How to grow succulent old trunks? Master the correct care methods

Text

Images: Curator

Many friends love growing succulents, especially old-trunk succulents, which have elegant forms and plump, fleshy leaves - very beautiful and cute. But old-trunk succulents are generally very expensive to buy, so many people think it is better to grow one yourself - economical, practical and a sense of achievement. But friends who have grown old trunks know that old-trunk succulents are not so easy to grow; they not only need meticulous care but also the baptism of time

1. First, time is a magician

Cultivating an old trunk definitely requires patience. The formation of any old trunk has gone through the changes of the four seasons, flowers blooming and fading; it has experienced prosperity as well as decline and loneliness. Wait for the leaves to naturally replace old with new; wait for the lower old leaves to continuously consume themselves to provide nutrients and water to the growth point; after drying up and falling off, the main trunk is exposed, and the longer the time, the more the main trunk will gradually become a visual highlight. One year, two years, or even longer - it will transform inadvertently. At this stage, all you need to do is care for it well and wait alongside it.

2. You absolutely must not pull off the leaves

During the growth of a succulent, the leaves at the bottom will gradually dry up and fall off. After a period of time, the succulent will begin to grow leggy, and the stem will slowly elongate. Although it looks very ugly at first, this is precisely the prerequisite for developing a large old-trunk succulent. Remember that you absolutely must not pull the leaves off with your hands, especially when the leaves have not yet dried; let the leaves fall off naturally. Only then will the stem of the succulent be equally thick from top to bottom. If you pull the leaves off with your hands, the stem will be thick at the bottom and thin at the top, which will not look good.

3. Give light gradually

When the succulent stem reaches the ideal length for shaping, you can slowly move it to a place with a little sunlight. At this stage, gardening friends must be careful not to directly put the succulent outdoors in full sun, because the strong contrast in temperature and light will kill the succulent in just one day.

After receiving sunlight for a period of cultivation, the succulent's resistance begins to increase and the stem becomes thicker. At this time, gardening friends can move the leggy succulents uniformly into prepared flower pots and cut off the entire top of the plant. The cut-off parts can be used for cuttings, and the remaining stem will gradually grow new shoots again.

Next is to slowly increase the sunlight time and slightly reduce the amount of watering, but you cannot cut off water completely. When the succulent stem slowly becomes woody, you can break off all the larger leaves, and the nutrients will be concentratedly supplied to the new small shoots growing at the top. In future management, you can intermittently cut off water: that is, extend the watering interval. For example, if you normally water once every 1 week to 10 days, in order to make the stem become woody faster, you can change it to watering once every 20 days or once a month. After 3 to 5 months, it can basically begin to take shape.

In fact, forming an old trunk not only requires time; time is only one aspect. It also depends on the variety. Choosing the variety is also very key. Generally, old-trunk succulents are all Crassulaceae plants.

Finally, one more reminder: many methods suggest that when first growing succulents, water more and do not expose them to the sun, letting them grow leggy. When they have grown very long, then put them in full sun, remove all the lower leaves, keep a few at the top, and after exposure to the sun, those leggy stems will quickly age. After a year, the old trunk is formed. This is indeed the fastest way to form an old trunk, but a knowledgeable person can see at a glance that it is no different from pulling up seedlings to help them grow. So it is not recommended that everyone do this.

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