Moving Day for My Succulents: A Bumpy Road of Growing Succulents, Tiring but Happy

Foreword

Follow the Encyclopedia · Meet Beauty (WeChat ID: duoroubaike)

The main text begins:

Thanks to the author [Yali] for theoriginal submissionsharing

Submission date: June 4, 2018

Edited and compiled by: Encyclopedia Jun

Location: Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province

I started growing succulents in my senior year of college, and it has been more than two years now. Watching my succulents go from a few pots to dozens of pots and then to hundreds of pots, I have a lot of feelings in my heart.

When I first got into this hobby, it seemed that the twists and turns of this succulent-growing journey were already destined. Our dorm room had only one small window, so I could only put the succulents on the windowsill ledge, and I had to look at them many times every day. Back then, I had no idea how beautiful succulents could look when they colored up; even when they were bright green, I was full of joy.

This one was taken specially with them all placed together for a "family photo"

Red Crane and Sedum rubrotinctum, I have kept them until now, and they are also veteran-level succulents. The others basically either died or grew up and were sold later. These two photos were taken last autumn; this year I did not take separate photos of them.

After growing them in the dorm for about half a year, I graduated, and the succulents moved with me. If there were no conditions, I tried my best to create them, and just like that I found wooden boards to build shelves for growing succulents. The conditions were tough, but that did not affect the joy of growing succulents.

I put a few on the windowsill ledge of the warehouse too wherever they could fit

The place where I opened my shop is in the mountains, and from the end of October the temperature started dropping below zero, so the succulents had to move again. After discussing it with my older sister, we started moving the succulents. So all the succulents were transferred to my sister's balcony.

It is obvious that the troops have grown a lot. Looking at the old succulents now, they really look too pitiful to bear. Fortunately, they lived up to expectations and have turned out pretty well until now. Winter indoors is very hard to endure. In the mountain valley, from the end of October the temperature goes below zero and does not recover until April of the following year. A half-year winter is truly unpleasant.

Every day I watched the weather forecast, wondering when the temperature would rise and when they could be grown outdoors. On April 26, they were all moved outside for outdoor growing. The more I grew, the bigger my ambitions became. This place had relatively short sunlight, only four or five hours a day, so I started thinking about changing to another place with longer light hours and a more spacious area.

It was time to show the importance of my boyfriend. He found the place, and he and a friend helped me move the succulents. After that, we also bought a rain shelter, plastic film, and shade netting, not missing a single one, so they could spend the summer with peace of mind.

The healthy color of summer, bright green

After getting through July and August, they immediately became beautiful in September. Seeing these changes, I thought all the earlier hassle of moving the succulents around was worth it.

Good times do not last long. Winter in the mountains really comes early. After National Day, the autumn rain kept falling, and the temperature approached zero, so the succulents were moved again. My boyfriend went through the trouble with me every time. His car was commandeered by me to haul succulents, and for those few days we monopolized the elevator every evening.

Succulents in the rain have a special charm of their own

In the freezing cold that chilled people to death, I still carried them home trip after trip. When unloading at the entrance of the residential compound, I spread them out, and passersby glanced a few times, thinking I was selling succulents. Like this, I moved them bit by bit for several days, and finally they returned to the balcony.

Compared with the balcony in 2016, the scale in 2017 was much larger again, and more shelves had to be set up. Bottom-watering was truly exhausting too. Usually, finishing everything took more than two hours.

As the weather gradually warmed up, I started the outdoor-growing hassle again. Because I reopened the shop, there was no place to grow succulents, and only a barely usable small spot on the rooftop. It was the fourth floor, which was rather dangerous, but for the sake of growing succulents I made do with it for the time being.

The windowsill was commandeered by me again, and I did not spare the radiator either. These places were used for succulents that had just been potted. Every few days I watered once along the edge of the pot, and they settled into the pots quite quickly.

During that time the shop was being renovated, and I did not spare the carpenter either. During breaks he helped me put together a few shelves. When it was done, I painted them myself, swipe swipe swipe, done!

There was no place to grow them in my own shop, so I set my sights on the roof of the neighboring shop. After several rounds of hassle, all the shelves and succulents were moved over. Storms gather without warning: the neighboring shop was sublet, and negotiations with the new shop owner failed. I was simply devastated and could only change locations again.

Moving, moving, moving again, trip after trip filling the car

Did I think it would end like that? Impossible. Since this was destined to be a bumpy road of growing succulents, not having hassle was impossible. This terrace had very good conditions, 360-degree all-day sunlight, and the ventilation on the third-floor rooftop was first-rate. However, since it was not my own home, it was inconvenient to check on the succulents and they could easily be lost, so I could only use it temporarily.

The ultimate succulent move. This time the place was the rooftop of the small warehouse at the staff member's home, with all-day sunlight, okay ventilation, and theft protection. The only downside was that it was a bit far from me, but for the sake of growing succulents I endured it. A few trips back and forth counted as helping digestion. I was very honored that my boyfriend's car was commandeered by me again. It took three trips back and forth to get it done, including flower racks, rain shelters, and all sorts of odds and ends!

I moved more than 20 of these fruit baskets. The small ones were okay and not very heavy, but the large ones were heavy even as baskets, and they held a lot of succulents. One basket weighed several tens of jin, and that guy huffed and puffed while carrying them. Sometimes he also complained a bit, saying I was growing too many. He said, "I am not unsupportive of you growing succulents. I hope you grow them selectively, keep them all beautiful, and do not grow them indiscriminately."

I also understand that this kind of hassle is truly tiring. Growing succulents makes me happy, but creating a burden for others is not what I want. Starting this summer, I began restraining myself, hoping succulents would not become a sweet burden.

I dream that one day I will have my own "peach grove," round and chubby, pink and plump. After growing them for a year, I found I could not do it, so I can only take it slowly.

I once bought a Sirius, but as a newbie I did not know how to judge quality, and it turned out to be an Echeveria ebony hybrid. Whether this one is Sirius or not I am no longer sure. Anyway, as long as it looks good.

Big Red Mouth, with several little pups, one of my special favorites

Echeveria ebony

I had to have an Aeonium too. Last year I followed the trend and bought a big Aeonium 'Blushing Beauty'; it faded from green and started turning into a rosette.

Old-stem peach egg, grown for two years, with more heads and shorter leaves

Big lumpy one, bumpy and pitted, but I like it too

Flower spikes like little lanterns

All kinds of hassle, the succulents became beautiful, and I gained his affirmation. All of this is enough. On the road of growing succulents, I will keep on hustling...

Succulent culture needs you and me to promote it! Remember to share good articles more, so more people fall in love with succulents!

Reward explanation

This article is purely for sharing. The author has not enabled rewards. After reading, do not forget to give the author a little like at the bottom right corner of the end of the article to encourage them!

Advertisement ADVERTISEMENT

This article has beenexclusively authorizedby the author to WeChat public account: Succulent Plant Encyclopedia (ID: duoroubaike). The content of the article does not represent the views or position of the public account! The Encyclopedia has signed with a third-party internet copyright enforcement company and has opened whole-network rights protection. Without authorization, other platforms are strictly prohibited from reprinting privately! If unauthorized reprints are found, infringement liability will be pursued! Netizens are welcome to report!