Cultivating succulents indoors is a breeze, yet our expert guidance on nurturing these low-maintenance beauties can truly enhance their growth. Succulents, renowned for their simplicity, possess unique traits as water-storing plants.
Providing them with the appropriate tender loving care can significantly boost their vitality indoors. While succulents can thrive outdoors, they also make fantastic indoor companions, regardless of your location. So, select your favorites (or a variety!) and embark on potting up captivating additions to your home decor.
Quick Guide to Growing Succulents
Plant succulents indoors any time of year in a lightweight, well-draining potting mix.
Water succulents when the top 2 inches of soil are dry.
Mix succulents with similar care needs in a single pot for added appeal.
Make sure your succulents are getting at least 6 hours of light a day.
Begin feeding your succulents a month after planting for a boost of nutrition.
Repot succulents every 2 to 3 years (earlier if they've outgrown their current container).
Planting Succulents
Numerous varieties of succulents exist, ranging from familiar ones like echeveria and aloe vera to surprises such as the jade plant, snake plant, and kalanchoe.
When selecting succulents, particularly if you have children or pets, ensure they are non-toxic and place them in locations inaccessible to them if they pose a risk. Common succulents known to be harmful to pets include aloe, snake plant, and pencil cactus.
No matter the variety, you can plant succulents indoors at any time—here's how.
Make sure the pot you've picked out has drainage holes. That's always a good idea, but especially so for succulents.
Choose a container that's only about one-third larger than the root ball of your plant.
Place your succulent inside, making sure the top of the root ball sits about an inch below the rim of the pot, and then fill in around it with potting mix.
Water lightly so that the soil is damp but not drenched.
Where to Buy Soil for Succulents
As succulents thrive in dry conditions and don't demand frequent watering, their potting soil should be porous, well-draining, and contain less organic matter compared to standard indoor soil mixes. Optimal soil for succulents consists of a loose, gritty blend enriched with sand, perlite, or pumice.
Our recommendations:
Where to Buy Pots for Your Succulents
Planting different types of succulents together in the same container is also a nice way to pull together different colors, textures, and shapes. Follow the steps above, but make sure to check the plant tags for spacing requirements and specific care recommendations. The best mixed succulent pot will feature plants that look great in an arrangement but also have similar growth rates and watering needs.
Watering Succulents
Succulents thrive on near-neglect, but for plant parents, that can be hard to appreciate.
Knowing how often to water your succulents, and how much to give them when you do, can help relieve any guilt for simply leaving them be most of the time. Here's how to embrace a "less is more" approach.
Let the top 2 inches of soil dry out before adding any water.
Direct the water toward the base of your plant.
Give your plant a long drink, until water flows out of the drainage holes.
Wait a few minutes and discard any excess water from the plant tray.
Caring for Succulents
Most succulents need a lot of bright light—at least 6 hours per day—but if your home is on the darker side you can still care for some of these incredibly easy plants. Just choose a low-light-tolerant variety, like string of tears, burro's tail, or snake plant, which do well in bright shade or 4 hours of morning sun.
Regularly dust your succulent with a damp cloth (or a clean paint brush if it's spiky) to help increase its ability to take in light.
A month after potting up your plant, begin giving it a boost of nutrition. Regularly fertilizing succulents with Miracle-Gro® Succulent Plant Food will help them stand up to any pests. Plant food can also help speed up development among these notoriously slow growers.
Unsurprisingly, hardy succulents are mostly resistant to typical houseplant problems.
That said, some bugs will try to take advantage of the water succulents store in their leaves and stems. If you spot a few mealybugs or scale insects, wipe them off with a cloth dipped in alcohol. For larger infestations, quarantine the plant, cut off the damaged section, and apply an insecticidal soap every week until the problem is gone.
If you notice a bacterial or fungal disease, cut back on watering by half. Also, consider where you've placed your plant—a humid bathroom might not allow your succulent to sufficiently dry out between waterings. Signs of overwatering include a lack of growth, reduced plant or leaf size, and shriveled leaves.
Repotting Succulents
You can repot a succulent when you buy it, but following that, you should let it settle in for a while. These plants grow slowly and only need their soil refreshed every 2 to 3 years, which is a good time to repot a succulent if it hasn't outgrow its container before then. Repot in spring, when your succulents are beginning a season of active growth.
For slow-growing succulents, opt for a new pot that is approximately 10 percent taller and wider than the current one. For faster-growing varieties, choose a pot about 2 inches wider than the plant's diameter. Ensure the new pot has ample drainage holes.
Select a porous potting medium with excellent drainage, ideally a specialized succulent and cactus mix. Whenever possible, maintain continuity by using the same type of potting medium the succulent is accustomed to, reducing the risk of transplant shock.
Prior to repotting, moderately water the plant a day or two in advance. Gently remove the plant from its current pot by tilting it sideways and grasping the base of the stem. If necessary, tap the bottom of the container or use a stick through the drainage holes to loosen it.
Carefully loosen and clean the roots, discarding any dead or damaged portions. Trim excessively long roots and remove any dead leaves from the base of the plant.
Fill the new pot about two-thirds full with fresh potting mix and position the succulent in the center, ensuring the roots are fully covered. Be certain that the leaves remain above the soil surface to prevent rot.
When Do Succulents Need Repotting
Here are the scenarios for repotting succulents:
Newly purchased plants in small plastic containers
Succulents that have outgrown their pots, with roots filling the pot or growing out of the drainage holes
Signs of pests or diseases or a generally unhealthy appearance
Plants that have produced offsets or babies, also called pups
Soil with poor drainage, a sign of which is no water soaking through the drainage holes
Succulents that lean or topple over, which does not necessarily require a bigger pot, but a more stable pot made of a heavier material
Succulent Varieties to Try
Agave americana ‘Mediopicta’ – a stemless, tender perennial. A large rosette of sharply pointed variegated leaves. Plants flower after about 30 years and then die. Mature height 1m
Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’ (pictured) – maroon rosettes of evergreen foliage. Tender perennial with a shrubby habit. Yellow flowers in spring. Reaches a height of 1m after many years
Echeveria secunda var. glauca - ‘Compton Carousel’ – red and yellow flowers in summer over rosettes of two-toned foliage. Height 15cm
Hylotelephium ‘Purple Emperor’ – hardy perennial able to cope in a sunny, well-drained border all year round. Dark maroon foliage and pink clusters of summer flowers. Cut back stems the ground in autumn. Height 40cm
Aloe vera – tender perennial grown as a houseplant. A stemless plant with green leaves. Reaches 60cm
Sempervivium 'Gay Jester' - a pretty, hardy perennial, bearing medium-sized rosettes of red spoon-shaped leaves, which lighten to mid-green at the tips. Short spikes of pink flowers appear in summer. Looks fantastic in pots, between rocks, or in cracks in paving.
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