Succulent Plant Water Control - Gardeners Speak Out
Introduction: This article introduces succulent plants and discusses water control in succulents - what gardeners have to say. Let's learn more about it.
Water control in succulent plants has always been a hot topic among succulent enthusiasts during the summer. Different gardeners have their own understanding of water control. This article is a gardener's insight into succulent plant water control, which is beneficial for succulent enthusiasts to understand. The original text has been slightly modified for easier reading.
Original Title: "One sentence 'summer water control' killed many succulents..."
Firstly, about water - succulent plants are drought-resistant, not fond of drought. Ample water is the best condition for any living organism, and drought is just something that has to be faced and adapted to.
Secondly, about temperature - both high and low temperatures can inhibit the biological activity of enzymes and various proteins, slowing down the growth rate but not stopping it. As long as a living organism doesn't die, it has metabolism, even seeds have respiration.
Therefore, succulent plants need water at any time, and if they lack water for too long, the root hairs will dry up and die. So, we still need to water them in the summer...
Why do we need to control water in the summer?
For one, the biological activity of plants decreases, and the water requirement indeed decreases; secondly, and perhaps most importantly, to prevent black rot.
High temperatures not only reduce plant activity but also provide the best breeding temperature for fungi. In conditions of abundant water, the soil in the pot is like a paradise for fungi, so plants can easily get black rot in the summer. To prevent black rot, some people came up with the method of water control or even water cutoff, because without water, fungi cannot reproduce and thus won't cause black rot.
However, this is a tactic that harms both the enemy and oneself - leading to leaf dehydration, shrinkage, and even falling off, and the death of root hairs.
Here are some situations that arise:
1. Healthy root hairs will not rot upon encountering fungi because the cell walls act as a protective layer to prevent fungal infection (this is also why, after pruning the roots, we need to let the wounds heal before planting them back in the pot). When root hairs are damaged due to excessive drought, it's like our wounded skin, which can rot upon contact with water (bacteria in the water). So, when you water next time, the injured root hairs allow fungi to take advantage, leading to black rot quickly. This is why some people, despite controlling water, rot after watering once. They blame the heavens and themselves for not controlling the water well, but it's not about not controlling it well, it's about not needing to. If you don't control water from the beginning and the root hairs are not injured, subsequent watering will not lead to black rot.
2. Regarding dormancy, most people mistakenly think of dormancy as plants becoming lifeless and completely inactive, as if it were a subjective behavior. In reality, dormancy is the manifestation of enzymes and proteins in the organism being affected by temperature, resulting in reduced activity. They do not recognize the seasons and do not decide to sleep when summer comes and wake up in autumn.
Dormancy is just because the external temperature is high, the activity of enzymes and proteins is affected, and the rate of metabolism decreases. When the temperature is suitable, the activity of enzymes is maximized, and they quickly become active. This is a dynamic process, not a seasonal one (if you raise the temperature to 40 degrees in winter, the plant's metabolism rate decreases, and it immediately enters a state of so-called dormancy). No organism will fall into complete inactivity at any stage, which means there is no such thing as complete dormancy.
With the above as the premise, in the 24 hours of summer, it's only about 40 degrees for a few hours. In the early morning, evening, and late at night, the temperature can be 35 or even below 30 degrees. At these times, plants are still active, still thinking about drinking water and growing. However, due to water control and lack of watering, they can't drink, can only silently sleep, and not grow. Moreover, at this time, the root hairs are damaged, even if there is water, they can't absorb it, only drinking a large amount of fungi. So, many people say, "I watered, but I didn't see the leaves become sturdy and vibrant," firmly stating, "Succulents really go into complete dormancy in the summer." This is actually because you forced them; they wanted to grow, but you didn't give them water. They are active, but you think they are completely inactive.
