Should You Repot Succulents in Summer? Read This and You'll Know

The Scientist

 A Rush of Blood to the Head

Coldplay 

00:00/05:09

Lately, quite a few succulent lovers have been asking, can you repot in summer? Let's take a look at this question today~

- The Cost of Repotting -

Repotting is like making a succulent get used to a new environment all over again, and the cost of this is huge.

The roots of a succulent will definitely get damaged during repotting, and the damaged roots have to grow new roots in the new environment, a process that will inevitably consume nutrients.

Except for the carrot-like roots of Haworthia - that is, the fleshy roots are used to store water and nutrients,

the roots of other succulents in the Crassulaceae family exist only to absorb nutrients, not to serve as energy storage.

Once they can't absorb nutrients, the succulent will, like a warrior cutting off his own wrist, abandon its own roots.

So the succulent is consuming nutrients to grow new roots on one hand, while on the other hand it's abandoning its old roots because it can't absorb other nutrients.

This is exactly why, after repotting, you have to carefully help succulents establish themselves in the pot.

Ice Jade (photo from the internet)

- Suitable Temperature for Repotting -

Jumping back to the summer climate, the south is already approaching the plum rain season, with high air humidity, muggy heat, and temperatures that have basically said goodbye to the word "cool." Temperatures above 26 degrees are a sure thing, and this kind of temperature and environment is actually favorable for succulents to establish themselves in the pot.

Because the succulents we grow are generally thick-leaved Pachyphytum, Echeveria, etc. of the Crassulaceae family, which basically belong to the spring-autumn type, or the winter type (with no particular sign of dormancy), and the growing temperature for spring-autumn type succulents is between 10~25 degrees, and they can still grow below 30 degrees, without slowing down too much.

Sinoocrassula indica (dormant in summer and winter, photo from the internet)

- Conditions for Repotting to Survive Summer -

But you also have to consider the problem of getting through summer after the succulent establishes itself, because to get through summer we generally use the method of watering less and shading appropriately.

For the newly grown roots, they're still a nursing baby and you're weaning them off milk - they won't survive!

A chubby person eats and drinks comfortably every day, and suddenly you make them go on a diet - thinking about it, it seems a bit difficult.

And the newly grown roots are presumably not as strong as the original old roots. If you don't give water, it's fine, maybe they'll just wilt a bit; once you give water, all kinds of black rot pathogens enter the succulent's interior along the roots, and precisely because the roots are weak, they can't resist their invasion.

The black rot pathogens swing their sickles and sing all the way, eating and drinking well, and then the succulent is done for.

- Suitable Conditions for Repotting -

So with this kind of temperature, repotting in autumn is suitable, because after autumn the weather gradually turns cool, black rot is not active, and the roots can slowly grow well through autumn and winter.

Besides temperature there's another factor - sunlight. After the succulent finishes establishing itself, doesn't it need to be taken out to sun? Summer weather is changeable; for those grown outdoors, one moment it's muggy, then it rains, then it's blazing sun, tormenting the succulent to no end in no time at all.

Indoors, summer sunlight is intense - can you guarantee that a succulent that has just established itself and isn't healthy yet won't get sunburned?

Champagne (photo from the internet)

So if you want to repot in summer, we first have to make sure:

1. Suitable temperature (below 26 degrees)

2. Mild sunlight

3. Stable environment (temperature won't suddenly spike)

If you can achieve the above points, then the succulent can be repotted. The purpose of repotting is to let the succulent live more comfortably and happily.

And for repotting in summer, if you don't have those conditions, then don't repot,

The same goes for beheading. If it's not because of black rot or turning to mush forcing you to behead, and it's purely because it doesn't look good, just hold it in.

Aeonium arboreum 'Zwartkop' (photo from the internet, dormant in summer)

Wait until autumn and you can boldly give the succulent a big makeover; once the roots grow well in winter it can shine brightly~

Of course, if there are regions in the north with cool temperatures, then of course you can repot all year round (even more cheat-mode than the cheat-mode regions).

Finally, to sum up: in regions where summer temperatures are high and muggy, and you can't create good conditions yourself for the succulent to establish itself and still survive, it's still best not to repot (except when you have no choice but to repot).

If you like it, please move your fingers and share it~