How to Grow Succulents
Today's little experience sharing: Introduction to succulents, how to grow succulents, the following is introduced by the editor of this site.
Succulents, as the name suggests, are called succulents because they are rich in water and juice. The abundance of water and juice means that the plants themselves have a lot of moisture. Understanding this is quite important. They are different from herbaceous plants. During the growing season, herbaceous flowers basically need to be watered every 1 to 2 days, while succulents themselves store a lot of moisture.
Beginners can water according to the state of the plant and the dryness of the soil. It sounds simple, but the specific operation is quite particular. For Sedum plants growing normally, you can observe the leaves. If the soil surface is dry and the leaves are slightly wrinkled and lackluster, you can water them. This operation is helpful for novices who do not understand. If you are familiar with it, you can water it when the potting soil is completely dry. Once a month, you can water it with diluted fungicide such as Dithane M-45, which can prevent the invasion of bacteria (this is the watering method for healthy succulents with leaves, which is the watering method for some beginners who buy them directly with pots).
Nowadays, online shopping is so developed that most of the plants sent by express are without soil. This is a big problem for beginners. First of all, what kind of soil should be used? There is no fixed standard for this. The soil only needs to be breathable. However, beginners are not advised to use garden soil or soil from flower beds, because these soils tend to harden after watering, leading to plant root suffocation and death or root rot. Breathable soil is actually available around us, such as: river sand (needs to be cleaned, remove powder, particles from 1 to 5 millimeters are all right, depending on the needs of the plant), coal cinder (crushed and remove powder, then wash away the dust, the particle size is generally 1 to 3 millimeters, the larger ones can be placed at the bottom of the pot), and red brick, which needs to be smashed with great effort and made into small 3-millimeter particles (once saw a flower friend do this). These are the planting materials that we can easily get in our daily life. These planting materials can be mixed with a small amount of peat or not mixed with peat, all can be used to cultivate succulent plants.
Many flower friends will ask, there is no river sand and coal cinder in my city. Haha, unless you live in a city that is not China, in the construction sites around us, there are river sands everywhere, but it is better not to get sea sands, because sea sands contain a lot of salt. Freshwater sands are natural. Generally, (N-D) are freshwater sands, and coastal cities are generally sea sands. You can ask for some when you go to the construction site, and people will give them to you. Secondly, coal cinder. Coal balls can be seen in every city in China. Now, because of environmental problems, coal ball stoves have been eliminated in many big cities. However, you can still see many breakfast stalls, night markets, small food stalls, and canteens around you, where you can see burned coal balls (you can find pictures by searching on Baidu, or you can refer to the blog posts of Kite). It is not raw coal cinder, but burned coal balls. These coal balls can be crushed (many flower friends react that the coal cinder becomes powder after being trampled, which is because the quality of the coal ball is not good, there is too much mud, so you need to get more coal balls). After sieving and washing to remove the fire, dry them before using them. There is also Akadama soil, pumice, diatomite,鹿沼土, vermiculite, perlite, peat, etc., which can be bought in flower markets or on certain online platforms. There are many types of soil, which can be mixed together or used alone to cultivate plants. Whether mixed or single, the soil needs to be breathable.
What is breathable? That is to say, when you pour water into the pot, the water will flow out immediately from the bottom of the pot. This is the most ideal condition. According to the different plants, you can add some peat or other materials. The choice of planting materials depends on your own habits. There is no fixed rule on what to use. Therefore, beginners only need to ensure that the planting materials are breathable, and the water can flow out immediately from the bottom of the pot after watering. After talking for so long, you should have a general understanding of the planting materials, and you don't need to ask every day which planting materials are good. Kite's planting materials: coal cinder mixed with a small amount of peat, pure coal cinder, pure river sand, or river sand mixed with a small amount of peat, sometimes adding some perlite or vermiculite.
Next, let's talk about the pots. In fact, there is no particular requirement for the pots. Plastic, iron, wood, porcelain, purple sand, as long as you can think of a container, you can use it to plant flowers. However, they require one thing, which is that the bottom of the pot must have a drainage hole. If there is no drainage hole, it is difficult to control the moisture. Although many girls like to use glass cups, wine glasses, etc., which are temporarily without holes, as long as they pay attention to watering, they can still survive. However, if you are a long-term enthusiast, it is best to change to pots with drainage holes. The pot is not the most crucial factor. Kite has various types of pots, such as pottery, porcelain, purple sand, plastic, paper, etc. Chocolate boxes, ice cream boxes that we usually eat, as long as they can hold some soil, they can be used to cultivate flowers. Choose pots of corresponding heights according to the plant roots.
