Succulent Plants ~ a guest blog by Customer Care Coordinator Alanna
Succulent Plants ~ what are they and how do you care for them by Alanna Drzyzga
Summer is approaching which makes me think about succulent plants. When they became popular last year we even held a terrarium making class featuring these easy to care for plants!
The plants that seem to be growing in popularity around the shop seem to be succulents; mostly because they are unique and virtually indestructible. We've blogged about them before and I’ll do it again. Hopefully this time with a little more insight.
Succulents are categorized as any plant with a unique water storage organ. They store ingest water through their leaves, stems and roots. No matter what variety of succulents you are growing, including cacti, the general rules remain the same.
Light: Succulents do enjoy the sun and being outdoors, especially this time of year. The leaves will tell you what you need to know about the amount of light the plant is getting. If the plant is getting too much sun, it can appear burnt. The leave will get very brown and discolored because the sun will bleach out the color. If it doesn't get enough sun, the stems and leaves will rapidly elongate as though the plant is searching for sun.
Temperature: The natural desert habitat of succulents shows that they thrive on warm days and cool nights. Even as low as 40ºF and highs nearing 100ºF.
Watering: This is subjective because all plants and environments are different. Better to err on the side of under watering.
Make sure the pot you are using has proper drainage. After a good soaking allow roots and soil to completely dry out before re-watering, on average every 2-3 days.
If the container you are using does not have a lot of draining room (such as a terrarium) you will probably need to water your succulents a lot less, once a week or once every other week.
Over watering: You will notice the leaves may turn yellow or translucent. The leaves can also wrinkle and become extremely soft / mushy (same as when your fingertips wrinkle from being in a pool too long). If this occurs and you notice the roots are getting brown and rotting, cut back all the rotted roots and add dry soil mixture.
Under watering: The leaves may start to shrivel (like a grape to a raisin) and start to drop. Another symptom may be blackness of the leaves, from being sunburned. If this occurs water the plant and prune the black leaves back. Even if you are left with just a stalk your plant can grow new leaves. Roots will dry out and shrivel as well (roots will normal appear plump).
Summer is approaching which makes me think about succulent plants. When they became popular last year we even held a terrarium making class featuring these easy to care for plants!
The plants that seem to be growing in popularity around the shop seem to be succulents; mostly because they are unique and virtually indestructible. We've blogged about them before and I’ll do it again. Hopefully this time with a little more insight.
Succulents are categorized as any plant with a unique water storage organ. They store ingest water through their leaves, stems and roots. No matter what variety of succulents you are growing, including cacti, the general rules remain the same.
Light: Succulents do enjoy the sun and being outdoors, especially this time of year. The leaves will tell you what you need to know about the amount of light the plant is getting. If the plant is getting too much sun, it can appear burnt. The leave will get very brown and discolored because the sun will bleach out the color. If it doesn't get enough sun, the stems and leaves will rapidly elongate as though the plant is searching for sun.
Temperature: The natural desert habitat of succulents shows that they thrive on warm days and cool nights. Even as low as 40ºF and highs nearing 100ºF.
Watering: This is subjective because all plants and environments are different. Better to err on the side of under watering.
Make sure the pot you are using has proper drainage. After a good soaking allow roots and soil to completely dry out before re-watering, on average every 2-3 days.
If the container you are using does not have a lot of draining room (such as a terrarium) you will probably need to water your succulents a lot less, once a week or once every other week.
Over watering: You will notice the leaves may turn yellow or translucent. The leaves can also wrinkle and become extremely soft / mushy (same as when your fingertips wrinkle from being in a pool too long). If this occurs and you notice the roots are getting brown and rotting, cut back all the rotted roots and add dry soil mixture.
Under watering: The leaves may start to shrivel (like a grape to a raisin) and start to drop. Another symptom may be blackness of the leaves, from being sunburned. If this occurs water the plant and prune the black leaves back. Even if you are left with just a stalk your plant can grow new leaves. Roots will dry out and shrivel as well (roots will normal appear plump).
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