Do you dream of decorating the parapet of a window with fresh flowers, but are afraid of harming them with inadequate care? Especially for beginners or undecided – our guide on how to care for succulents is essential.
Succulents are excellent options for being versatile, graceful and very resistant. Therefore they do not require much time and not much knowledge about species.
There are also various ways to assemble decorative vessels with these plants. You can choose between the different species, containers and elements to create incredible compositions.
This way you can include these vases in your residence as part of the decoration. But in order for them to look beautiful and live for a long time, you must learn how to take care of the succulents.
Before you learn how to take care of succulents, know what they are
The term “suculents” is popular and derives from the fact that these plants store water on their leaves.
In fact, what is called succulent is not a single species, but several of them. Therefore, you have many possibilities and options to include in the decoration of your home.
The group of succulents gathers several plants that store water. Cacti are also part of it.
But there are nine families, which include at least 1,600 different species. Some of these are more common in Brazil. See below what they are.
Ezymeria or rose of stone (Echeve elegans)
This is one of the most used succulents in decorations because they have shape that resembles a flower.
The rounded and slightly angled leaves at the tips provide this beautiful aspect, giving delicacy odd to this species.
In fact, one of the coolest things of this kind is that if it is receiving insufficient amount of light, it loses the shape of its leaves, becoming more elongated.
Ghost plant (Graptopetalum paraguayense)
This species is popularly known as a ghost flower and, like the previous one, it also resembles a flower.
But in this case, the leaves are more elongated and sharp, with arroxed hue amid the parts that have opaque green tone.
Sometimes the leaves become a little milky, which indicates that the plant needs more sunlight.
Pearl Necklace (Senecio rowleyanus)
If you are passionate about vertical gardens, you need to know this kind of succulent. Its beauty lies in the elongated stems filled with small rounded leaves that resemble peas.
If you know how to grow the succulents, you will have beautiful white flowers with odor that resemble cinnamon in some times of the year.
Bursty-tailored (Sedum morganianum)
This is a kind of succulent from Mexico, which also has long rods that reach up to one meter in length.
The leaves are very close to each other, look like small commas and have grayish coloration.
When the plant gives flowers, these are red, which stand out in a lot in the green tone of the leaves.
Zebra (Haworthia fasciata)
This species comes from the African continent and has a differentiated appearance, similar to a rosette.
This is because the leaves are green and thick, very resistant and have white stripes. This led to the nickname the plant received.
Learning to take care of succulents of this species is quite simple, since they tolerate both high and lower temperatures.
Therefore, even if you have no experience, you may get along well with this species.
Ear of Shrek (Crassula ovata gollum)
The curious nickname of this kind of succulent is due precisely to its very curious shape, similar to the ear of the famous ogre.
Its leaves are small and tubular in shape. With this, they are great to give time to earthwork or vases.
In addition, this species is very resistant to diseases and pests. Thus, they tend to last a long time.
Sedum carnicolor
This is another kind of succulent that works very well as an alternative to give height to the vessels.
Because it originates from Europe, this species resists very high and very low temperatures as well.
So if you know a little about how to take care of succulents, you’ll get along with this one. The greatest care should be in relation to excess water because it causes it to rot.
Learn to plant succulents
If you want to learn how to take care of succulents, you should know how to plant and grow in pots and terraries.
Because they work well in decoration, many people use several different containers, such as cups.
Making a beautiful earth full of copies is more a charming and very simple option, which makes your home more beautiful.
In these cases, and when the plant is too large for the pot in which it is, you need to know how to plant properly to ensure the survival of the specimen. Follow the step by step below:
- Choose a container that has holes to the outlet of excess water. Use your imagination here, you can opt for any material, from clay pots, cups, food cans, glass containers, among others;
- Prepare the substrate, using sand, fertilized land and ground coconut fiber;
- In larger vessels, it is recommended to place expanded clay below the substrate. This helps to drain more easily;
- Now put the special substrate;
- Take the little plant, and remove it from the container where it is. For this, you can turn the pot upside with delicacy, tap slightly at the bottom, until the plant is released;
- Take the seedling in your hands and then transfer it to the pot where it should stay. Bury it in the substrate, but always keep the leaves out;
- Take potted lips on the sides of the pot, so that the earth approaches the roots as much as possible;
- After that, put sand and pebbles on the earth. This serves both for decoration and to prevent water from evaporating too fast.
