New to succulents? How many of these 43 insider terms do you know?

Many growers who have just started out, when browsing forums or articles about succulent plants, often see or hear "insider terms" like "bursting heads" and "beheading." In fact, these are common terms in the succulent community that represent certain states and certain operating methods. Next, Xiao Jingzhi Life will explore with everyone what "insider terms" exist in the succulent plant community and what these "insider terms" specifically mean.

Varieties

1. Family, genus, species

The classification of the biological world. A family contains genera, and a genus contains species. In the succulent community, you often hear "Crassulaceae," "Sempervivum," etc., referring to all plants under that family or genus.

2. Common variety

Varieties that are common and relatively easy to propagate (and therefore relatively cheap).

3. Winter-growing type

Succulents suited to growing in winter, generally going dormant in summer. However, if winter temperatures drop below 5°C, they will also go dormant.

4. Summer-growing type

Succulents suited to growing in summer; half of them go dormant when winter temperatures drop below 10°C, and they also go dormant when summer temperatures rise above 35°C.

Potting

5. Unboxing

Common for succulents bought online. After unpacking succulents received from online purchases, people generally place them on a table and take a full photo. This is called an unboxing photo.

6. Bare-root

Succulents bought online that do not come with a pot.

7. Root trimming

When repotting or just after purchasing succulents, there may be some bad or rotten roots. Trimming away the excess fibrous roots and bad or rotten roots, leaving only healthy, strong roots, helps new roots sprout after potting and helps the succulent grow. This process is called root trimming.

8. Drying roots

After root trimming, because the wounds cannot heal immediately, the succulent needs to be left in a ventilated, cool environment until the root wounds dry and heal before it can be potted. This process is called drying roots. After drying roots is complete, check the root system again to see if any bad or rotten roots were missed.

9. Potting

The process of transplanting a succulent into a suitably sized pot is called potting.

10. Wet soil, dry planting

After drying roots, pot the succulent using moist potting soil. Do not water immediately after potting. Place it in a ventilated, cool environment with indirect light for 7-10 days, then water thoroughly for the first time. This process is called wet soil, dry planting.

11. Moist soil, dry planting

The same process as wet soil, dry planting, but the water content in the potting soil should be lower than the former, moist but not wet. This can effectively reduce diseases such as root rot caused by excessive soil moisture.

12. Dry soil, dry planting

For some plants prone to diseases such as black rot, dry soil, dry planting is recommended, meaning using dry potting soil to pot succulents after drying roots. Do not water immediately after potting; water again after 3-5 days.

13. Settling in / acclimating / recovering

Settling in / acclimating / recovering mean the same thing. Newly potted succulents cannot immediately receive normal care because they need to grow new roots and adapt to the environment. They need to stay in a ventilated environment with indirect light until they resume normal growth before normal care can begin. This recovery period is called the settling-in period / acclimation period / recovery period.

14. Top dressing

Using a relatively attractive medium to spread on the surface of the potting soil. One purpose is decoration, making it look cleaner; another purpose is to block small flying insects.

15. Mixed planting

The operation of combining succulents of different forms and colors into one pot is called mixed planting.

Watering

16. Water thoroughly when completely dry

The eight-character mantra for watering plants: do not water if not dry; when you water, water thoroughly. This means you must wait until the succulent's potting soil is completely dry before watering, and water until water seeps out from the bottom of the pot.

17. Soaking the pot

For some soil mixes that are not easy to water thoroughly, or for some relatively dense (pot-bursting) succulents that are inconvenient to water, you can find a basin larger than the pot, fill it with water, then place the pot in it and let water seep into the potting soil from the bottom of the pot until the surface of the potting soil is moist. This watering method is called soaking the pot.

Care

18. Outdoor growing

Growing succulents in an open-air environment is called outdoor growing. Outdoor growing allows succulents to receive ample light and ventilation and makes it easy to achieve excellent appearance. However, outdoor growing requires attention to the plum rain season and severe cold weather.

19. Full sun

Receiving sunlight all day long.

20. Indirect light

As the saying goes: see the sky but not the sun. You can imagine scenes of dappled sunlight like through blinds.

22. Enclosed growing

When winter temperatures are extremely low, you need to use plastic film or similar to build a small greenhouse environment to help succulents get through the severe cold. This process is called enclosed growing.

22. Water control

Controlling the frequency of watering.

23. Plucking leaves

Simply put, picking off leaves. Generally, leggy succulents are made to form fake old stumps by plucking leaves.