Watering... The soil and pots mentioned earlier are not the main factors. The most important thing is watering. When you choose good soil and pots, if you don't control the watering well, there will still be losses. Let's take the bare root plants that are ready to be planted in the pots as an example. Generally, the plants that are ready to be planted in the pots need to be planted after pruning the roots and drying the wounds. Try to use slightly moist soil for planting, and do not water them. What is slightly moist soil? Many beginners have no scale to measure. How to determine if the soil is slightly moist? Use our hands to feel it. After mixing the soil, add some water, and when you can make a ball with your hands and the soil will scatter when you let go, it is in the right state. If you can't control it, just grab the soil with your hands. There should be no sticky feeling on your hands, and the soil looks wet. At this time, the soil is the best for planting plants. Mix some dry Dithane M-45 powder with the soil, which can inhibit bacterial invasion of the capillary roots after root growth. If you want to add preventive drugs such as Furadan or soil insecticides, after mixing the slightly moist soil, pour in the preventive drugs, and mix them evenly with something. The plants planted with slightly moist soil generally need to be placed in a cool and ventilated place for about 5 to 10 days until they dry out completely. This drying time depends on the season and environment.
After the soil in the pot is completely dry, you can water it for the second time. This time of watering is relatively important. You can use water with Dithane M-45 or purified water, and pour a circle around the pot, so that the water can slowly penetrate to the roots of the plants. In this way, the newly developed capillary roots will not easily dry out again. The amount of water given this time depends on the permeability of the planting materials. How to judge? That is, after this time of watering, the water can slowly penetrate to the roots of the plants. This degree is not easy for beginners to control. However, the water is mixed with Dithane M-45, so it won't cause too much problem even if the water is given more. Beginners are better to give less water. If you accidentally give more water, it is easy to rot the roots. Compared to watering the newly planted plants, there is no big problem. A little more water will not cause too much problem. Good ventilation generally has no problem.
The most difficult to control is the watering of plants in dormancy. Many succulents will enter dormancy during the high and low temperature periods in summer and winter, especially this summer, which is extremely hot and exceeds previous years. Due to the high temperature, many plants have died during dormancy due to insufficient resistance. Some plants with good resistance, after the temperature gradually drops in autumn, because the watering amount and amplitude are not well controlled, a large number of plants have died. Even experienced enthusiasts cannot always avoid it. In summer, the watering amplitude and amount are different in the north and south environments, and different plants need different amounts of water. It would take three days and nights to explain this. Here, Kite will tell you an easy-to-use method.
When the temperature in summer gradually drops, you must be patient and control your hands. Don't look at the weather forecast and think that it will be low temperature for the next 10 days. The weather forecast may not be accurate. At the end of summer, when it is the rainy season, you need to pay attention to watering. The plants at the end of summer are extremely thirsty after experiencing the scorching heat. At this time, we cannot let them drink enough water at one time. Why? Just like when we exercise, we will feel extremely thirsty because we sweat a lot during exercise. At this time, we need to replenish water. If we drink too much at once, we cannot accept it. We must divide it into several times to slowly quench our thirst. Plants are the same. They consume nutrients and water in summer. At this time, if you give them a lot of water, the plants will be happy and absorb water desperately. In a moment, the leaves will become full and loose, and the excess water cannot dissipate. If the temperature is slightly higher, the plants will rot from the roots to the top of the plant. This is also why many flower friends still have a lot of plants die in autumn after the summer. Both rain and watering can cause damage. The specific method should be, when the temperature drops, don't rush to give a lot of water. At this time, the plants are the most in need of water and nutrients. We can only gradually give water. The plants after summer are relatively weak and have poor resistance. When watering, it is safer to dilute some Dithane M-45 water. Don't give too much water at one time. Many beginners do not know what gradual watering means. Here is an explanation: gradual watering, for example, when we first water about one-sixth of the pot soil, that is, there is water 1 centimeter below the soil layer, wait for the soil to dry out, then water 2 to 3 centimeters of soil layer to moisten, and then wait for the pot soil to dry out, water 5 to 6 centimeters of soil layer to moisten (some flower friends also calculate it by dripping, in general, no matter how to water, it is all right, everyone's method is different). Gradual watering is to give water according to the state of the plant. It takes a long time to accumulate experience to grasp this degree. As the saying goes: watering takes ten years of practice, which means that watering requires experience accumulation. Generally, the plants at home of flower friends, after the adaptation period, watering is still easy to grasp. More observation and more questions are what beginners need to experience. Different plants have different watering needs, which are gradually accumulated in the process of breeding. Regional climate also affects the water demand of plants.
Kite hopes that all succulent enthusiasts will take a look at the relevant information before buying plants or after buying them, at least know a little, so that your plants will not die in a daze. For unfamiliar varieties, it is better to give less water and slowly cultivate them, don't be eager for success and want to grow them big at once. As long as the plants are not dead, after a year, the basic habits will be understood, and then they can be managed normally next year. If you can make notes, it will be very helpful for long-term management. The above is a general description of watering. Specific varieties need specific treatment, waiting for the flower friends to become familiar with them.
