There are several things that can't be delayed for succulents this season, and plumping up is only one of them

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ForewordQian Yan

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Editor / Succulent Plant Hub

The weather is getting cooler and cooler, and it's time to put all the succulent care tasks on the agenda...

This year's summer survival battle has basically come to an end, and what we face now is one of the best periods for succulent care.

In this cool autumn, all aspects of succulent care can be put on the agenda. For example, fattening up succulents, coloring, propagation, repotting, and so on.

After a summer of torture from high temperatures, high humidity, and lack of light, some succulents couldn't hold on and passed away, some stood firm no matter the wind and rain, and a large portion, though not dead, became terribly haggard, not only losing their color but also growing thin.

Coloring Succulents

Autumn and winter are the best time for succulents to color up, because the temperature drops in autumn and winter, providing sufficient light, and the temperature difference between day and night is large, which is beneficial for coloring.

However, for southern regions with many cloudy and rainy days in autumn, this is not yet the best time for coloring. The best coloring time should be deep winter and early spring.

When you have "favorable timing and conditions," you also need "human effort." Without scientific care methods, everything is still in vain. Succulent lovers had best observe their own care environment more and, combining the experience of others, figure out a set of beauty tutorials suitable for their own succulents.

The most important factors for coloring are light, temperature, temperature difference, and controlled watering,you should freeze them as much as possible without damaging them, combined with maximum sunlight and appropriate watering. Simply put, expose them to more sun.

Succulent Leaf Propagation

After summer ends, losses are inevitable, and a new round of leaf propagation and seed propagation work can also begin.

For succulents that grew leggy in summer, you can pull off healthy leaves for leaf propagation. Becoming a succulent magnate this autumn is not a dream. When pulling off leaves, keep the growth point near the base of the leaf!

Then place the healthy leaves under indirect light and let them dry for 3-5 days. After the wounds have healed, place the leaves on suitable soil and in a container and wait for them to sprout.

Repotting Succulents

After summer ends, you can also repot and change the soil for those old, weak, sick, and damaged succulents as a group. Here's another point about top dressing: many succulent lovers easily overlook top dressing, but it is definitely necessary.

Because the existence of top dressing not only increases aesthetic appeal but also has many benefits, such as isolating the nutrient soil from the outside,to a certain extent it can prevent pests and diseases from laying eggs, has a certain "water purification" effect, and can also inhibit weed growth.

Commonly used top dressing stones include: maifan stone, akadama, river sand, and so on.

Watering Succulents

Now you can gradually return to a normal watering pattern. Before watering, consider the weather conditions of the past few days. This year's climate has been unstable, with droughts drying some to death and floods drowning others.It is suggested that succulent lovers in low-rainfall areas can store rainwater for watering, while those in high-rainfall areas should pay attention to rain sheltering, flood prevention, and drainage.

Also, succulent growers had best develop the habit of checking the weather forecast every day, making accurate care judgments based on weather conditions, and if there is severe weather, they can also take various response measures in time.

Preventing Pests and Diseases

The work of preventing pests and diseases should not be relaxed in any of the four seasons. Maintaining a pattern of small prevention every month and major prevention every two months is necessary.Usually mix some carbendazim into the water when watering, pre-bury small white pills in the soil, and so on,all of these are indispensable tasks.

Fertilizing Succulents

Proper fertilization is beneficial to succulent growth. After September, "winter-type" succulents gradually begin to grow, and attention should be paid to fertilization to provide sufficient nutrients and promote succulent growth. Fertilization is generally chosen in the morning or evening of a sunny day.

Here is a quote from La Shen's "Explanation of the Methods of Use and Mutual Relationships of Succulent Growth Regulators, Special Liquid Fertilizer for Succulents, and Granular Slow-Release Fertilizer"

1. The difference between succulent growth regulators and special liquid fertilizer for succulents

First, it needs to be emphasized that succulent growth regulators are not fertilizer; their active ingredients are various plant growth regulating substances. Special liquid fertilizer for succulents, as the name suggests, is a professional fertilizer designed and developed specifically for succulents.

Many succulent lovers, after using succulent growth regulators, found that previously leggy succulents began to become short and plump, the leaves became thicker, and side shoots began to burst out. They thought it must be because the regulator had sufficient fertility that their succulents produced these gratifying changes, but actually it is not so.

The active ingredients of succulent growth regulators are various plant growth regulating substances. They can, to a certain extent, change the concentration levels of various growth regulating substances within the plant itself.

Thereby making the traits displayed by the succulents conform to our aesthetic needs, such as short and plump plants, thick leaves, and plump side shoots.These are all the result of interactions among plant growth substances and have little to do with fertilizer.

Special liquid fertilizer for succulents, however, is a fertilizer designed and developed specifically for succulents, and its active ingredients are the various elements needed during succulent growth. It also specially provides a high-potassium, low-nitrogen formula for succulents.

"The general common knowledge for fertilizing succulents (especially Crassulaceae succulents) is to use fertilizers with low nitrogen elements.Low nitrogen can effectively prevent succulents from growing leggy and fading in color。”

"The main function of potassium fertilizer is often described as promoting flowering and fruiting. This sounds like it has little significance for succulents, but what many flower lovers don't know is thatpotassium fertilizer is the universal element in plants。

Why is it the universal element? Because the plant body is like a huge and complex chemical factory. Behind every chemical reaction, there is one or several biological enzymes at work, and potassium has now been proven to be the activator of more than 60 kinds of biological enzymes.

How to understand this? For example,biological enzymes allow various chemical reactions to proceed normally, while potassium can make these biological enzymes work better. Put this way, everyone can understand the importance of potassium.

2. The issue of using growth regulators together with special liquid fertilizer

The two have different ingredients and different effects, so there is absolutely no problem using them on the same succulent. But their methods of use are similar, both involving spraying the leaves, soit is suggested to separate the timing of use。

For example, if there are 4 weeks in a month, you can use these two products in a rhythm of 1 regulator, 2 fertilizer, 3 regulator, 4 fertilizer, so as to best exert the efficacy of the products.

3. The difference between granular slow-release fertilizer and special liquid fertilizer for succulents

I generally use granular slow-release fertilizer as a base fertilizer, and it only needs to be added once every six months for daily use. It can provide succulents with a slow, long-lasting nutrient supply, but during the peak growing seasons for succulents, such as spring and autumn (after heating starts in the north in winter, it is also a growing season),

the fertility provided by granular slow-release fertilizer cannot fully meet the needs of succulent growth, and at this time we need to use liquid fertilizer as a supplement.

To make a simple analogy, granular slow-release fertilizer is equivalent to our daily staple food. Eating only rice every day will not starve people to death, but they also will not grow well, while special liquid fertilizer is equivalent to side dishes and supplements. Only with a reasonable combination of staple food and side dishes can various nutritional needs be met.

I hope that this autumn, all succulent lovers can grow their succulents into the appearance they like.