How Do Succulents Safely Get Through Summer? A Beginner's Reflections and Tips

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Thanks to the author [Morning air] for theoriginal submissionsharing

Submission date: 2018-04-09

Edited and compiled by: Encyclopedia Jun

Location: Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province

Woman Flower

 Kong

Jade-Faced Little Smile 

00:00/04:27

As a balcony grower in my first spring, I just want to record the beauty in words. I am a beginner who got into the hobby last summer. Under the guidance of the experts around me, I was busy beyond measure in the spring of 2018: fertilizing, pest prevention, repotting, mixing soil, and letting the rain nourish the succulents. But March in Jiangnan has too much rain, so I could only move them out and back in again and again. On Qingming Festival in April, a torrential downpour sent us back to winter overnight, and two days later it went from 2°C back to 28-30°C. Just like that, shading from rain one moment and shading from sun the next, half of spring had already passed in all the busyness. Summer is coming soon (Jiangnan also has a hot, humid plum rain season), so how can we get the succulents safely through summer? Below I will briefly talk about a few of my own experiences and reflections. First of all, common varieties get through summer more easily. Let the pictures speak, here they are...

First, a batch of very common varieties, which also successfully got through the summer of 2017. Although summer is rather hard on succulents, as long as you understand their growth habits, it is not as scary as you might imagine! First, look at the beautiful succulents.

Blue Apple old stem

Old stems face less pressure in summer, but Jiangnan has a lot of hot, humid summer weather, so increasing the proportion of grit and choosing pots with good airflow and drainage is the first requirement. The ratio of grit to peat I chose is 7:3.

The Huangli that used to be Qingli

It is also an old stem, in a coarse ceramic wide-mouth pot. Although the growing medium is coconut coir, peat, and perlite, the coconut coir is loose and airy, and the wide mouth gives a large surface area for water evaporation, so it safely got through the summer of 2017.

What I used to think was the very beautiful Qingli turned out to be Huangli! I underestimated your potential! (Now I realize it was because the pot was large, so it was not easy for it to color up.) But it is easy to get through summer.

Purple Peony

Sempervivum types: do not water until dry, and when dry, water thoroughly. Sempervivum types are also very drought-tolerant. In summer, I choose to give a little water around the edge of the pot after the soil dries out, not watering thoroughly, using only a small amount of water, once a week. As long as the roots do not go without water for a long time, that is enough!

The Purple Peony from November last year. Since I did not have a separate photo, I found it from my WeChat Moments post.

Purple Moon

For what she used to look like, you can refer to the third picture.

Purple Moon likes water. In summer, controlling water and giving sun can turn her purple, but she must not be exposed to harsh sun! I choose to mist in the evening until the soil surface is slightly moist, and ventilate promptly after misting.

Ruby

In early spring it was dazzlingly red for a while. At the spring equinox, Jiangsu suddenly warmed up to 28°C for a week, and many succulents faded, including Ruby. However, the day before Qingming Festival, a large area of the country cooled down, and it even snowed in Beijing. And just like that, the color came back! A variety that is easy to get through summer!

Little Hejin

Shade, ventilate, and control water, and it gets through summer easily. After the summer of 2017, it now already has a stem.

Huayueye

It is also a very common variety, but her red edges paired with a green body are very fresh and pleasing to the eye. Shade, ventilate, and control water, and she can safely get through summer.

Opalina

Pink and tender, and she also loves to grow, feeling as if she has no dormancy period. Give her more sun and her blushing, shy look is truly adorable! But in summer you still have to avoid harsh sun, ventilate, and control water appropriately. By autumn she will become more and more beautiful!

Still Opalina. Almost a year now, and both Opalinas have revealed sexy thick legs!

Chihuahua

It is prone to black rot in summer. Pay attention to controlling water, strengthening ventilation, avoiding harsh sun, and changing to breathable pots and soil so it can safely get through summer.

Black Prince

No pressure getting through summer. Water thoroughly when dry, and remember that in summer too, water thoroughly when dry. The prince likes water, but after watering, pay attention to ventilation. Choose a breathable, well-draining black square pot. The prince that successfully got through the summer of 2017 now has even more of a prince's dignity and boldness! In spring I gave him a large black square pot.

Bitao

It is also a variety that successfully got through summer last year. Because it goes dormant in summer, it looks almost as if it is about to die, but now the little graceful beauty has become a grand lady, and she even has sexy little thick legs.

This was in summer last year (summer temperatures in southern Jiangsu reached as high as 40°C). I moved her inside the balcony onto the living room floor. There was a fan running in the living room. As long as she stays alive, that is enough.

Manlian

It grew 8 flower spikes, so beautiful. Manlian is very tough. A flower spike can be stuck anywhere and it will grow. My mix was originally half grit and half peat. In summer, as long as you shade, ventilate, and control water, it gets through summer easily.

