Be Careful When Fertilizing Succulents in Autumn, Keep These 4 Ws in Mind

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ForewordQian Yan

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Autumn has always been a great time for succulents to gain weight, and coloring up and plumping up all happen in this one move! However, when it comes to fertilizing succulents, many succulent lovers have questions, such as how to fertilize succulents, what fertilizer to use on succulents, whether to water with liquid fertilizer or use slow-release fertilizer, and so on. Faced with these questions, a flower lover summarized the 4W fertilization rule and answered the above doubts.

1. "What" - What fertilizer to apply?

① Special granular slow-release fertilizer. This kind of fertilizer gradually releases its nutrients as the temperature rises and will not directly burn the roots.

② Nitrogen fertilizer, which promotes lush growth, increases chlorophyll, and strengthens vegetative growth; too much nitrogen fertilizer can lead to soft tissue, spindly stems and leaves, susceptibility to pests and diseases, and reduced cold resistance; a lack of nitrogen fertilizer makes the plant small and thin, with yellow-green leaves, slow growth, and an inability to bloom. Nitrogen mainly comes from nitrogen gas in the air, which dissolves in rainwater through oxidation reactions. If there is too much rain leaching, succulents will grow leggy. It includes ammonium bicarbonate, urea, ammonium nitrate, ammonia water, sodium chloride, ammonium sulfate, etc.

③ Phosphorus fertilizer, which makes stems and branches tough, promotes flower bud formation, larger and more brightly colored flowers, and enables succulents to grow and develop well, produce more new roots, and improve cold and drought resistance; insufficient phosphorus fertilizer causes slow growth, small leaves, fewer branches or tillers, small flowers and fruits, late maturity, and the veins between the lower leaves first turning yellow and then appearing purplish red. Phosphorus mainly comes from tap water. Although the content is low, as long as you are not aiming for succulents to bloom and be bred, it is enough for succulents. It includes ordinary superphosphate, calcium magnesium phosphate fertilizer, etc. Animal bones are also rich in phosphorus, so mixing a small amount of bone meal into the bottom of the pot can promote rooting in succulents.

④ Potassium fertilizer, which can make stems strong, improve resistance to pests and diseases, cold, drought, and lodging, promote well-developed roots, enlarge bulbs, and promote fruit enlargement and good color; a potassium deficiency can cause necrotic spots along leaf margins, with spots first appearing on the lower old leaves, the leaf margins and tips beginning to turn yellow, followed by scorched necrosis; excessive potassium fertilizer can cause shortened internodes, whole-plant dwarfing, yellowing leaves, wilting, and even death. Potassium mainly comes from granular soils such as akadama and volcanic rock. At present it is not used much, and the main varieties include potassium chloride, potassium sulfate, potassium nitrate, etc.

2. "When" - When to fertilize?

Generally, fertilization is chosen during the growing period and flowering period. Fertilizing at the flowering stage starts when the flower stalk emerges, once every half month, applied together with watering. Continue applying until the seed pods mature. For individuals that need controlled flowering and coordinated blooming times, you can apply less or not at all.

3. "Where" - Where to fertilize?

Base fertilizer: mixed directly into the soil when planting. Commonly used ones include plant ash, bone meal, shell powder, decomposed poultry and livestock manure, etc. Since most succulent varieties like soil containing a certain amount of lime, an appropriate amount of bone meal, eggshell powder, and other calcareous materials can be mixed into the soil.

Top dressing: supplements the deficiency of the base fertilizer when succulents have a large demand for nutrients during a certain period (the flowering period). It should be carried out according to differences in varieties and growth stages.

Slow-release fertilizers, organic fertilizers, etc. can be buried in the soil or placed on the soil surface, while liquid fertilizers need to be sprayed on the leaves or watered onto the roots.

4. "Who" - Which varieties should be fertilized?

Fertilizing succulents needs to be done according to differences in varieties and in different seasons.

Early summer is the peak growing season for most succulent varieties in the Agavaceae, Cactaceae, Apocynaceae, Asclepiadaceae, and other families, but "winter-growing types" that grow in cool seasons, such as the Aizoaceae genera Lithops, Conophytum, and Pleiospilos, and the Liliaceae Haworthia genus (Haworthia) varieties such as Haworthia maughanii and Haworthia truncata, gradually enter dormancy or semi-dormancy, with growth completely stagnant or extremely slow and with little need for nutrients.

Therefore, "summer-growing types" must be given sufficient water and fertilizer, while "winter-growing types" should stop being fertilized to avoid root rot; and after September, "winter-growing type" succulents gradually begin to grow and should be fertilized to provide sufficient nutrients and promote plant growth, while "summer-growing type" succulents gradually enter dormancy and fertilization should be stopped.

5. How to fertilize, and how much to apply?

Fertilization is generally better dilute than concentrated, and it can be applied several more times when needed. Each fertilization amount for succulents can be roughly equal in volume to each watering amount.

Before fertilizing, the potting soil should be basically dry, and loosening the soil first before fertilizing gives better results.

The type of fertilizer should be selected according to the plant type and growth stage. Generally, the seedling stage is mainly nitrogen fertilizer, and the flower bud differentiation stage and flowering and fruiting stage are mainly phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. In spring, more nitrogen fertilizer can be used, and before overwintering, less nitrogen fertilizer should be applied. Succulents with many leaves can have slightly more nitrogen fertilizer, while stem-like succulents and spherical cactus plants should mainly use phosphorus and potassium fertilizers.

Flowering fertilizer is mainly phosphorus fertilizer and potassium fertilizer, with other elements as supplements, and it is best applied in liquid form for rapid effect. You can choose professional flower fertilizers such as Huayou and Huaduoduo, or you can directly apply monopotassium phosphate. The application ratio should be controlled at about 1:2000, that is, 1 gram of fertilizer to 2 kg of water.

It should be explained again here that some experts may think a ratio of 1:1000 is more suitable, but that is under greenhouse and glasshouse cultivation conditions, where this concentration can be used only when plants are growing vigorously. In a home environment, the speed at which plants absorb nutrients is far inferior to that in greenhouses and glasshouses, so dilute it as much as possible.

6. "Look" - Precautions!

① Newly potted plants, as well as poorly growing plants, those with damaged roots, those with wounds on stems and leaves, and own-root cultivated plants that have all turned rust-colored after being harmed by red spider mites, must not be fertilized.

② Organic fertilizer must be fully decomposed before use.

③ Newly emerged seedlings should not be fertilized within 1 month.

④ Do not use fertilizers with a strong stench in the city.

⑤ Meat broth, vegetable juice, and fresh milk or soy milk containing salt must not be used as fertilizer.

⑥ Do not place fresh eggshells upside down on the potting soil as fertilizer.