Succulent Watering Tips: Water This Way So the Leaves Become Plump and Thick

Many beginners who grow flowers and succulents do not understand how much water to give, and when the soil is not breathable, it easily leads to waterlogged roots and rot. There is one method that can prevent root rot, namely the pot-soaking method: place the flower pot into a container with water, and wait until you see the soil on the surface of the pot become moist, which means it has been watered through; then simply take the pot out. This method is also called the soak method. Why do some flower growers get very good results when they soak their succulents? There is one very important reason, and that is the soil. Succulent soil mixes are mainly based on good water permeability, and when such soil is soaked, water is easily drawn upward, and of course excess water also flows out easily. In my personal understanding, this is what it means to water through.

Some flower growers' succulents are already in an unhealthy state, and they hope to relieve it by soaking the pot, which is somewhat like seeking any doctor when seriously ill. In addition, for pot soaking, flower growers cannot ignore another issue, which is the soil. With soil that has good breathability and water permeability, whether it is absorbing water or excess water flowing out during pot soaking, everything can happen very quickly. But from what I know, some flower growers' soil is made by mixing their own garden soil with some coal cinders and the like; this kind of soil holds water very well, so it is very likely to absorb a lot of water and be unable to drain it, leading to waterlogging. Flower growers must treat it according to their own actual situation, because other growers' experience is not necessarily 100 percent suitable for themselves; they need to ponder and digest it, and cannot imitate it completely.

Under normal circumstances, soak the pot to one-half of its depth in water, and only fifteen seconds is enough. Absolutely do not wait until moisture appears on the surface soil before taking it out. The looser and more breathable the soil, the less time can be used, because the siphon effect is strong. The advantage of this watering method is that it can ensure the upper part of the soil is relatively drier than the lower part, making root rot less likely. This is because the root tip of a plant is divided into the root cap zone, the growth zone and the root hair zone. Only the root hairs are the main part that absorbs water and have the strongest resistance to moisture, while the old roots above the root hair zone have already lost the function of absorbing water and mainly serve to transport water and nutrients and to anchor the plant, with poor resistance to moisture; root rot often starts from here.

Why do succulent root systems rot? There are many possibilities for root system decay. Harmful bacteria are considered by many people to be one of the causes of decay. Besides this, there is also rot caused by microorganisms invading wounds left on the root system by root-eating insects (for example, root rot caused by root mealybugs). In fact, the soil has contained countless bacteria for thousands of years, and plants coexist with them without harm. There are also no fungicides in nature, and artificial, unnecessary intervention does not exist in nature either. So as far as bacteria alone are concerned, without mistakes in water management causing large amounts of gravitational water to remain in the soil, they do not necessarily cause large-scale root system decay.

So how do you judge that the root system of a Haworthia has begun to decay? The root system of Haworthia has a characteristic: once decay begins, Haworthia will instinctively reduce the function of the phloem and xylem. This is a self-protection developed by this plant during evolution. Rapid exchange of fluids up and down can accelerate the process of decay. With this self-blocking, the decay process can be slowed. As long as the soil dries out once at a suitable time, those roots that are half rotten can even stop rotting, and new roots will also branch out from the sides of the rotten root system. Based on this characteristic, you can judge that root system decay is occurring, and thereby save those Haworthias that may be starting to rot at the roots.

The advantages of the pot-soaking method are that it can avoid disturbing the pot soil, avoid water touching the core of the succulent, and the amount of water is relatively moderate, and so on. Succulent pot soaking has already been recognized by many flower growers, but this does not mean this method is suitable for all flower growers. Looking at flower growers' cases, some fail and some succeed, and this is the same as the effect achieved by ordinary watering, so succulent pot soaking is not a universal cure.

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