A brief discussion on the impact of fertilization on the growth of succulents
If you want to learn about the knowledge of succulents, a brief discussion on the impact of fertilization on the growth of succulents, the following is a detailed introduction for you
On the surface, because most succulents live in desert and wilderness areas with poor soil, it seems that their demand for nutrients is small. In fact, it is also true that there is little organic matter in such areas, which is definitely not as fertile as tropical rainforests. Naturally, plants that have evolved in such environments must have slow growth rates, which is also a need for survival of the fittest. Therefore, for home-grown succulents, if they cannot be provided with adequate nutrients to promote their growth to some extent, it will lead many friends to lose patience with them, and ultimately result in a loss of enthusiasm. Frankly speaking, these plants really grow very slowly!
In the wild, no one cares about the growth rate of succulents, but it's different at home. Who doesn't want their darling to change every day? Just like we build greenhouses ourselves, we create high temperature differences and high humidity to promote their growth, and they can also grow more beautifully, unlike wild succulents that look weathered.
To make succulents grow more beautifully and relatively faster (which is very rewarding), fertilization is a very important part. On the basis of being able to keep succulents alive, we should aim to take better care of them. However, I personally think that from a conservative standpoint, it's better not to fertilize succulents for beginners. Because succulents are not very demanding when it comes to fertilizer, the trace elements in general soil are enough to cope. Fertilization often uses liquid fertilizers, which can cause side effects similar to improper watering. The main reason is that the most common mindset when growing succulents is to rush to grow them too quickly. After all, succulents have their own unique physiological characteristics, and although we can speed up their growth to some extent by changing the local environment, we cannot fundamentally change them, or we will fail.
Therefore, the issue of fertilizing succulents can actually be divided into two steps:
First, prepare a good growing soil when potting. The main advantage of this is that you don't have to worry about fertilization in the future. Because succulents actually have a relatively small demand for nutrients, unlike plants like jasmine that are fond of fertilizer, they need to be fertilized thoroughly when repotting every year, as well as frequent top dressing. Generally, you can directly bury some slow-release flower fertilizers at the bottom of the pot, which is clean and simple and works well, especially suitable for girls. If you don't mind getting dirty, you can add organic bottom fertilizers, and if you have birds at home, it's a win-win situation. You can also buy ready-made bone meal. According to some experts in succulents, it works well, especially for cacti, as long as you mix in an appropriate amount of bone meal in the soil, you don't have to consider fertilizing again for the year.
Second, apply top dressing at the right time. This situation is relatively complex because although they are all cacti, different varieties have different characteristics, and the differences are significant. Moreover, succulents belong to different families, although they all have drought resistance, the differences are still great, and they should be treated differently and fertilized cautiously. From my own experience (limited skills, still need to constantly summarize), for some robust varieties, such as cactus, cactus ball, nipple cactus, and strong spines, etc., as long as you follow the principle of "frequent application of thin fertilizer" during the growing season, there is no problem.
For some slow-growing varieties like rock peony, crown of thorns, and flower笼, as well as the succulents of the Lithops genus, it's better to water less or not at all. This means that fertilization and watering should match the growth rate of these varieties. The slower the watering needed, the less fertilizer is needed. However, some succulents are often fertilized with fast-acting fertilizers to increase temperature differences and promote growth, and the results are significant. Therefore, fertilization must be adjusted according to the growth of the succulents, which can create a virtuous cycle.
Finally, what kind of fertilizer to apply. Of course, the three major elements nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are indispensable. However, different plants have different focuses on these three elements. For example, leguminous plants have rhizobia in their roots that can fix nitrogen from the air, so nitrogen fertilizers are not needed. Similarly, for cacti, since their leaves are degenerated, the demand for nitrogen fertilizers is naturally reduced, and if too much is applied, the ball will easily grow, so more phosphorus and potassium fertilizers should be applied; the same is true for succulents, as too much nitrogen fertilizer will destroy the compact plant shape and reduce ornamental value. Also, cacti like calcium, so it should be supplemented.
The above is [] about the impact of fertilization on the growth of succulents, hoping it helps you!