Away from home for 3 days, and all the succulents suffered - the real culprits turned out to be them

Outdoor-grown succulents get ravaged

Growers have long been complaining: put succulents outside, and every pot you grow dies. You clearly know the culprit, but you just can't catch it!

A hard-won old-stem succulent, placed on the windowsill for just a few days, and all its leaves are gone!

The chief culprit is small birds - of course, both domestic pet birds and wild birds can be the "culprit"

If birds take a few bites out of your succulents, never treat it as a small matter. Summer weather is hot, and not only are succulent wounds slow to heal, they are also very likely to get infected - and they can die on you in no time!

Solutions:

1. Insert bamboo skewers

Insert some bamboo skewers about 20 cm long along the edge of the pot. Be careful not to pierce the succulent's roots. This way birds have nowhere to land, and it also has a deterrent effect on them

2. Cover the top

A shade net or a discarded table mat from home will do. When covering, make sure to leave at least 20 cm of space, otherwise air circulation will be blocked and the succulents will easily suffocate

3. Put on a protective cage

Growers who have wire mesh at home can build a simple wire cage. Although this method isn't very "aesthetically pleasing," it is the most effective

Outdoor growing in cloudy and rainy weather

In summer, many regions are prone to cloudy and rainy days, and at this time outdoor growing carries relatively high risk. Rainwater filling the pot, plus the stuffy, humid conditions before and after rain, makes succulents prone to black rot

In heavy rain, even the toughest succulents can easily be knocked apart by raindrops!

During continuous cloudy and rainy days, outdoor-grown succulents are essentially soaking in water. The leaves may still look perky, but eight out of ten have already rotted at the roots!

Solutions:

1. Choose pots with holes in the bottom

Succulents fear waterlogging, so pots for outdoor-grown succulents must have holes to drain water in time. It's best to cover the small holes with a layer of gauze, so the soil doesn't flow out along with the water

2. Build a shelter to keep off the rain

Growers with many succulents who find it inconvenient to move them can build a rain shelter for their succulents, which saves a lot of worry. But it must be sturdy, otherwise if it gets blown over by wind and rain, all your effort is wasted

3. Move them indoors

If cloudy and rainy days last more than 3 days in a row, I suggest moving the succulents indoors

Some outdoor-grown succulents look fine, and even if a few days of rain doesn't kill them, they will later grow leggy. This is why your old-stem succulents aren't as beautiful as other people's

Key factors for outdoor growing

Outdoor-grown succulents have relatively strong resistance. Many succulent growers are itching to try: can mine still be grown outdoors? Take a look at the following points first!

1. It's better to start outdoor growing in spring and autumn

It's already early summer now, with high temperatures, so it's not suitable to start growing succulents outdoors. Growers, wait a bit - when temperatures drop below 26°C in September-October, it won't be too late to grow them outdoors

2. Outdoor growing depends on the region

Although outdoor-grown succulents are tough, they can't be completely free of seasonal weaknesses. Especially in summer and winter, as long as the temperature exceeds 32°C or drops below 2°C, you must pay attention to shading in summer and keeping warm in winter!

Take Yunnan, the region everyone knows as a succulent paradise - it has no obvious summer, so succulents can be grown outdoors all year round, and the more they grow, the better they get. It's simply a succulent heaven!

3. Outdoor growing depends on the variety

Outdoor growing also varies by variety. Generally speaking, common, easy-to-grow ones are all fine, but varieties that struggle through summer, such as Jingye, Snow Lotus, Haworthia, Sindoni, and Bear's Paw, are best not grown outdoors

4. Outdoor growing depends on the owner

Everyone knows from experience that no matter how easy a plant is to grow, you have to put in effort to get it into good condition. With outdoor-grown succulents, if you pay no attention at all, even if they survive, they will definitely grow like "wild children"

So even with outdoor growing, don't let your guard down. Wind and rain, insect bites and bird pecks - it all depends on you, the owner

Outdoor growing isn't 100% problem-free either

Don't blindly follow the trend

Be very careful