Don't copy the materials mechanically. The materials are all dead and may not be suitable for your growing environment. You need to be flexible and adaptable to grow the plants better. The amount of water during the dormancy period is even less. Since the plants are dormant, you only need to maintain the roots not to dry out excessively and die. However, a small amount of water is still necessary. Generally, succulents at home have small pots and less soil. If you don't give them any water during the whole dormancy period, some varieties will die completely. As for the watering, flower friends should refer to more materials according to their own environment and master it flexibly.
Having talked about soil, pots, and water, let's talk about the plants. Nowadays, the Internet is so developed that there are many foreign plants and more and more channels to buy succulents. For beginners, how should they handle the new plants at home? Kite will briefly explain it.
Succulent plants, generally, the sellers will send them without pots, first for the safety of transportation, secondly to avoid the spread of bacteria with the potting soil to the new owner's home. Generally, the plants after long-distance transportation will be dried before shipping, first for easy packaging and not easy to fall off leaves, secondly to remove some moisture, so that it will not rot during the long express delivery. The plants that lack water are easier to survive. Although the plants you receive are soft, Kite usually checks them. For those that are too full, I will trim the roots and dry them for a few days. If it is a tuberous plant, the drying time after trimming the roots will be longer, which can be one to two months. Only after dehydration can new roots grow faster. The reason is very simple. Plants need to drink water when they are thirsty, and they need to grow roots to drink water. They all absorb water through roots. If you plant the full plants in the pots and water them immediately or the potting soil is too wet, it is not easy for new roots to grow quickly because the plants themselves do not lack much water. If you let them drink water again, how can they drink it? If the potting soil is too wet, the roots will rot. This is also a misunderstanding of many beginners. They always think that the fuller the plants are, the better. Because the plants we buy online come from different places. If they are naturally cultivated, giving them some water is acceptable. However, for plants from high temperature and high humidity (such as greenhouse shed or large water and large fertilizer cultivated) places, dehydration is necessary, otherwise, it is easy to rot if there is too much water. Sedum plants are okay, and they basically dehydrate during the express delivery. For globular, Hoya, tuberous and other highly fleshy succulents, it is necessary to trim the roots and dry them when they come home. 3 to 5 days may not be enough because we don't know where they come from. Dehydration is more conducive to the plant's regrowth and faster adaptation to our growing environment.
When new plants are received, many flower friends will ask Kite if they can fertilize them after planting in pots. Dear friends, can you take it easy? Although Kite also wants to grow the plants better and bigger, for newly planted plants that have not yet stabilized, it is not suitable to fertilize them. The roots have not grown well, can they absorb the fertilizer? Generally, when the plants grow more stable, a small amount of thin fertilizer can be given. Generally, there are slow-release fertilizer, water-soluble fertilizer, green fertilizer, etc. Sometimes Kite will add some water-soluble fertilizer to some plants, which is easy to operate, just mix it with water. There is also slow-release fertilizer, which is relatively good. It can also be mixed with soil during sowing. Just put a few grains on the soil surface, which is very convenient. Kite never uses green fertilizer. Most succulent plants grow in relatively barren sandy soil with almost no nutrients, relying on the nourishment of rainwater. Although they have no nutrients, they grow very healthy, and their colors are more natural and beautiful. Some flower friends will worry, without nutrients, how can they grow? In fact, in water, soil, and air, there are all the elements they need for growth. Don't worry about this. Although we have not given any fertilizer, the plants may not be as big or strong as others, but they can still bloom and change with the seasons. Moreover, they are healthier and more tenacious. Plants with large water and large fertilizer can only show their beauty temporarily and may die under adverse weather conditions. In 2013, the high temperature, many flower friends' losses should be greater than previous years.
Let's talk about sunlight. All plants need sunlight, but not all plants like strong sunlight. Many beginners will ask Kite whether they can be exposed to sunlight immediately after planting in pots. Yes, plants need sunlight, but we also need to wait for them to stabilize before exposing them to sunlight. If we urgently expose them to sunlight, not only the roots will not grow well, but the plants themselves may gradually dehydrate and die. We should let them grow roots well in a cool and ventilated environment first, and then gradually expose them to sunlight until they adapt before they can be exposed to sunlight. Most succulent plants in the growing period generally need sunlight, while during the dormancy period, they still need to avoid strong sunlight, such as in summer. Many succulent plants will enter dormancy at this time. What we need to do is to shade, ventilate, and water less. This time, Kite went out for a motorcycle trip for 5 days, and when I came back, I found that a gap had been opened in the shading net by the strong wind, and all the Lithops and Sedum under the gap had been bleached and dried, even the sun-resistant varieties had their leaves scorched and sunburned, and it would take a long time to recover. Of course, there are also many sun-resistant plants that grow in summer, such as strong spiny cacti. They can be exposed to strong sunlight. If not exposed to strong