Getting into succulents: a casual encounter brings unexpected surprises

Foreword

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Thanks to the author [Moli Xiang] for theoriginal submissionsharing

Edited and compiled by: Encyclopedia Jun

Location: Shanghai

Hi! Hello everyone! After reading so many articles by the succulent masters pushed by Encyclopedia Jun, I have also been longing to write a story about me and succulents. My succulents are nothing special, not with the look the masters achieve, but I still made up my mind to write one. Please give me lots of guidance on anything lacking.

My acquaintance with succulents began in 2013. At that time I did not know this species existed. One day my colleague was tending flowers and plants, and out of curiosity I went over to take a look. Then she gave me a potted plant. One in it was a Golden Finger (I only learned the name after I started growing succulents), and one was a Kalanchoe, also called the immortal bird. My colleague told me that when this plant grows up, many small ones will grow along the edges of the leaves, and when they fall into the soil they will grow into many individual plants. At the time I thought the name was so lovely and full of vitality, and it was so novel that I took it home to grow.

As a girl, I had never been interested in flowers and plants. This potted plant was tossed by the window after I brought it home. I do not know how long it was before I remembered it and went to take a glance. Seeing the soil was very dry, I gave it a scoop of water. Day after day like this I kept it for two years. The little thing from back then had not grown much bigger, but it was plump and chubby and very cute, and no small leaves had grown along the edges. I thought it was because I did not know how to grow it. In 2015, when moving house it was inconvenient to bring it along, so I gave it to a friend to take home and grow. In 2016, a colleague was especially obsessed with growing plants and often talked to me about it, and frequently posted all kinds of photos and articles on Moments. Only then did I learn that succulent plants existed. They simply melt your heart, and I began to like them. It was not until April 2017 that I went to the flower market and bought five pots of succulents to grow, starting a beginner's journey of growing succulents...

This is the potted plant I brought back from my colleague in 2013. There are no later photos.

Group photo from July 2017. Because I did not understand how to grow them, 2 of the original 5 pots died in June to July, and the other pots were not in good shape either. Unwilling to give up, I went and bought a few more succulents to grow, with no idea at all that summer is actually a calamity for succulents.

After the summer of 2017 passed, of the 13 succulents I was growing only 7 were left. That feeling, many succulent friends surely understand it deeply.

Chihuahua, my favorite. This is how it looked in August and October 2017. It is one of the two surviving pots from the first batch of succulents I grew. In the summer of 2017 it nearly died. At that time I did not yet know Encyclopedia Jun, and I did not understand what black rot or turning to water meant. Only by searching all kinds of articles and asking others did it manage to survive. Later, by looking for all kinds of succulent public accounts, I got to know Encyclopedia Jun. Reading every article pushed by Encyclopedia Jun opened my eyes wide. The succulents grown by the many succulent masters are so beautiful...... I also absorbed a lot of care experience, light, watering, soil mixing and much more, and began to learn. At the end of October I moved all my succulents outside the window onto the air conditioner unit to grow and receive light. Within a few days the succulents grew fast and began to become beautiful.

This Chihuahua changed the most. At the time I was so excited, and I felt how tenacious its vitality was. I also began to be infatuated with succulents, and made up my mind to care for them well.

This is how it looked in March 2018, a gorgeous transformation after enduring the harsh winter. Among all my succulents, it is the one I am especially fond of. I have seen it in summer with leaves turning to water, wearing a skirt and about to pass on, and I have also seen it after it did not give up and transformed gorgeously. It moved me, and let me feel that life can be so beautiful!

The Chihuahua in April 2018. A whole year, and this is when it looked its most beautiful.

July 2018. After the Chihuahua finished blooming, its rosette shape was never good again. In the future, if there are flower stalks, I will still cut them off; they really harm the succulent.

Kalanchoe, my love for it comes from that fond remembrance

Marcus, starting to receive light in October 2017, the leaves began to grow and closed up, and small offsets also grew at the bottom.

September 2018. The little seedlings I bought in July 2017 have now grown this big. As a balcony grower the conditions are limited, and during summer they grew leggy. Although leggy and green, being full of life is enough. I just want you to stay alive. Seeing it so healthy still makes me very comforted, and I look forward to it making a comeback and becoming beautiful.

Purple Pearl

Blue Bean. The seedling I bought last year was in very poor condition. After my patient care, this year it grew into a small cluster. Is it not very cute? This summer I had no time to manage it. I left it on the balcony, gave it water and did not bring it back in, and with the muggy weather it passed on. Heartbreaking.

