Is growing succulents in the ground feasible? This article tells you the answer

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ForewordQian Yan

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It's rare for me to post a long text post; there isn't much useful experience to share. Just treat it as a record...

My rooftop ground planting started by accident at first, from March 2014 to now, a year and a half, and because Xichang's weather conditions are suitable for ground planting, I can't really speak of much experience, so I can only share some things that everyone can use for reference.

1. Ground planting is fully exposed cultivation, with no shade and no rain cover, so it mainly depends on the weather and temperature conditions

In Xichang's weather, the highest summer temperature is around 40, and it cools down when it rains, so there generally isn't high temperature and high humidity, and in winter it doesn't drop to zero degrees.

For the two spots where I chose to plant in the ground, I try to ensure they only get half a day of sun (in summer, when the sunlight is very strong, all-day sun exposure easily causes sunburn).

As for rain, both this year and last year's summer had about half a year of rain, which basically had no impact on ground planting, but for potted plants, I still suggest covering them from rain. Although fully exposed cultivation looks much better, it's uncontrollable and prone to problems.

2. Soil mixing

The soil mix for ground planting doesn't have as high requirements as for potted plants.

My ground planting started by accident, because at the time I had hauled a cart of soil and had too much left over... What I now use for ground planting is 90% yellow sandy soil (yellow sand, not yellow grit), very fine, not water-retentive, because the rooftop itself has a 10 cm thick layer of soil mixed with stones, so drainage isn't a problem.

Ensure good drainage and no water accumulation; a bottom drainage layer of about 10 cm, and a planting soil layer of about 10 cm is also enough.

3. Groundplanting pests

The most harmful pest observed so far in ground planting is slugs, and slugs especially like to eat the Echeveria elegans line...

Compared with the most harmful pests in potted plants, scale insects and root mealybugs, in ground planting only one plant has been observed to get them so far, and after plants that had scale insects were moved to ground planting, they basically disappeared after a while without spraying.

Caterpillars and green worms all preferentially chose the potted plants; ground-planted ones had relatively far fewer.

So for the ground-planted ones, I basically used no pesticides.

4. Fertilizer use

Because I use 90% yellow sandy soil, I always feel it seems to have no nutrients, so after a while I add fertilizer once, compound fertilizer, home-made composted fertilizer, phosphorus and potassium fertilizer, I've used them all randomly; whether they had an effect is hard to say.

5. Watering

Rather casual; water whenever I want, and if I don't want to, watering a day or two later is fine too; morning or evening both work, directly using a water nozzle to water.

With only half a day of sun, even if water remains in the center of the rosette after watering, there is some scorching, but the proportion is small, and basically no care is needed.

6. Varieties not suitable for ground planting

Observed so far: White Peony, Red Makeup, Echeveria derenbergii, Red Claw, Peach Egg, and Crassula varieties like the Xiaomi Star type.

In the end, conditions differ by place and by person, so you can only try step by step and find a method that suits you.

So-called growing skill should be combining local weather to find a suitable method and cultivate the best condition.

Observe frequently: first, observe suitable planting conditions; second, when succulents have problems, rescue them in time and summarize the reasons.

Let's take a look at the expert's freshly made succulent ground planting; many pictures, so browsing with WiFi is recommended.

Only when they've colored up do I dare take close-up shots

To be honest, are you captivated by the beauty? Are you itching to try?! Succulent lovers with the conditions, take action!