Appearance

24. Coloring up

Under sufficient light and large temperature differences, succulents will change from green to red, orange, jelly color, etc. This state is called coloring up.

25. Bursting heads

When a succulent simultaneously produces a ring of growth points that grow closely together, this state is called bursting heads.

26. Old stump

After many years of cultivation, the leaves on a succulent's fleshy stem gradually fall off and the stem becomes woody, giving it a sense of vicissitudes. This forms an old stump.

27. Fake old stump

The state that resembles an old stump formed by operations such as leaf plucking on a leggy succulent. Generally, the stem is greener and more watery, and the wounds where leaves fell off the stem are more obvious.

28. Clumping

The state in which one mother plant produces several side shoots that grow together is called clumping. If you must distinguish clumping from bursting heads, you can imagine a ring of heads growing from the top of the stem as bursting heads. A ring of heads growing from the base is called clumping.

29. Legginess

Succulents are originally short, plump, compact, and adorably cute, but due to insufficient light or frequent watering, the stem grows wildly and becomes thin, long, loose, and droopy. This state is called legginess.

30. Wearing a skirt / spreading into a pancake

Among leggy states, there is one called wearing a skirt / spreading into a pancake, where the originally tight, closed leaves all spread open or turn downward, like wearing a skirt or a spread-out pancake.

31. Black rot

A disease of succulents, manifested as black spots on stems or leaves, water-soaked rot, etc. It is mainly caused by poor ventilation, excessive humidity, high temperatures, and infection by pathogens.

32. Dormancy

Due to differences in environment and temperature, succulents will slow or stop growth in environments unsuitable for their growth as a form of self-protection. This state is called dormancy. Because succulent varieties differ, the characteristics of dormancy also differ. The most obvious example is the mountain rose.

33. Turning to water

The disease state in which roots, stems, or leaves become transparent and then shrivel and disappear is called turning to water. It is mainly caused by a stuffy, humid environment or infection by pathogens.

34. Pot bursting

Many succulent plants growing so densely in one pot that the pot is almost unable to hold them, which is very spectacular. The difference from bursting heads and clumping is that bursting heads and clumping are essentially one succulent plant with multiple growth points, while pot bursting is multiple succulent plants.

35. Flower stalk

The flowering stem that grows out from between the leaves of a succulent is called a flower stalk.

Propagation

36. Beheading

Cutting a succulent's stem into two sections is called beheading. The section with roots is called the mother plant and can continue growing and can achieve the effect of bursting heads. The top section has no roots and is called the beheaded seedling; after drying, it can be placed in a new pot for stem cutting.

37. Stem cutting

After the beheaded seedling dries, it is left on the surface of the potting soil to take root and then grow into a new succulent plant. This propagation process is called stem cutting.

38. Leaf cutting

Select healthy, plump succulent leaves with growth points, place them on the potting soil and leave them for a period of time. Roots and buds will grow from the growth points of the leaves, and then they will grow into new succulent plants. This propagation method is called leaf cutting.

Mutation

39. Variegation

The stems, leaves, and other parts of a succulent mutate into various colors such as white, yellow, red, etc. Unlike coloring up, coloring up can be understood as regular color change, while variegation can be understood as irregular color change.

40. Monstrose

Irregular proliferation or division of growth points in a succulent causes confusion and forms an irregular leaf state called monstrose. Monstrose is a rare and sought-after state, generally caused by irregular confusion of growth points due to damage by scale insects during growth, or by abnormal changes during recovery after frost damage without freezing to death.

41. Cresting

When a succulent receives stimulation or mutation for unknown reasons, the growth points multiply and connect laterally with each other to form a fan shape or cockscomb shape, and then because the growth points are too dense, they further squeeze and twist to form a wavy brain-like or coral-like shape. This state is called cresting.

Other

42. Cheat zone

Mainly refers to Yunnan and the coastal area of Shandong, where the climate and temperature are very suitable for succulent growth. With casual care they grow as if cheating in a game, so it is called the cheat zone.

43. Easy-death zone, free-shipping zone

The Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai area has free shipping for express delivery, but the climate and temperature make it very difficult to grow succulents with good appearance, and they easily die if you are not careful, so it is called the easy-death zone or free-shipping zone.

The above are some terms in the succulent plant community compiled by Xiao Jingzhi Life. Due to limited ability, there are inevitably crude and erroneous points. Everyone is welcome to add and correct them 1

Compiled and published by Xiao Jingzhi Life.