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Ideal weather for succulents
Succulents are essentially desert plants, so there are two main things to know about them:
- They love dry air;
- They adopt the temperature variations.
When growing succulents at home, just air the place well, not keep them in a humid place, try to ensure the maximum temperature difference day-night and remember that they certainly do not like frosts.
Lighting when it comes to taking care of succulents
The scorching sun is an essential attribute of any desert plant, so succulents love the light.
It is best to place them on the window sill to the south, southeast or southwest. If the windows are facing the north side, you will probably need additional lighting.
However, there is one important point to which you should definitely pay attention: all succulents love abundance of light, but not all have the same attitude towards direct sunlight.
That’s why we recommend that you study in detail the attitude toward sunlight of a specific type of succulent that you have purchased.
How to plant succulents in glasses
The cultivation of the different species of succulents in glass containers is becoming a great trend in decoration.
Whether in homes, offices or in companies, plant compositions in glass containers are always very well.
However, glass vases usually do not have drainage holes and this requires more care to ensure the health of the plant.
In this case, see the appropriate step by step:
- It is necessary to place pebbles in about 1/3 of the volume of the pot;
- Leave the dawn stones and then put mosses on top;
- Place sand on the moss;
- Then place the succulent inside the pot and place the substrate, remembering to leave the leaves out;
- Finally, place the stones to finish.
How to propagate succulent?
If instead of planting you want to propagate the succulent, you should also use the same substrate mentioned above.
Then you must take the leaves and accommodate each of them in the earth, but without burying them. Doing that, spray a little water on the leaf.
This should be done once or twice a week, depending on the weather or humidity of the air in the period.
So if you know how to take care of the new succulents right, after about two months you will have new seedlings.
How to take care of succulents
Knowing how to take care of succulents does not require a lot of technical knowledge. But don’t think you can take your little plant and leave it abandoned.
There are some basic precautions you should take, especially in relation to pests and diseases that can affect the plants. Then look at the main care you should have with them:
- Excess water is harmful to succulents. Therefore, only water the pot if it feels with the tips of the fingers that the substrate is completely dry;
- Do not wet the leaves to avoid rotting;
- Remove excess water from the plates, if your vessels have them;
- Succulents need direct light. Therefore, it is good to leave the vases in the sun in the morning;
- Putting a little compost in the vases is sometimes also recommended. You can use a little NPK fertilizer over the pebbles;
- Also note the possibility of the appearance of pests common to these plants;
- If a vase has aphids or cochinees, you need to remove the diseased plant from the environment to prevent the rest from getting sick. Then do the treatment until the plant improves.
In addition to these specific care, you should always be aware of any change in the color of the leaves and the loss of shape. These are indications that the succulent is not very well.
I take care of succulents
While watering is probably the easiest part to take care of your succulents, one should also take care of them. Here are some rules to follow when watering succulents:
- From spring to autumn, during the growth period, watering is done once every 1-2 weeks – as dry soil
- In winter, you need to water less frequently, once a month at a temperature of 10-14oC or once every 2-3 months at a temperature of 6-9o C;
in no case should the roots dry out; - In very hot climates, succulents need to be watered more often, but the soil should remain dry for at least 3 days.
The soil when it comes to taking care of succulents
In their natural habitat, succulents usually grow in the sand or in a mixture of sand and gravel. The soil suitable for them must, firstly, be loose and allow the good passage of air and, secondly, be moistened in a uniform manner and retain no water.
Experienced gardeners prefer to create on their own the ideal soil for succulents, taking into account the need for a certain species in nutrients, impurities and density, but you can choose a ready-made mixture in the warehouse.
- See also : Aranto: plant for decoration that helps in the treatment of rhinitis
Conclusion
More and more people try to include plants in the decoration and, the succulents are very loved for being beautiful and easy to maintain.
As you have seen, there are several species and they adapt to various environments. It is possible to assemble various compositions.
Regardless of your taste, it is important to know how to take care of succulents so that they look beautiful and last a long time.
So now that you know how to do this, you’re ready to grow your own vases.
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