How to grow succulents in a closed, humid environment? Detailed methods and precautions

Text

Text and images: Hello Succulent People

Beginners who have just come into contact with succulents will certainly often hear a key term, ventilation. For example, the commonly known three essentials for getting succulents through summer are ventilation, shade, and water control. However, sometimes you also hear the key term "closed humid growing." Ventilation and closed humid growing sound contradictory, and indeed they are contradictory, because the varieties usually grown this way are not the Crassulaceae that most people are more familiar with, but cacti such as Gymnocalycium, Astrophytum, and grafted peonies, as well as Haworthia such as Haworthia cooperi and Haworthia retusa. Also, summer is not a season suitable for closed humid growing. The author below will dig into some matters concerning closed humid growing of cacti with you.

Closed humid growing is still very effective for plants in the cactus family, though of course it depends on the methods and means used. Different time periods, different climate conditions, different plant categories, and different choices of growing medium are all different, and it cannot be applied uniformly across the board. Closed humid growing can allow plants, in the most reasonable environment, to show the fastest growth rate, the most standard expression of their characteristics, and the most beautiful appearance. By putting sufficient effort into cultivation methods and fertilizer control, closed humid growing should produce much better results than growing in an ordinary environment.

Closed humid growing is only one cultivation method, and during the process of cultivation there is a great deal of variability; it is not simply keeping plants sealed up all the time. During the process of cultivation, there are many points that need attention.

1. Varieties for closed humid growing: not all plants are suitable for closed humid growing, and not all succulents look good after being grown this way. Variety is very important. I believe that Gymnocalycium, Astrophytum, grafted peonies, and seedlings are suitable for closed humid growing (currently I myself only grow these), while for fishhook cacti and Aizoaceae, beginners should try not to use this method.

2. Timing for closed humid growing: the time periods suitable for closed humid growing differ across the country, but overall, spring and autumn are more suitable. In Shanghai, I think it is mainly early March, April, and May, and late September and October. Of course, by adding methods such as shading and cooling, the period for closed humid growing can be extended. But it is not sealed up all four seasons of the year, because closed humid growing, as a cultivation method, also has its limitations.

3. Environment for closed humid growing:

1. It must be a sterile environment. During closed humid growing, bacteria and fungi multiply very easily, so before use, disinfection work must be done thoroughly, including the plants, pots, growing medium, the containers used for closed humid growing, and so on, and it must be done without any mistakes. Once there are too many pathogenic bacteria in the environment, the possibility of plants being harmed, and the infection rate, will be higher than in an ordinary environment.

2. There must be a certain relative humidity. In a transparent sealed environment, under the effect of light radiation, the temperature in the space will rise quickly. Everything in this sealed space will also rise in temperature because of the effect of light. For the cactus in a sealed space, due to the continuous friction of light radiation (so-called friction generating heat), when it exceeds the degree of friction the plant epidermis can withstand, it will directly affect the plant, and burning will occur. If water molecules exist in the air, the water molecules will refract the light radiation that appears in straight lines, thereby reducing the chance of burning. Humidity should be controlled at 60%-80%. Why up to 80%? Because humidity that is too low will, under the effect of strong light, cause burning of the plant, while humidity that is too high will affect the plant's respiration and other physiological functions, causing disorders, and accelerate the chance of bacterial infection. Therefore, suitable growing air humidity is very important for closed humid growing. Of course, it should be added that for cuttings, beginners should also try not to use the closed humid growing method.

4. Plant conditions not suitable for closed humid growing: at certain times, due to reasons related to the plant itself, closed humid growing cannot be carried out.

1. Newly planted plants. Because newly planted plants have not yet started working in all their physiological functions. Closed humid growing will not only fail to promote growth, but will also consume the plant's own strength and prolong the recovery period.

2. Plants with wounds. Water is something with very strong infective power, and it gets in almost everywhere. As long as there is a gap, it will enter. Roots, epidermis, wounds after flower buds are broken off, and various other wounds must, on the premise of being dried in the shade and recovered, only then be subjected to closed humid growing.

3. Plants in the dormant period. Plants are in dormancy in summer and winter. The so-called dormant period is when the plant is resting, with the purpose of replenishing strength during the rest. Normal dormancy is beneficial to the plant; plants that have obtained sufficient dormancy grow vigorously, are full of energy, and are in high spirits. For those whose normal dormancy is arbitrarily broken, although the plant grows, it grows very slowly and goes downhill. Of course, closed humid growing in winter very easily breaks dormancy, and its state is equivalent to a person being frightened awake while sleeping.

5. Main matters when not using closed humid growing. When the environment reaches a certain point, that is, when closed humid growing no longer works and will cause harm to the plant, the non-closed-humid-growing state will begin. Note the following:

1. There needs to be a transition between the two states: sudden changes in the environment will affect plant growth. As is well known, greenhouse flowers are not easy to grow once brought home, mainly because the plants go from a superior growing environment to an ordinary environment, creating a great gap. If they are ordinary plants, conditions such as yellowing leaves, leaf drop, fruit drop, and rigid growth will appear. Succulents are the same. Although there will not be very obvious changes in surface state in the short term, there will certainly be an effect. Therefore, to reduce this huge gap, change this environmental change gradually and step by step; the method is to gradually increase ventilation and gradually increase shading.

2. Fertilizer supplementation: for succulents, during closed humid growing, under the effect of water, the plants grow rapidly, so people often say that plants grown this way are very "watery." "Watery" plants naturally have very poor resistance. The main reason is that there is too little "stuff" inside the plant body. Therefore, before removing them from closed humid growing, the plant's constitution should be improved. The method is to supplement nutrients during watering, mainly fertilizers based on phosphorus and potassium. This kind of fertilizer should be consistently applied during the growing period; each time you water, you can add some potassium dihydrogen phosphate to the water, 1000 times dilution is enough. In the growing medium, you can also add some base fertilizer, such as Osmocote A-2, magic fertilizer, organic fertilizer, and so on. Closed humid growing is a cultivation method that requires a lot of thought; it needs to have an approach, and you cannot just ignore it and let it fend for itself. Therefore, growing plants is not just as simple as watering.

So-called cultivation can be understood as planting + nurturing. Many enthusiasts currently do only planting (of course, I am among them), while nurturing requires a great deal of thought. One very big factor among them is to expand one's own theoretical knowledge, combine it with one's own cultivation, and summarize a set of cultivation concepts useful to oneself, and then carefully apply this set of concepts.

As the saying goes, all roads lead to Rome, and cultivation is the same. Using different methods may produce plants with both good appearance and good growth state. The post I have written here may carry some excitement, and may even be somewhat radical, but the starting point is that I hope everyone will learn more about other cultivation methods and means, thereby providing inspiration for their own cultivation. Failure is not scary; giving up trying is what is scary, and not trying, not learning, and only talking empty words is the most scary of all.

The article was compiled by the Succulent Boutique Pavilion, and the copyright belongs to the original author. For some articles, the source cannot be identified and they are marked as from the internet. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately, and we will handle it promptly.