The succulent plant is a plant that fascinates by people. It comes in many species, brightly coloured, buxom appearance, pleasant to look at and also the first choice of gifting of many people.
Succulent plants are in the dormant state during the summer season, so in Malaysia country which four seasons are summer-like, how do we take care of the succulent plant? The succulent plants we saw in the parterre were lively in colour and look buxom, but when we bought them home and raised them for a while, the plants changed.
How to plant succulent plants? It’s a problem that made many newbies headache.
1. Sunlight
Succulent plants should be located in a place that can be irradiated with sunlight and has ventilation, it also should be properly shaded from sunlight and avoid the strong sunlight at noon to prevent sunburn.
If you are planting the succulent plant indoors, it is best to place the succulent plant by a window-side so it can be exposed to sunlight or move the plants to a place that can be exposed to sunlight every once a week,you also can buy a plant irradiation lamp to solve the problem of lacking sunlight.
Often we can see the succulent plant leaves grow downward or upward, that’s because it doesn’t receive enough sunlight. Sufficient sunlight will keep the succulent plant brightly coloured.
2. Watering
How often it needs to be watered? It is a question that many newbies will ask. There is no fixed watering time for succulent plant. It is based on the condition of the soil to determine when the succulent plant need to be watered. The principle of succulent plant watering is if the soil not dry, don’t water it; if need to be watered, water it thoroughly.
Sometimes the soil surface looked dried, but inside is still wet. At this moment, if we water it again, it will be over-watered. How do you tell if the soil is dry? We can use a toothpick to check whether the soil is dry, insert the toothpick into the soil then pull out to check whether the toothpick is wet. If it’s wet, it means that you don’t need to water the plant. If the toothpick is dry, you can water the plant. The leaves of the succulent plant will wrinkle and soften when it lacks water.Be careful not to over-watered to avoid too much water, which causes the roots of the succulent plant to rot.
You can use a water pot or watering can to spray the water to the soil or pour the water directly into the soil until the water flows out from the bottom of the flower pot. This is the most common watering method that we use. Not only we can fully water the soil, but also let the waste from the root of the succulent plant be discharged with the water, which is conducive to better plant growth.
You can also use soaked the flower pot into water method, take a container which bigger than the succulent plant flower pot, pour water more than the one-third height of the succulent plant flower pot into it. Place the succulent plant flower pot in the container until the soil has fully absorbed the water then take out the succulent plant flower pot.
Pay attention to some matters when water the succulent plant, try not to sprinkle water on the leaves when watering as the leaves of the succulent plant can’t absorb the water. The longer the time of water staying on the surface of the leaves, the risk of the leaves rotting is higher. The water will gather the light, which can easily make the leaves burned. If you accidentally sprinkle the water on the leaves, you need to let the water evaporate as soon as possible. You can put the plants in the ventilation place to speed up the water evaporation or use a tissue to suck the water away. Don’t water at noon. Especially when the temperature is the highest, this can easily cause damage to the roots.
3. Flower pot
Choose flower pots with good water permeability and air permeability as much as possible. Pottery has good air permeability and is a good choice for flower pots.Normally, for a taller succulent plant, such as Haworthia plant, use deeper flower pot. For a smaller succulent plant with lesser roots, use a shallower flower pot.
In a non-air permeability flower pot, the roots of the plants are prone to suffocation. Once there is a problem with the roots, it will cause the succulent plant’s roots to rot and die.
No matter what kind of flower pot you choose, there should had a drainage hole at the bottom of the flower pot, otherwise, the accumulation of water will cause the roots of the succulent plant to rot. If you bought a flower pot that doesn’t have a drainage hole at the bottom, then you need to drill one by yourself.
You can also put a layer of Expanded Clay Aggregate on the pot and then pour the soil, which can enhance the performance of water drainage and air permeability. Sometimes the reason for the poor drainage is not because the soil was not loose enough, but it is due to the hole in the bottom of the flower pot being blocked by debris.
4. Soil
The requirements of soil for the succulent plant is the same as the flower pot that must have good water permeability and air permeability. Normally, the succulent plant soil is prepared by mixing with akadama soil, peat soil, coconut bran, perlite, lava rock soil and other. It can be prepared according to the nursing environment and succulent plant species, or you can purchase ready-made succulent plant soil.
