Growing Succulents in Guangdong: Finally Reaching Their Ultimate State in the 4th Year

Location: Jieyang, Guangdong

Environment: Outdoor growing

Time: 4th year

There are quite a few succulent growers in Guangdong. As a "reverse cheat zone," I was directly left behind at the starting line. Watching the beautiful succulents of Yunnan emerge one after another, each one more beautiful than the last, even the most common varieties look stunningly gorgeous.

And growing succulents here in greater Guangdong, even in autumn and winter, at most only the edges turn a bit red. I thought that was the best state the succulents could reach, but unexpectedly, in my fourth year of growing succulents, I finally welcomed the "ultimate" state of succulent plants. In my eyes, they are beautiful beyond words!

Many people say that Guangdong's weather can't produce beautiful succulents, but I say not necessarily! As long as you choose varieties that can adapt to the climate and provide proper care, especially paying attention to shading, water control, and ventilation in summer, you can still grow succulents with delightful results.

Here are some small suggestions for friends in the same location. You can take them as a small reference and combine them with your own environment to grow succulents reasonably.

For soil, what I use most often is coconut coir mixed with perlite and river sand. As everyone knows, Guangdong is humid and rainy, so I try to mix in more granules to make the medium as loose and breathable as possible, and to shorten the time water accumulates in the pot, so that succulents are less likely to have problems.

I have also tried quite a few methods for pest control, such as soaking cigarettes in water to pour on succulents, and spraying succulents with 75% concentration alcohol. I found that both of these can only kill bugs visible to the naked eye but not eggs, so it is still better to combine them with Huahuashen for faster and more effective results.

I especially want to remind beginner succulent growers to pay attention to ants appearing around succulent plants. Why do I say this? Because ants love to "eat" scale insects, they will herd scale insects like chickens, thereby getting a steady food supply, and your poor succulent plants indirectly become the "feed" for ants to raise scale insects. So when you see ants, do not be soft-hearted. Use pesticide when you should, to ensure the safety of your succulents.

Alright, that is all for now. Although growing succulents in Guangdong can sometimes be tiring, in our eyes growing succulents is an incomparably joyful thing. Where do you all grow succulents?

All images are from a netizen: Only one