How to Grow Succulents? An Extensive Guide with All the Helpful Tips!

Introduction

Succulents are one the most remarkable type of plants out there. Compared to other plants, succulents don’t need too much care from you. But, this doesn’t mean that you can leave them to grow by themselves. They need to be checked from time to time and should be provided the ideal environment to ensure their health.

So how can you grow healthy succulents? In today’s article, I will be answering some common questions. So, let’s get started!

You need to grow succulents in well-drained soil under partial shade or full sunlight. Water them sparingly once every week between spring and autumn. Reduce the frequency and water them once every six weeks otherwise. Only get a succulent that is suitable for your environment.

How to Grow Succulents?

As specified, you need to grow succulents in well-drained soil under partial shade or full sunlight. Water them once every week in the growing season and once every six weeks otherwise. It is best to check the succulent type carefully before purchase to ensure you can fulfill its needs.

Indoors

Succulents are adapted to the warmer environment and don’t mind some neglect. Growing a succulent indoors is not much different than growing other types of plants. But you need to fulfill some requirements to make sure your succulent grows.

If you are looking for exotic indoor plants with low maintenance requirements, then succulents are your best option. Let’s check out some factors that need to be taken care of when planting succulents indoors.

Provide proper levels of sunlight

On average, a succulent requires about 3 to 4 hours of direct sunlight daily. Most succulents prefer early morning sunlight compared to the harsh afternoon sun that can burn some succulents. So for the best results, make sure you place your succulent on a windowsill with some partial shade.

Warning

If proper sunlight is not provided, your succulent might get uprooted or will stretch towards the light

If you see such troubling symptoms or see the leaves falling apart, then the best long-term remedy would be to move the plant to a sunny location. If that’s not possible, you can try using a bright LED or CFL light, like this 45 w LED grow light available at Amazon.

Choose the Right Succulent

Some succulent prefer full sunlight, while some prefer a mix of partial shade and direct sunlight. So, choose your required plant based on the environment. For example, if your house can’t provide much light, then you should go for low-light tolerant succulents such as a mother-in-law’s-tongue plant.

Note

Read the plant label carefully as it will help you determine its needs such as light required, water needed, size and spread of the succulent

Furthermore, if you are looking for plants that could go well in a hanging planter. I would suggest you check out String of hearts, String of pearls, or String of bananas. These would make a beautiful addition to your indoor decoration.

I would also recommend checking out some beautiful hanging planters like Triflora Hanging Planter available on Amazon if you don’t own one already.

Choose an appropriate pot

Succulents don’t like large pots with improper drainage. So, you need to pick an ideal pot for your succulent that can give it some inches of space sideways and 1 to 2 inches space on the bottom side for the roots to spread efficiently. Make sure to avoid glass containers for your succulents as they don’t provide much room for the roots to breathe. Since this can cause standing water, it may also lead to root rot.

Reminder

You need to ensure proper drainage for your succulent

Ideal Soil Conditions

Many succulents start getting uprooted if they don’t like the soil conditions provided to them. So remember to provide your succulent with proper drainage. If you are wondering how to create such an environment for your succulent? To do this, I would recommend you to use this fantastic Amazon product with a drainage saucer to create a well-drained soil, ideal for most succulents.

Caution

Avoid standing water at all costs, it is harmful to the growth of your succulent and in many cases it cause root root.

Don’t Overwater/Underwater

First, you must ensure the soil is well-drained, so it gets dry between waterings and doesn’t allow the water to stand in the pot for a long time. After that, make sure you don’t over-water your succulent because succulents enjoy a little drought. If these keep getting over-watered, their roots will most likely start rotting.

Note

Every succulent has varying requirements. So, make sure you check the plant label and follow it accordingly.

Set a routine of watering your succulent and follow that routine. It would be best to water them once every 1 to 2 weeks between spring to autumn and once every six weeks otherwise. By doing this, you won’t underwater or overwater your succulent.

Fertilizing the succulent

The best time to use fertilizer on succulents is during spring and in late summer. You can select various fertilizers based on your succulent needs but, I would recommend you to try this Miracle-Gro Succulent fertilizer for your succulent. Succulents go dormant during winter, so you don’t need to use fertilizer during this time.