Fiona

It is also a very tough variety. In summer, pay attention to ventilation, shading, and water control, and getting through summer should be no pressure.

Marcus is about to bloom

The above are all succulents that successfully got through summer in 2017. There must be one more.

Little Red Clothes

It is relatively difficult to care for in summer. It likes cool, dry soil with good drainage, and has fairly high ventilation requirements. In summer and the plum rain season, it is best to pause watering. I have already increased the proportion of grit, added half a portion of sand, and changed to a breathable small black square pot. Because the bottom of the small black square pot is basically all hollowed out, water will not accumulate.

Otome Heart

Ordinary Otome Heart gets through summer more easily than the jelly type. For jelly Otome Heart, it is best to change to loose soil with good drainage and breathability for higher safety through summer.

Damo Funicorn

Funicorn fears heat and easily drops leaves in summer. It is best to keep it in air conditioning to get through summer.

New Jade Pendant

Shade and ventilate, choose well-draining soil, and in summer control water by choosing to water in the evening, so it can safely get through summer.

Secondly, Moon Shadow series succulents get through summer relatively easily. But this year I still changed them all to breathable, well-draining small black square pots and increased the proportion of grit (grit to peat 6:4).

Sasa Queen

Pink Moon Shadow

Pansy

Water Lotus

Mexican Lingyin

There is still a difference between it and Red-Edged Moon Shadow. Below is a comparison photo.

Mexican Lingyin is also called Original Huayueye, and Red-Edged Huayueye is also called Green-Bodied Huayueye.

Little Green Fruit

Thirdly, succulents with farina get through summer relatively easily. When watering, avoid pouring water on the leaves. Protect the farina on the leaves so it is not rubbed off.

Thin-Leafed Blue Bird

Furong Snow Lotus

Guanghan Palace

White Phoenix, relatively easy to get through summer

Furthermore, thin-leaved succulents get through summer relatively easily. But pay attention to shading to prevent sunburn on the leaf tips! Control water appropriately and ventilate well, and they get through summer easily.

Sword Snow White

Falling Sun Goose

Jinhui

Small succulents also get through summer relatively easily.

Coin String

Millet Star

Crayon

Millet Star and Crayon

Colorful Crayon is Millet Star variegated. When Millet Star colors up, it is red; when Crayon colors up, it is pink.

Crayon and Little Hejin

Next is time to enjoy the platters and combinations.

Beautiful Combination

Platter

Peach Egg group photos

Nana Little Hook, below is Xishi

Otome Heart, Rushi Stone Lotus, Mountain Rose, Black Prince

Yale Zhiwu, Crispy Duck

Ji Long Yue variegated, Ji Long Yue with blood spots

Red Zhi Lian

Purple Peony, Ningzhi Lian, Spring Miracle, Jade Butterfly

What I want to say here is Spring Miracle. Before spring arrived, it really could not be seen in the pot. Once spring came, it grew like the wind. It really is a miracle!

Peach Egg, Cheese, Peach Beauty. What I am proud of is Peach Beauty's tempting milky tips. After almost a year of growing, it is finally plump and round.

Red Dongyun, Yellow Rose, Sunset Dance, Sandra

Still Red Dongyun, also called Red Wax. Because of its waxy texture, I absolutely love it.

Fifty Bell Jade. What was once a prize has now expanded to three times the size. It is super easy to grow and loves to pup. Grown in pure sand and gravel, it gets through summer easily. Do not water unless the leaf columns wrinkle, and when you water, water thoroughly. In summer, choose the method of misting with small amounts of water several times.

Small seedlings grown from leaf propagation

Small seedlings grown from leaf propagation

Two more photos of a balcony grower's external hanging outdoor growing, and a bay window semi-outdoor growing setup (pictures as proof)

External hanging full outdoor growing. I looked it up on Baidu and the load-bearing capacity of a security window is about 160 jin. My home's security window is especially sturdy and can

bear 200 jin

Bay window semi-outdoor growing (a security window is installed outside the bay window)

Switch to small black square pots and increase the proportion of grit, and getting through summer is easy!

Finally, finishing with a group photo of plump and round Peach Eggs (this also embodies a lot of my hard work), but it is worth it.

In short, for succulents getting through summer, compared with expensive varieties, common varieties get through summer more easily. Among them, those without variegation get through summer more easily than variegated ones, thin-leaved ones get through summer more easily than thick-leaved ones, small ones get through summer more easily than large ones, Moon Shadow series get through summer relatively easily, and among those with farina, the thicker the farina, the easier it is to get through summer, but there are exceptions too. Growing succulents is a 10-year skill. Countless people have stepped over the corpses of succulents, summed up experience, and kept moving forward. I hope everyone can discuss together and grow succulents well!

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