The Right Way to Grow and Care for Succulents

You will find tons of people out there who deeply care about the well-being of their succulents that they grow with so much love and care. Succulents are a tad bit different from the other general plants that you get for your home, its usage and beauty appeals to a lot of admirers of the plant out there. Just like every other plant you pot and take care of, if you are interested in planting succulents – you must know how to care for succulents as well. You might require to put in a little more effort as these succulents have extremely thick tissues and need dedicated care for them. Only proper care can make succulents grow faster.

Tips to Grow Healthy Succulents

Everything you need to care for and nurture requires some tips to follow, which will make the process effective. The same logic applies to taking care of succulents and doing it properly so that you nurture their growth. Some might be dealing with succulents for the first time, and in that case, these tips come very handy in helping to care for succulents indoors. Let us have a look at some of the tips that can prove to be beneficial to provide sufficient and necessary care to these succulents:

1. Keep Them Near the Sun

The sun is always a plant’s best friend. Especially for succulents that have such thick tissues and are desert plants are always in need of as much sunshine as possible. So ensure that you place them in a sunny area when you decide to plant them.

2. Enough Space Between Succulents

Succulents require ample spacing so that no sunlight is blocked and they remain healthy.

3. Avoid Unnecessary Pruning

Succulents are said to have a languid pace in their growth. Therefore it hardly requires any pruning except when it is creating a shade over another foliage – that can be a problem.

4. Control Watering the Succulents

The sheer beauty of succulents lies in the fact that they can store a sufficient amount of water in their thick stems. Hence excessive watering is not required as compared to other plants that need it more consistently.

5. Responsible Pest Control

Pest control for plants is significant, and the same goes for succulents. Gardeners should pay special attention to make sure that any harmful insects do not infest succulents.

6. Ensure Sufficient Warmth

Succulents are not tolerant of cold climates; therefore, you should put constant efforts into making sure that they remain warm because even the lightest of frost can prove extremely harmful to them.

How Big Do Succulents Get?

Before you deep dive into more pressing questions about whether you should go for pots or go ahead and plant succulents in the ground, or maybe you are more interested in the tips that would help you understand how to propagate succulent leaves. But before we deal with those common doubts regarding succulents – we need to start from the basic where we first comprehend what exactly it is and how big they can potentially get. Understanding the sizing varieties of succulents can also come to be very useful when you decide whether you want to plant them indoors or outdoors based on their sprouting size.

We have already discussed how these succulents look – their stems look extremely fleshy because of their adaptive mechanism of storing water in them. This also is connected with the tip mentioned earlier, that they do not require too much watering because they already do the job of storing enough of it as per their need. These succulents are all about water storage and water-saving, which can be witnessed in the various features of their looks. For example – having fewer leaves is a sign of ensuring less water loss and more water-saving; stems do the job of photosynthesis instead. Also, the roots tend to grow a lot closer to the surface – all these characteristics add to the water-saving mechanical technique that these succulents have embedded in their functionality as a plant.

Just like you lovingly take care of other plants, succulents are also beautiful and can make your garden look prettier – but it does have some additional benefits such as it does not require constant taking care of, succulents also can propagate fresher air to breathe as they release oxygen for a more extended period compared to other plants, succulents are also said to have highly beneficial medical properties that can help in aiding fundamental health issues like cuts or burns.

Now that we have understood the basics of succulents that would help you to decide whether you would want to buy one for yourself or gift it to someone or not, let us understand how big a succulent can get.

The sizes in which you can get any variety of your succulent time is extreme. They can be as tiny as 6 inches, or surprisingly can sprout out to be 12 inches long and wide. Those are the extremes in which you can get your succulents.

For example – Zebra Plant is one of the most common indoor succulents, and they only grow up to 6 inches. In contrast, the snake plant might be more suitable for outdoor as they grow up to 12 inches and require enough spacing. There’s the example of Echeveria that comes in the shape of a beautiful rose – their maximum height is also said to be a maximum of 12 inches and not beyond that. We have to mention Aloe Vera – one of the most common types of succulents that also has medicinal properties – this can grow up to 24 inches both in height and width – it is said to be the best example for ornamental purposes.

Therefore these were just a few examples of the various sizes in which you can expect the different variants of succulents to grow up to – it usually begins from 6 feet and goes to a maximum of 24 feet in some rare succulents but not beyond that.

How to Propagate Succulents

Now the propagation of succulents can take place in different ways. You might want to approach a process where you would like to grow succulents from cuttings. Some might prefer propagating succulents from leaves; these are the only two methods. Therefore there are different kinds of approaches that are taken and then applied.

Let us look at 6 tips that will prove to be helpful for all those who are planning to get succulents and need to know the basics of propagating succulents.

1. Gentle Removal of Leaves From the Adjoining Succulents

The first step is relatively easy where you logically hold the leaf at its base – pull out everything from the base – even a stem or two. The leaves at the bottom are always said to be the most useful compared to the ones on top, and the healthier the leaves are – the more influential the results will be.

2. Placement of the Leaves Matter

The placements of the leaves you have uprooted are significant. They have to be placed somewhere where they get indirect sunlight and need to be left undisturbed to dry for at least 3 days. Careful attention has to be given to the wound that develops at the base. Ensure that it is completely healed; otherwise, it will rot and die even before a new plant juts out.

3. Necessary Items You Need to Keep Handy

Have a tray and some cactus soil mix handy. They are what you would need for the next step after leaves have dried up. The dried-up leaves need to be placed over the cactus soil mix set on the tray.

4. Time to Propagate the New Plants

As mentioned repeatedly, the succulents need to be placed indirectly towards the sun, direct sunlight will only lead to it getting burnt, and that is not what we are aiming for here.

5. Responsibly Water the Succulents

Always dampen the soil time, and again, this will ensure proper rooting of the succulents as needed. Remember that to propagate, the rooting succulents will require a tad bit more water than adult plants.

6. Wait Patiently

The predicted period for the succulents to propagate is said to be 2-3 weeks. If you follow all the steps correctly, there is no reason as to why you won’t get fruitful results. The climate and humidity play a significant role too. Colder climates are the best way to get the desired results.

Therefore some of the caring factors of succulents might differ from general plants, but they are not entirely tricky and can quickly be followed. You must follow the tips provided here in a concise way so that your succulents live to see the light of the day and propagate healthily. Succulents are used for various purposes by different people, as some of the advantages mentioned. You can use them for decorative purposes or medicinal properties or simply because of their easy maintenance and water storage facilities. Either way, succulents are the trendiest plants you can get for your garden. With the proper following of tips, they can sprout out to be gorgeous looking plants, and your guests are sure to admire how beautiful they make your house look – in case they are indoor succulents or your garden – in case they are outdoor succulents.

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