How to care for succulents in May? Save this care guide

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In late spring and early summer, May is very suitable for the growth of succulents. The temperature is suitable, the temperature difference between day and night is large, and the sunshine duration is long. It is the peak growing season for succulents.

This is especially represented by "summer-growing type" succulents.

Many species such as the Cactaceae's Echinocactus, golden ball cactus, and Echinocereus are blooming this month;

Crassulaceae succulents that grow in spring and autumn, such as Echeveria, Aeonium arboreum 'Zwartkop', Crassula obliqua, and Sedum 'Bird of Paradise', as well as Aloeaceae's Gasteria and Haworthia, and some varieties of Haworthia retusa; "intermediate type" succulents also grow vigorously during this period;

Meanwhile, "winter-growing type" succulents such as Aizoaceae's Lithops, Bulbine, Dinteranthus, and Aloinopsis, Crassulaceae's Echeveria 'Setosa', Pachyphytum 'Moonlight', Echeveria laui, and Echeveria 'Dongyun', and Hyacinthaceae's Ledebouria, Albuca, and Albuca with broad leaves grow slowly due to rising temperatures, and even stop growing in the hotter southern regions.

Therefore, this month's succulent care should be carried out according to different types.

1. Watering

For succulents, rain at this time is the best watering. Many veteran succulent growers must have felt this. Now is really a season where a little rain makes them grow a full size bigger!

The best time to water is in the morning or evening of a sunny day. The frequency of watering can be adjusted by yourself. In places with dry air, more watering is needed.

Entering May, for varieties in the growing period, "water thoroughly after the soil dries out" should be followed. There should be neither water accumulation in the pot soil nor excessive dryness.

If watered too much and the air is too humid, the succulents will rot; while long-term drought and lack of water in the pot soil will cause the death of the plant's fine roots, making the plant absorb poorly and grow slowly.

For varieties that will go dormant in summer, such as Lithops, Conophytum, and Aeonium, start strengthening observation, control watering at the right time, and keep the pot soil relatively dry to prepare for summer dormancy.

For succulents with no obvious dormancy in summer, last month's care method can still be continued.

In addition, if outdoor-grown succulents are rained on, it is best not to expose them to strong sunlight immediately before the rainwater on the leaves has dried, otherwise it can easily cause sunburn and damage their appearance.

2. Propagation

May is also a good season for cuttings, leaf cuttings, and seed propagation.

For varieties that need higher temperatures to germinate (such as Echeveria laui and most other Crassulaceae succulents), now is a good time for sowing.

For some varieties that need lower temperatures (around ten-plus degrees Celsius) to germinate well, it is no longer suitable to sow now. At this time, the seeds should be kept dry and stored in a 4-degree Celsius refrigerator.

For cactus seeds (such as ball cacti, prickly pears, etc.), please wait patiently for another month, and sow after the temperature reaches 30 degrees Celsius.

Now is the flowering season for many types of succulents. Some flowering succulents can be crossbred through artificial pollination to cultivate new varieties.

This month, leaf cuttings and division propagation can also continue. If the propagation target is a variegated variety, seedlings with variegation or full variegation can often be obtained.

If the seedling's leaves are white and green or yellow and green interspersed (that is, variegated), they can be removed and planted separately to make them into a beautiful variegated plant;

If the seedling's leaves are pure yellow or pure white (that is, fully variegated), do not remove them, because they contain no chlorophyll or very little chlorophyll, and it is very difficult for them to survive when planted separately. Even if they survive, their growth will be very weak. They can remain growing on the original plant, and after they grow leaves with green, remove and plant them to avoid death.

If you are still repotting and changing soil at this time, it is recommended to use a soil mix plan for summer: based on your original soil mix formula, increase the proportion of granular soil, use coarser peat and light-colored flower pots, and enhance the overall air permeability and drainage of the pot soil.

3. Pest and disease control

In May, many pests begin to become active. Attention should be paid to spraying pesticides for control, and checking whether the plants suffer from physiological diseases. If so, improve the cultivation environment in time to avoid plant damage.

In addition to several common pests (red spider mites, scale insects, whiteflies), at this time you should also pay attention to the "pests" that begin to reproduce in large numbers and become active with the arrival of the rainy season: snails and slugs (commonly known as slugs). These two animals do considerable harm to succulents. Many cases of black rot and decay in succulents are inseparable from these two!

If you are a succulent grower living on a high floor, you generally will not encounter these two harmful "pests", but succulent growers living on the ground floor or growing them in the ground should be especially careful!

To deal with them, it is best to use molluscicides specially made for snails and slugs, with prevention as the main approach and killing as a supplement.

In addition, in May, diseases such as black rot begin to reach their claws toward our succulents more frequently. At this time, attention should be paid to strengthening ventilation and avoiding high temperature and high humidity, and promptly cleaning up dead leaves, promptly cleaning up dead leaves, promptly cleaning up dead leaves! (Important things must be said three times) For the healthy growth of succulents, everyone must not be lazy!

4. Fertilizing

Growing "summer-growing type" succulents can be fertilized according to different varieties; "winter-growing type" succulents about to go dormant should stop fertilization.

Even for the same type of succulents, whether to fertilize should be chosen according to different varieties and differences among individual plants. In short, fast-growing plants should be fertilized more, while slow-growing ones should be fertilized less, or even not fertilized at all.

This month, "summer-growing type" succulents can also continue to be repotted, and division propagation, cuttings, grafting, and seed propagation can be carried out. For some flowering Cactaceae plants, artificial pollination can also be carried out for breeding.

This month's climate is suitable, and pests also begin to become active. Attention should be paid to prevention and control, and the ventilation conditions of the cultivation environment should be improved to prevent abnormal yellow spots, black spots, brown spots, and other physiological diseases in plants caused by infection with pathogens. If found, fungicides should be sprayed in time for prevention and control to avoid expanding the scope of infection.

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