Experience in Potting Succulents
About the experience in succulent plants, the experience of potting succulents is as follows:
The steps of potting succulents usually include changing soil → washing roots → pruning roots → soaking roots for sterilization → drying roots → air-drying → potting. There are注意事项 in each step, and here is a summary of the experience from succulent enthusiasts.
Changing soil: Regardless of whether bought from a flower market, greenhouse, or online, the original soil in the pot should be completely discarded. (Online purchases usually do not come with potting soil) For example, when I buy succulents from the greenhouse here, I always change the soil because it contains cottonseed, which is dirty and often has insects. Washing roots, make sure to wash off most of the soil from the roots. This soil may contain a large number of eggs and bacteria.
Washing roots: Wash gently, as root damage is inevitable, but try to minimize it. You can place the roots in a basin of water and shake them back and forth. It is recommended not to use a strong water jet from the faucet as it will break many roots. Shake and soak the roots several times until the white main roots are visible.
Pruning roots: After washing the roots, if necessary, prune them. Cut off the blackened or hollowed-out diseased and dead roots. Also, trim the long and tangled lateral roots to promote the growth of new fibrous roots. This will make the root system look evenly distributed and neat. After pruning, the new roots that regenerate will be strengthened, making the plant grow more robust. If you are not sure, it's fine not to prune, just remove the S roots and diseased roots.
Soaking roots for sterilization: The roots will definitely be damaged during pruning, so they need to be soaked in a properly mixed sterilizing solution for about an hour. You can use carbendazim, chlorothalonil, or thiophanate-methyl. Do not make the solution too concentrated; you can soak multiple plants in a small basin.
Drying roots: After the sterilization process, air-dry the roots. Note that it should be naturally air-dried. Generally, you can pot the same day (a few hours later). Prepare the planting material and disinfect it in advance.
About the pot: Choose a good pot and spray it with a fungicide. Personally, I recommend using terra cotta pots for succulents in the Crassulaceae family. For the genus Haworthia, you can choose resin or plastic containers. If you are an "appearance-first" person, you can choose a ceramic pot, but it must have drainage holes. Don't consider materials like iron or woven baskets, as they can rust or mold, which will drive you crazy. It may not be obvious at first, but you will know after a while that they are not practical.
Let me talk about using terra cotta pots. When you buy a terra cotta pot, you need to soak it in water for a while before using it because terra cotta is fired in fire, and it has fire energy that needs to be neutralized with water.
The sequence of potting succulents is: large particles at the bottom, small particles on top, with the particle size of the planting material gradually decreasing from bottom to top, which is beneficial for drainage.
The above is the experience in potting succulents (summary by enthusiasts), hoping it is helpful to you!