Ruby, March 2018. Not its reddest look, but the mix of red and green is also very nice.

Ruby, as it looked in September 2018. With succulents, however big a pot you give them, that is how big they can grow. This March, to help it through summer, I specially changed to gritty soil and changed to a nice-looking pot. Now it has a ring of pups, and the leaves have grown fat and large. I look forward to it turning fully red this autumn.

Orion, as it looked in May 2018. This is a seedling I bought online in November 2017. Are its red edges not beautiful?

Orion as it looked in June. How can you not love that bewitching red?

Orion as it looked in September. It faded over summer, and is now coloring up again. After going through summer it does not grow leggy.

Little Peach Egg, as it looked in March 2018. I bought this at the Shanghai succulent exhibition in November last year. I had wanted it for a long time before buying it. The price was a little steep. This is the most expensive pot of succulent I have bought.

Little Peach Egg as it looked in July. A bit leggy, but that does not affect my love for it at all.

Leaf cuttings from Peach Egg. I also want to have a little peach grove. One gives birth to two, two give birth to three, and that way there will be a peach grove, haha. It is not that I am stingy, it is that I really enjoy this process of growing succulents. This is also the magic of succulents: a single leaf can grow into one plant or even more. I like watching them grow healthily under my careful care, and watching them change through the four seasons.

Dancing Sunset, condition in April 2018. I cannot capture its beauty in photos. Seeing how beautiful the succulent friends grow theirs, I also got one in November last year. I love its edges and its purple color.

Dancing Sunset as it looked in September 2018. Like a pipa half-hiding her face, right? It got a bit leggy during summer, and now many small offsets have grown at the bottom. I look forward to you growing into a cluster.

Berry, a small seedling bought in April 2018. At the time it was tiny when planted in the pot, its leaves not even as big as a grain of rice. When will it grow into the look the masters achieve? I am so looking forward to it.

Berry as it looked on September 17, 2018. During summer it grew terribly leggy. I look forward to a comeback. The "little rice grains" in the sunset are also beautiful.

Opalina, a seedling bought in July last year and grown until now

Sedum sedoides, true to its name, I love its quiet and lovely appearance.

Blue Velvet

Yero, my beloved pink rose

Mountain Rose, very fresh and green

Laura, I got one after hearing it has fragrance, grown from a small single head until now.

2018.9 Leaf cuttings from Sedum pachyphyllum. This was a single head I bought in July 2017. The leaves I twisted off when the mother plant passed on last summer rooted successfully as leaf cuttings. From winter they grew to this size, and even brought 3 pups. This summer they grew leggy. I look forward to them becoming beautiful in autumn.

2018.9 Blue Bird, grown from a small seedling, all pink and fairy-like. Over summer the leaves got a bit thin and long, but the appearance is still okay.

2018.9 Xiuyan. Seeing succulent friends grow theirs into a bright red bouquet shape, I fell in love at first sight. This April I also got a small cluster. In autumn it will show me its beauty.

2018.9 I cannot tell whether it is Rainswallow or Hercules. I love its red edges.

2018.9 New Jade Necklace, grown for a year, emerald green and very beautiful. It tends to grow leggy in summer, and once autumn arrives it starts growing small leaves again.

Below is the group photo.

Growing succulents cultivates the heart, and the process is what matters. After growing succulents for more than a year, from a beginner to now understanding how to care for them, I have gone through losses and also gained moving moments and surprises. Every succulent has been grown from a small seedling until now. Although they do not have the beautiful condition that the masters grow theirs to, I am already very satisfied. In this more than a year, from 5 pots to more than 90 pots, carefully tending them, just so they can remain safe and sound.

There is a lot of daily work but it is very fulfilling. Every day I go to observe them (as long as I am resting at home, it is definitely more than three visits). I pluck leaves, water, and in spring, autumn and winter I am always chasing the sun. It is truly said that succulents are healing plants. In the days with them by my side, my mood has slowly improved, and I no longer sink into the pain of what I once lost. I will always carefully take care of my succulents, hoping to bring them through every spring, summer, autumn and winter, and they also accompany me through every beautiful time.

Care carefully, and there will eventually be rewards! Finally, I wish all succulent friends' succulents grow better and better, with a full harvest.

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Because of succulents we met here. Thank you for your nightly waiting and reading! The culture of succulents needs you and me to promote it! Remember to share good articles more, so more people fall in love with succulents! Use the power of plants to influence and heal the people around us. Heart!