The Seven Principles of Subtraction for Growing Crassula Plants
This article introduces the knowledge of succulent plants, specifically the seven principles of subtraction for growing Crassula plants. Let's delve into this together.
Usually, we talk about the experience of growing Crassula plants. This article, however, is a summary of the subtraction method for growing succulent Crassulas by a plant enthusiast. This can help those who are not yet involved or have just started to avoid taking detours and to grow succulents rationally.
Ever since I fell into the Crassula pit, the annual cycle has been: winter—buying, spring—growing, summer—rotting, autumn—recovering. Now, the midsummer rotting season is here again, and potting has become a weekly必修课. Of course, some have strong vitality, surviving the severe summer and winter, gradually growing from seedlings to old stakes. After four years of hard work, the rooftop space I cultivate in the open is unable to accommodate more than 400 pots of increasingly large succulents. Coinciding with this year's significant drop in Crassula prices, I suddenly realized that most of the succulents are now worth less than 10% of their purchase price. Taking this opportunity, I hope to break free from the label of being a variety collector, get out of the hobby, and only keep some truly loved varieties. But with so many varieties, how should one choose? I have summarized seven principles and would like to share them with everyone here, so that you no longer feel tangled when doing subtraction.
【Face-Blind Principle】
For varieties that look similar or are indistinguishable in most periods (such as spring, summer, and autumn), only keep one or two.
For example, I have always been unable to distinguish between: Rosularia series (including White Rosularia, Blue Rosularia, Encino, Small Round Balls), Echeveria series (such as Helene and Fortune, Red Edge Echeveria and Sasha Queen, Blue Velvet and Laguna, Iliana and Starlight, various intermixed Echeveria series), Rosyuma series (including Rosyuma hybrid Rosularia, Rosyuma hybrid Ohai, Rosyuma hybrid Flower Moon Night), Snowdrop series, and Flower Moon Night series.
【Tough Meat Principle】
Under current conditions, varieties that almost always die every year can be abandoned.
For example, I am in the central part of Guangxi (Guangxi中部), where it rains all year round, and my succulents are basically left to grow on the rooftop, relying on the pumpkin vines on the roof for shade. But even with a temperature of 37°C in summer and heavy rain... you can imagine the scene of the succulents taking a sauna. In any case, the varieties that are known to die in summer, such as Little Red Coat, Little Black Coat, Quiet Night, and Jade Butterfly, are definitely淘汰ed, and variegated ones are not even worth mentioning. Currently, only Pediastrum variegatum is surviving.
【Round Face Principle】
Refer to the Adaptability Principle. Varieties that can survive but never show good condition can also be abandoned.
For example, I was once very fond of Xiuyan. Unfortunately, my cultivation skills are limited, and the humidity in central Guangxi is too high, even in winter I can't see any condition, and it's always a round, hopeless face throughout the year. I had to give it up with a heavy heart.
【Giraffe Principle】
Varieties that grow rapidly with a little water and sprawl in the shade can also be considered abandoned. Usually, these types of varieties grow very fast, are very cheap, and are basically common goods. If space is limited, it's best not to let these overexposed varieties take up your limited space.
For example:胧月, Dongmeiren, Huangli, Qiuli...
【Annual Ring Principle】
I propose the old stake principle based on three reasons. First: old stakes are relatively stable. Although Crassulas are all falling in price, with the addition of time, the depreciation rate of old stakes is not so fast, at least, it will make you feel less painful. Second: old stakes are more resistant to diseases. With the same black rot disease, many new stakes are too late to cut the head; seedlings don't need to be cut, just wait to die; while old stakes usually give you a longer buffer period, and some old stakes don't even need to be cut, just scrape the bone, dig out the rot, and apply polyoxysorbate to survive the disaster. Third: old stakes usually have small and few leaves, and the long stakes can prevent leaves from piling up around the pot edges, creating a neat and space-saving arrangement.
【Giant Principle】
Limited space is not suitable for growing giant succulents. Usually, no matter how much you control, as long as conditions are right and nutrition is sufficient, the size of succulents will always exceed your control. For example: I have a 10 cm Meishoku controlled root square pot, and I have managed to grow a晚霞 with a leaf span of 30CM, Guanghan...
No need to give examples, everyone can think of the typical ones like thin-leaf series, rolled-leaf series, and large snow mountain fairy cups.
【Family Planning Principle】
Strictly avoid the wrong idea of preferring one variety and buying and collecting无限ly. Instead, advocate the correct guiding principle of having only one good child. After visiting forums for so long, I have encountered countless crazy fans of Dan Dan, Ivory, Genki, Snowdrop, Helene, and Magic Claw, who only pursue quantity, size, and old stakes, but in the end, most of them leave in silence because they can't bear the pain of falling prices. Flower cultivation should be for the mind; if it's mixed with too much value and speculative thinking, the smell of money will overwhelm the original intention of growing flowers. The most important thing is that friends who rely on stockpiling to make a big profit usually can't compete with the (G-Y) merchants... In short, for me, only one plant of each variety, and only one good plant, is my principle.
The above introduces the complete explanation of the seven principles of subtraction for growing Crassula plants, for everyone to learn and understand!