Why Succulents Are Both Adorably Cute and Gorgeously Colorful

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Text and photos: This Girl Is a Bit Sweet

I never imagined plants could have such intense, brilliant colors, until one day my eyes were suddenly stung by their vivid, gorgeous hues and adorably cute shapes. It was simply unbelievable - such beautiful colors, such cute and changeable shapes. Are they real?

Succulents are the palette God left behind on earth. Most succulents possess a rather special skill - changing color. In different environments, they often show different faces, which is one of the reasons succulents are so widely loved. Their colors change with the seasons, especially in spring and autumn, when the color changes are very dramatic. Plants that are normally dressed in green may switch to red or yellow within two or three days, and if paired with different varieties, the visual effect is quite stunning, giving them an irresistible charm.

Many people who don't know much about succulents think the ones they see have been artificially colored or are fake flowers. In fact, real and fake are easy to tell apart - just a little knowledge of succulent varieties is enough to distinguish them. Most of the colorful cacti and cactus balls at flower markets are dyed (the spines are dyed); the spines of most cacti have no bright colors, but the colors of the flowers are real. This kind of colorful hue in the plant kingdom simply cannot be imitated.

There are many reasons succulents change color. Lithops, for example, usually do so to mimic the environment of their native habitat and reduce the chance of being eaten; some change color because climate causes changes in internal pigments; and some change due to factors such as spraying chemicals or fertilizing. However, the main color-changing factors are light, temperature and temperature difference.

Light

Light is the most common and fastest-acting factor in changing succulent color. Move a succulent that has long been kept indoors to a sunny windowsill, and within a few days you will notice the leaf color beginning to change. Of course, they don't all necessarily turn red, because there are so many succulent varieties, each with its own characteristics. For example, Aeonium 'Zwartkop' turns black as sunlight increases, Firestorm turns fiery red, Sedum rubrotinctum 'Aurora' turns pink, and Sedum adolphi turns yellow, and so on.

Temperature Difference and Temperature

In winter or late autumn, move a succulent outdoors to freeze, and within a few days the color turns red (this method causes considerable harm to succulents; it is only for experimenting with the effect of temperature difference on succulent color and is not recommended). Likewise, when the temperature difference is large in autumn and spring, move succulents outdoors, and within a few days the whole pot will display an unimaginably gorgeous color.

This shows that temperature plays a considerable role in the color change of succulents. The reason low temperatures speed up color change is that chlorophyll cannot tolerate low temperatures. When winter temperatures drop, the chlorophyll in the leaves becomes less and less, and then new anthocyanins are synthesized to resist the cold weather and enhance the plant's cold resistance - this is a form of self-protection. There is also another reason: dark colors absorb more light energy, which everyone should know. Plants are the same - in order to obtain more heat and raise their own temperature, they make their leaves a little darker in color.

Conversely, succulents kept indoors are generally at a relatively constant temperature, so color change is slower, and because glass, screens and the like block most ultraviolet light, the colors become very delicate and pale, or even stay evergreen without turning red. This is also the main reason indoor-grown succulents are mostly green. So everyone can try letting plants gradually move outdoors - even a small windowsill is already good enough space and environment for these mini succulents.

The Effect of Seasons on Succulent Color

In fact, the effect of seasons on succulents is a combined reflection of factors such as sunlight, temperature and temperature difference.

In autumn, because visibility in the air increases, sunlight intensity strengthens, and at the same time ultraviolet intensity rises to its annual peak. This is the best season for succulents to change color. Observant flower lovers will notice that succulents grown outdoors become very deep in color, sometimes even somewhat dark; while succulents inside greenhouses are colored just right - gorgeous yet gentle; succulents placed behind glass windows and screens are a little paler and more understated. All of this is caused by ultraviolet intensity. In addition, glass also varies in thickness and whether it is tinted, and these also affect ultraviolet intensity.

The Result of Multiple Color-Changing Factors Acting Together

Logically, summer sunlight is strong enough, but summer is precisely the dormant season for succulents. Even if they are left out in the blazing sun every day, the color will not necessarily change much. Similarly, on an overcast day with a temperature difference but no sunlight, placing succulents outdoors will also produce a very slow color change.

However, the main color-changing factors are water control, light, temperature and temperature difference, so the care secret for making succulents change color can basically be summed up as: "Water less, sun more, and increase the day-night temperature difference."

These Color-Changing Methods Are Not Advisable

To make their succulents more beautiful in color, many succulent lovers use some extreme methods. As mentioned above, moving them outdoors to freeze in winter, putting them directly in the blazing sun in spring and autumn, and even taking them to the refrigerator at night and then back outdoors the next day to bake in the sun, in order to create a huge temperature difference to make the succulents change color. Especially during the spring and autumn growing seasons, many succulent lovers cut off water to make the colors more beautiful. This method can indeed make the colors more beautiful, but it does a certain amount of harm. Spring and autumn are precisely the best seasons for succulent growth, and you should water generously instead. If you miss this, not only will the growth rate slow down, but there will also be a long recovery period to regain condition.

There are also succulent lovers who, after using diluted chemicals, find that their succulents turn green and mistakenly think it is caused by the chemicals. In fact, turning green shows the plant is still growing; after watering, the plant can absorb the water - this is a normal phenomenon. Most color changes are caused by "stress" and do not mean the plant is healthy enough. Moreover, most of the succulents everyone brings home are from greenhouses - young seedlings in a greenhouse - and whether in terms of resistance or root system they are very poor, unable to withstand such torment. When cultivating them, everyone must not rush for quick results. After 2 years of growth, the old plants have already adapted to the local environment and, once all aspects of their abilities are strong enough, there will be no problem - when the season comes, they will become very beautiful on their own.

The colors of succulents in Japan and South Korea are very beautiful, and most are grown outdoors without much management needed. Many ordinary varieties differ greatly in color from those in China. The main reason is also environmental factors, not different varieties - the same variety looks different in different environments. As long as we try our best to recreate the plants' native environment, we can likewise grow beautiful and moving succulents!

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