3. After a summer, plants with healthy root hairs grow a little every day, and even if it's slow, they get bigger; yours are still small. Once autumn comes and the temperature is suitable, plants with healthy root hairs quickly resume growth. After a ball day, they are large and beautiful (but actually, this beautiful state is also an unhealthy state for plants, which needs another post to discuss). Your plants, on the other hand, need to consume leaves to restore root growth, which is like repotting. Once the root hairs grow out, they can replenish the leaves, and finally, they recover to the size before the summer. Even if you think autumn has come and it's time to water generously, the root hairs may be damaged and rot again. Even if you manage to keep the plants alive through the summer, after a year or two, when you see the photos of others, their plants are almost finished products, or even old and beautiful, while you look at your own plants, which are the size of grapes with wrinkled leaves, and kick in frustration, muttering to yourself, "Damn, I've been deceived; it must be the seeds (seedlings) that are not up to standard, otherwise, why are they different?"
So, how can we keep the plants hydrated, prevent the death of root hairs, and prevent fungi from taking advantage?
Firstly, healthy root hairs can resist fungal invasion to some extent, so we must ensure the health of root hairs and not stop watering. After all, high temperatures reduce plant activity, so we don't need much water, as too much water only makes it easier for fungi to reproduce. Therefore, we need to control the amount of watering, not to pour water into the pot and let the roots soak in water, but to water around the pot, letting the soil around it get wet, and the water will seep towards the center, so the water won't be too much, and fungi won't have a good breeding ground.
Secondly, in the summer, the temperature is high, and sometimes the wind is strong, so water evaporation is actually quite fast. To keep the roots hydrated, we need to increase the frequency of watering. Yes, that's right! In spring and autumn, less water evaporates, more water is absorbed by the plants, and the plants absorb a fixed amount, so the watering interval is longer; in the summer, most of the water evaporates, and less water is poured, so we need to increase the watering frequency. Compared to spring and autumn, the total amount of water poured may be even more in the summer, not less.
Lastly, use carbendazim once every ten to fifteen days (carbendazim, not benomyl, carbendazim is better for soil disinfection and also promotes root growth, it's a good product). When fungi are dead, what's there to rot? - This is also quite important.
Adding a point about watering time: in the evening. This way, after a night of evaporation, the water you poured has evaporated by a lot, and it won't become a steam bath under the midday sun.
As long as there is no积水, the presence of water will only lower the temperature of your potting soil because of evaporation. Of course, if there is积水, it becomes a steam bath, the roots rot, and fungi are ready to pounce.
The principle is simple: water when the soil surface is dry, keeping the soil moist but not wet, damp but not waterlogged. Don't let the soil dry out or get waterlogged for too long. If there is a strong wind at night, you can try to water thoroughly. But please do this at night, not in the morning. Because what greets the morning is the scorching sun, while what greets the evening is the cool night.
The above is just pure theory, at best a "reason" or "evidence."
This is what I personally do now: when the surface soil is dry, I immediately water a circle. Since the amount of water is small and evaporation is high, the same pot of plants almost needs to be watered every other day, and if the temperature is high and the wind is strong, I water every evening. Also, since different pots have different evaporation rates and dry at different times, I actually need to water different types of plants every day, and when watering, it's hard to avoid splashing, so when the surface is slightly dry but the akadama soil on the surface is still quite dark, I still water a bit.
Even so, not a single plant has died. Moreover, several of my leggy plants that I topped (the tops were thrown away, leaving the main stem) in June (maybe) have sprouted many tops and become multi-top plants, growing healthily through the summer (since they are new sprouts, it can be clearly seen that they are growing) - of course, growing relatively slowly, just waiting for autumn to come, when they will grow rapidly and then become pseudo-old stakes...
Finally, if you just want to keep the plants alive, then just stop watering altogether, not water control, but complete cutoff, because cutoff may be better, and when you water for the first time afterward, please add a fungicide; if you have even a little bit of ambition to keep your succulents healthy all year round, with the best growth and condition, then please water in the summer, don't control the water, don't let the soil dry out. The difference between summer and spring and autumn is only the amount and frequency of watering each time, not deliberately not watering, which is harmful to its life.
In conclusion, although the above words seem reasonable and well-founded, they are still just one person's opinion. Welcome to criticize and correct.
The above is the full content of "Succulent Plant Water Control - Gardeners Speak Out," hoping it helps green plant enthusiasts!