How to cultivate succulent plants
Main content introduction: Little knowledge about succulent plants, how to cultivate them, keep reading!
There are already too many articles on how to cultivate succulent plants, and every plant enthusiast gains experience after a period of time. For those who want to gain experience, it's not very meaningful to copy others' methods directly. Combining others' experience with one's own situation, accumulating and summarizing more can gradually lead to successful succulent cultivation. Here is the experience of a plant enthusiast who has been cultivating succulents for three years.
1. The environment for cultivating succulent plants
As everyone knows, outdoor cultivation is the best choice. Why? Glass can block a lot of ultraviolet rays, and the coloring of succulents mainly relies on the exposure to ultraviolet light. Moreover, the outdoor environment is well-ventilated, which is also good for succulents. All plants need a ventilated environment, as ventilation can carry away many mold spores, preventing succulents from rotting. Here is a brief description of the author's environment:
The author lives on the fourth floor, with a wall at the end of the house, and the west side faces the national road in the yard. Behind the house is someone else's office compound, and there are no trees blocking the front. The southernmost part gets full sunlight, with the sun starting to shine around 6:30 am and lasting until sunset in the afternoon. The ventilation conditions are good.
2. Soil mixture issues
The reason for placing soil mixture second is that many plant enthusiasts fail due to soil mixture. More granules, more granules, more granules — this is an important point repeated three times. Beginner enthusiasts know that the basic soil mixture is peat, vermiculite, and perlite in a 1:1:1 ratio. However, many beautiful succulents from South Korea have an extremely high amount of granules, with some varieties almost purely granular. The author's soil mixture includes peat, vermiculite (3MM), perlite (occasionally), akadama (1MM), volcanic rock (2-3MM), coarse sand, and recently some coal slag. However, the author really dislikes coal slag, as it is dusty and dirty. Being very lazy, the author dislikes the hassle of stepping, pressing, sifting, and washing coal slag, and it makes a lot of dust, making the place look like a mess. Moreover, cleaning up afterward is a nuisance. However, this stuff is really useful if you don't mind the trouble. My soil mixture is mostly peat with the rest being 1. The succulents in the author's home have grown very well with full roots, and they rarely rot or lose color.
Therefore, granules should be abundant. Peat is self-explanatory, but occasionally the author also uses coconut coir. I use whatever I have. Vermiculite, I prefer larger granules, as smaller ones tend to become powdery over time, so I use 3-6mm granules. Volcanic rock was initially bought for its low price to be used as mulch, but it was a big mistake! Don't use volcanic rock for mulch, as it will cause rot. Akadama is really good, useful for sowing, mixing soil, and root growth, and it doesn't become powdery easily. It's a bit expensive, though.
3. Watering issues
Watering succulents is a complex topic. Many friends like to pour water directly on the plants, which I think is a big mistake. In summer, it can cause rot, and in spring and autumn, it can lead to sunburn. I usually soak the pots, high-waisted soak, but not the kind that is completely transparent. Generally, the water does not float up, keeping the humidity around the roots and not affecting the leaves and stems, thus preventing water from entering wounds. In spring and autumn, I usually water every 10 days if it doesn't rain, and if it does, I let them get rained on but always remove the water from the center of the plant. Some enthusiasts don't know when to water, but it's simple: if the leaves are wrinkled, water them; if not, don't water. Never water just because the soil is dry; succulents don't need it.
4. Surviving the summer
After a summer, everyone probably has significant damage. Have you found the reason? First, if you cultivate outdoors, did you take them inside during the summer? Suddenly changing the environment from a comfortable, well-ventilated space to an indoor, high-temperature environment can be problematic. Second, did you water too much? Watering in the summer must be done with extreme caution, as it's very easy to cause black rot due to high temperatures and humidity. If there's even a small wound, it can rot and, with the high temperature during the day, it can mature quickly. In the summer, I usually water during cool times, like when I come back from work in the evening, pouring a little water around the pot edges without watering the plant directly or letting the water flow out. Not watering at all during the summer can make it difficult to recover in the fall, so it's necessary to water and keep the roots alive, but also pay attention to the degree of watering.
Shading in the summer is a must, and here's a shading net that's very suitable for small homes: window screen. Yes, the kind of anti-insect screen installed on windows. It doesn't fade easily and works well. I use three layers stacked together.
Also, be sure to prevent pests in early spring and late spring! In early spring, you can bury and spray insecticides, mainly for prevention. If there's a major outbreak, you can pull them out, wash with water, dry them, and then continue planting.
Do you know the detailed introduction on how to cultivate succulent plants now?