How Do Beginners Plant Succulents? The Watering Method Must Be Kept in Mind
If light is the source of a succulent's growth, then water can be called the driving force behind a plant's development. Especially for many beginners who have just started growing succulents, no matter what variety they are growing, they casually water their succulents every day. Although we ourselves may feel that the plants are receiving careful attention, in the end all we may harvest is an empty pot.
In fact, the basic principle of watering is "water thoroughly when completely dry." Especially for some water-loving succulents (during the growing season), once we find that their soil has dried out completely, we need to water them thoroughly. If beginners cannot judge how dry or moist the potting soil is, they can stick a toothpick into the soil along the wall of the pot. By usually observing how dry or moist the toothpick is, they can judge when it is time to water the succulents.
"Water thoroughly when completely dry" is actually a fairly commonly used term among succulent watering methods. It means that when we water mature plants and old-stem succulents, we can use the method of watering thoroughly in one go (until water flows out of the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot), and then wait until the potting soil is about to dry out completely before carrying out the second watering. This is also the commonly used watering method for succulents.
The function of "water thoroughly when completely dry" is actually to effectively prevent problems such as leggy growth, root rot, and pests and diseases caused by overwatering (this only applies to mature plants and old-stem succulents; succulents in the seedling stage only need the potting soil to be kept slightly moist). But the method is not as strict as we imagine. As long as you do not water too frequently, it generally will not cause the plants to die.
Of course, in the hot summer and the cold winter, if the succulents enter a dormant state of nutrient storage, then watering must be stopped in time.