wide range of shapes. Although they are not as attractive as purple clay, they are definitely more beneficial to plants than purple clay pots, because purple clay pots are much less breathable.

Red clay pots are extremely breathable and suited to plant roots. They are a very good choice for some plants that are extremely afraid of waterlogging. However, because the capillary action of clay causes the potting soil to dry quickly, normal care should increase watering frequency. Some friends want to use a simple method to achieve a controlled shape and outstanding appearance, so choosing red clay pots is worth considering. They can make the soil dehydrate quickly.

Plastic pots are cheap, lightweight, save space, and are also very suitable. Some special plastic pots for succulents now have scientifically designed bottom holes, greatly improving breathability. However, in areas with strong wind, safety during outdoor growing should be considered. The root-control pots that have emerged in recent years are very breathable, but a single-layer root-control pot retains only slightly more water than a red clay pot, so watering must be more frequent. A double-layer root-control pot is close to a coarse ceramic pot in breathability.

Porcelain pots are only a little heavier than plastic pots and can buffer the stimulation of external temperature changes on the root system. Because their bottom holes are simple, their breathability is far inferior to plastic pots. In particular, narrow-mouthed deep porcelain pots are very unsuitable for growing succulents, and a special drainage layer is needed to strengthen breathability.

The general principles for using pots are: pot walls should be highly breathable, choose shallow pots over deep pots, choose wide-mouthed pots over narrow-mouthed pots, and take plant and environmental safety into account.

2. Soil Mixing

Considering economy and practicality, my soil mix is mainly coarse-grained perlite, Northeast pine needle soil, and stone residue, with a volume ratio of about 5:3:1, plus a small amount of charcoal, activated carbon, and nut shells. The advantages of this soil are good breathability, slowly released nutrients such as humic acid, moderate weight, and low cost. The disadvantage is that it is not durable, and it will powder and compact. Although it will not greatly affect the health of Crassulaceae, it is not as durable as pure coarse-grained soil. My first batch of Crassulaceae used coarse-grained soil, mainly light stone, Kanuma soil, ceramsite, green zeolite, road-building stone residue, charcoal, and so on, left over from growing orchids in the past, with particle sizes mainly 0.6 to 1.2 cm, without adding peat or pine needle soil. These potting soils have not been changed for three years, and they are still in very good condition now. This shows that for mature plants, coarse-grained soil is the best choice.

For sowing and seedling soil, I mainly use coconut coir soil, peat soil, grass peat soil, vermiculite, fine perlite, and rice husk charcoal, basically mixed in equal proportions.

If you do not mind that the potting soil is too heavy and do not consider the physical effort of screening and carrying, I think debris from weathered granite is the best soil for Crassulaceae. The maifan stone on the market is actually a kind of granite, but many maifan stones on the market are fresh gray-white granite stone residue, and reflections can be seen on the particle surfaces. This fresh rock has no water-absorbing or breathable effect, is difficult to release mineral nutrients, and has sharp edges that reduce soil porosity and are unfavorable to roots. I suggest using highly weathered granite, which is found in many places and can be obtained without spending money, but it is very, very, very heavy!

Volcanic rock is a very poor granular soil. Although the volcanic rock on the market is cheap and has many voids, its edges are sharp and it is extremely incompatible with plant roots. It can be considered for top dressing or as a drainage layer at the bottom of a pot, but try not to use volcanic rock as a soil mix component.

If cost is not considered, Kanuma soil and green zeolite should be the best soil mix components, excellent in every way.

Northeast pine needle soil is an excellent organic growing medium. For mature plants it is better than **peat, with better breathability, stability, and resistance to decay, but the pine needle soil of Masson pine in the south is different from this.

Kanuma soil and Akadama soil feel ordinary, and their cost performance is not superior.

Light stone, or pumice, can be used as a substitute for perlite. It is light, breathable, water-absorbing, stable, and does not powder.

Charcoal particles are an excellent conditioning component, all-around, and of course activated carbon is even better.

Diatomite looks good, but I doubt whether it is worth the money, and I also doubt its compatibility with plant roots.

3. Watering

I belong to the type who likes to water, and I treat plants differently according to the season, the potting soil, and the plant. Outside the peak growing season, I water along the edge of the pot once every 10 days. During the growing season, it may be once every 5 days, with heavy flooding irrigation. For water-loving varieties such as Faucaria, increase the frequency. I use tap water that has been left standing for more than two days. Because the local water is highly hard, purified water should be used for spraying leaves to avoid leaving salt stains on the leaf surface. Salt stains will clog leaf stomata, affect plant respiration, and are also bad for appearance.

Water droplets on the leaf surface produce a focusing effect like a convex lens and will burn the plant in sunlight, so try to choose the evening period for watering. The sun has already set in the west, and the water droplets on the leaves will dry in the wind at night.

As for whether to avoid watering the leaves, I cannot avoid it. For dense clustered growth, it is impossible not to water the leaves. Water however you like.

After long-term indoor growing, before moving plants outdoors, water should be controlled to toughen them up. Crassulaceae grown outdoors should have water cut off after autumn to harden them, so they can resist cold, extend the outdoor growing time, and reduce frost damage. Plant lovers without outdoor growing conditions should, in addition to using thumb pots and granular soil, also control water in coordination with shape control, lengthen the watering interval, and water along the edge of the pot without necessarily soaking it through.