How to care for Succulents ?

Home care for Succulents in the winter

Caring for succulents has become common, nowadays. Many people confuse succulents with cacti and use the same care methods for them. However, what we need to realize is that the two have different care methods. In this article we will talk about succulents and how to care for them.To learn more caring tips for Succulents's visit Plant identification app

Succulents and their difference with cacti

You may have never heard of succulents and have no idea what they look like, but you sure have seen a few and might even have one in your home. In fact, succulents are a broad family of plants with fleshy leaves and stem, which include cacti as well. This is why they look somewhat similar. Caring for succulents is fairly similar to that of cacti, which is part of the reason for inaccurate naming of succulents. The difference between cacti and succulents comes down to: Unlike succulents, cacti have areolas where bristles stick out. All cacti have bristles while some succulents grow without them. Bristles on succulents are ordered and singular, while cacti bristles are grouped and scattered. Unlike cacti, most succulents grow leaves. Cactus flowers are usually larger than succulents.

Succulent types

Before we dive into succulents homecare, let’s take a minute to learn more about them. In general, succulents can be categorized into soft and hard succulents. Both types store decent amounts of water and are resistant to dehydration. The key difference between them is their resilience to extreme temperatures. Hard succulents thrive in extreme cold as well as extreme heat, unlike soft succulents that have low tolerance to cold temperatures.

Succulent Care Tips

As mentioned before, caring for succulents is somewhat different than caring for cacti. So in order to have a beautiful plant, first you need to know whether it’s a succulent or a cactus. Once you made sure it’s a succulent, you need to determine its type to adjust the room temperature in the winter accordingly. Next step is to get familiar with its required water intake, sunlight, temperature, humidity and fertilizer. We will take a deeper look at how to take care of succulents as we go further.

Sunlight Required for Succulents

Most succulents need lots of sunlight. So if you plan on keeping one in your apartment building, make sure your place gets enough sunlight. If the weather is nice where you live, succulents can be an excellent plant for planting in your garden. The key is to make sure they get sunlight all day but stay in shade in blazing heat. Succulent grow taller in little sunlight in order to get more light. It’s worth noting that succulents with green leaves require less sunlight. So get those variants if you have a dim apartment.

Watering Succulents

As mentioned before, succulents store water in their fleshy stem, leaves and root, which protects them against dehydration. In fact, they are more prone to over-hydration. As a rule of thumb, it is best to water them only after their soil is completely dry. If you’re looking to water your succulents on a regular basis, water the small pots once, and big pots twice a week in non-winter seasons. In the winter keep watering down to once a week, since succulents hibernate most of winter. To learn more caring tips for Succulents's visit Plant identification app

The Right Temperature for Succulents

Succulents are tough plants. This makes them ideal for new plant-owners as well as those with little free time. Succulent can thrive in temperatures between 5 to 35 degrees Celsius (40-95 F). However, they are much less resilient to cold temperatures, with some variants barely tolerating below 10 degrees Celsius. If you have succulents in your garden, cover them with a thick plastic sheet in the winter, or just bring them inside.

The Right Humidity for Succulents

Succulents come from hot and dry regions and can withstand dryness and heat. So don’t need a humidifier like some other indoor plants. In fact, if you live in humid regions you should keep your succulents inside as moisture can cause them bacteria and fungi infections.

The Right Soil for Succulents

It is best to grow succulents in soil that doesn’t retain water. Residual humidity around the roots can cause them to rot and excess water in the soil leads to fungus infection. This is why leaf soil is not suitable for succulents. You can use cacti soil for them. Make sure to add some quicksand to whatever soil you choose to use for your succulents. Plus, the soil should be properly drained, so you may need to poke some holes into the bottom of the pot. Moreover, clay pots are usually a better choice for succulents, instead of plastic ones. To find out Succulent's Common diseases visit Plant identification app

The Right Amount of Fertilizer

Succulents are tough plants; they don’t require chemical fertilizers to thrive. But as you know, some succulents produce flowers, which obviously need more fertilizer. Another aspect to keep in mind before applying fertilizer is the plant’s hibernation cycle. Some succulents hibernate in summer while some do it in winter. In any case, make sure to reduce their fertilizer when in hibernation. Furthermore, you shouldn’t fertilize succulents for a few months after reproduction. Once they mature, you may use NPK fertilizer for them. 10 10 10 NPK is the best fertilizer of choice.