Recommended Indoor plants

1. String of hearts
2. String of pearls
3. Aloe Vera (Medicine plant)
4. Jade plant
5. Hens-and-chicks
6. Mother-in-law’s tongue
7. Christmas kalanchoe
8. Zebra cactus
9. Chocolate soldier
10. String of bananas

Outdoors

You need to grow succulent in well-drained soil under partial or full sun. Water them every week from spring to autumn. and once every 6 weeks from autumn to winter. Remember to check your succulent type and choose the ideal one for your environment. Succulent types may have different water and light requirements, so it is recommended to check the succulent type thoroughly.

There is a wide range of succulents available for your gardens. It would help if you were mindful of some things to make sure your succulents grow properly. Some of these things include outside temperature, rainfall, and the intensity of sunlight. So keeping all these in mind, you would need to select an ideal succulent. Let’s check out how these factors influence your succulent.

Sunlight

Succulents tend to do very well under the direct sun. On average, a succulent requires about 3 to 4 hours of direct sun daily, and if the succulents don’t get enough light, they tend to get weak, start uprooting, get stretched. Therefore, based on the succulent type, try to provide them with as much direct sunlight as needed.

Pro Tip

Succulents with colourful foliage take more sunlight then the ones with green variegated varieties

Most succulents prefer the early morning sun compared to the harsh afternoon sun that can burn some succulents. For such succulents that don’t do well when the temperature gets too hot, you need to find a place that provides shade during the harsh afternoon spell.

Rainfall

Succulents tend to handle drought periods quite well. But this doesn’t mean you should leave them to grow on their own. They should be watered, often in the spring and summer periods. Based on the succulent type, some may even survive with just rainwater alone, while some succulents need to be watered from time to time.

Pro Tip

In winters and a spell of bad weather repot your succulent and place it under a protective cover for their safety

Succulents shouldn’t be overwatered, as this can lead to root rot and cause severe damage to them. For the safety of succulents, you should place them on the drier side of your garden to help them survive heavy rainfalls and harsh winter conditions.

Varying temperatures

Succulents tend to perform best in hot climates. Some succulents can handle the direct heat well, while some might get their leaves scorched by the hot afternoon sun. For this reason, you need to check the plant type and choose a plant that could survive the varying climate conditions of your environment.

In the winter season, many succulents need protection from frost damage and a cold environment. As most succulents don’t handle cold well, you should provide the proper cover for them during winters or repot them to a safer environment.

Soil condition

Succulents need well-drained soil for ideal growth. So, you should check the soil’s drainage by digging a hole of about 30cm and filling it with water. You should come back after half an hour and, if the water has dried up, that means the soil is well-drained. But, if the water is still standing, you should add a mixture of 7cm of sand or other gritty material to improve the soil’s drainage.

Caution

Overwatering or standing water would cause root rot which in turn may lead to the death of the succulent. So, make sure the soil is perfect for your succulent

Pest problem

Succulents can become targeted by various bugs and rot conditions if you are not careful. The most common enemies of your succulent are scale, mealybugs, and root mealybugs. Other less common bugs which are still a threat include spider mites and fungus gnats. The best solution to deal with them is rinsing the plant with insecticidal soap such as Safer Brand Insecticidal. After rinsing it with soap and let it dry for about a day. During this period, you need to protect the succulent from direct sunlight to avoid sunburn.

Note

Overwatering your succulent is the lead cause of root rot and various pests

Recommended Outdoor plants

1. Aloe Vera(Medicine plant)
2. Sempervium- Hens-and-Chicks, Red Lion, Gold Nugget, Blue Ice
3. Plush Plant (Echeveria pulvinata)
4. Dudleya
5. Black Rose (Aeonium Arboreum ‘Zwartkop’)
6. Sunburst (Aeonium davidbramwellii)
7. Echeveria- Perle von Nurnberg, Minima, Cubic Frost, Lola, Purple Pearl
8. Sedum - Dragon’s Blood, Firestorm, Dasyphyllum, Little Missy
9. Crassula Ovata Jade
10. Agave Blue Glow

Recommended Helpful Products

Concluding thoughts

In today’s article, I answered all the basic questions you might have had at the start of this article. I listed all the essential factors that may affect your succulent in the indoor environment and outdoor environments. I provided you different variants of succulents to place indoors and outdoors. You can choose any one from the list and start your planting journey. Just remember to choose one according to your environment. Be there for your succulent when it needs you.

If you’re new to all of this and want to learn more, I recommend that you read more about succulents and the pots you will need to grow them. I recommend this post that will tell you how to choose a perfect pot for your succulent!

Posted in: Gardening Tips Succulent Health Watering Tips Indoor Gardening Outdoor Gardening