Welcome to The Succulent Whisperer blog!  I am so glad you are here!  Let’s talk about succulent lies you can, and probably have, found on the internet.  The beauty of the internet is the access to humongous amounts of information .  The horror of the internet is that a lot of that information is not true, or is half-true. If you google “succulent care” will get a ton of conflicting information about how to care for your succulents.  Let’s take a moment to go through some of that information, and decide what is false, what is true, and what is partly true or partly false.   Let’s look at the lies the internet tells us about succulents!

1. Succulents need a lot of/no water.  This is a big one!  To start, I have a confession to make: I sometimes argue with people on the internet about succulents.  I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help it!  The amount of watering information is astounding and a lot of it is wrong!  So wrong!  Let’s discuss.  One of the most prevalent untruths about watering on the internet is that Succulents should be watered with a spray bottle.  This watering method is based on another bit of false information, having to do with holes in the leaves of succulents. It is some of the most misguided  “advice” that can be found. Succulents are known to store water in their leaves and stems.  But unlike many plants, succulents cannot take water in through their leaves.  The leaves of succulents are specially designed to not exchange water. Why, you ask?  Because desert.  Succulents live in harsh conditions such as deserts, where humidity is virtually nonexistent, and high temperatures are common.  Succulents can close their stomata (holes in leaves that plants use to exchange water and oxygen) so nothing gets sucked out, and nothing can get in.  It is very true that water sitting on succulent leaves causes rot.  So, don’t spray!

This brings us to a second untruth, and another thing that you might read.  Succulents do not need any water.  This is blatantly untrue and ridiculous, everything alive needs some water! Sometimes just a tiny, infrequent amount, but it still needs water.  Which brings us to the flip side, Succulents need lots of water.  Although this may seem like a lie, it is what I would call sort of, a little bit, sometimes, kind of true.  Succulents generally don’t need a lot of water, but, some succulents, like Sedum, actually need a fair amount of water.  I water my sedums every couple of days, especially the mat forming Sedum.  That said, to clarify, all succulents need enough water.  I know, right? About as clear as mud.  Of course we don’t want to make mud, so we remember that these beautiful plants have a steep learning curve.  Watering your plants when the soil is all the way dry is a good general rule. If you are not sure, don’t water.  There is a lot more misinformation about watering, but that is for another day and another blog.  So onto the next!

2. Succulents are super easy to grow!  This is another one of the kind of true lies, if you squint.  This is commonly said with an air of, if you can’t grow succulents, you must really have black thumbs!  That is the lie part.  The true part is that some succulents are, actually, easy to grow, in the sense that you can ignore them for long periods of time, they are not picky about watering, and don’t really care about the soil.  Some are ok with low light.  Some can tolerate the random cat attack.  In reality, this is not a large group.  Really, there are two types of plants that are basically easy.  Sansevieria, most commonly known as Snake Plant, or Mother-in-law Tongue, is a wonderful plant.  It comes in many varieties and colors.  Not all the varieties are as hardy as others, but many can put up with a lot of neglect.  This group is one of my favorites.  Beautiful, showy plants that are actually hard to kill.  This is a great plant to have in your home or office. An added benefit, Snake Plants purify the air.  Air purification is also a talent of other plant that is pretty easy, the Aloe Vera.  There are many kinds of Aloe, some of which are not easy, but Aloe Vera is.  My Mother has not a green digit, her thumbs are in fact black.  But, she can grow these two plants. They are huge and impressive.  Which of course proves it.  These are the two easy succulents.  The other 3000 (or so) succulents are varying degrees of difficult.  Some more, some less.  So let’s change that to, Two Kinds of Succulents are Pretty Easy to Grow!

3. You can’t Grow Succulents Indoors:  This one is one of my favorite more lie than truth bits of information from the internet.  This bit is held near and dear to the hearts of some of the more dedicated outdoor succulent people.  But, let’s be rational, much of the United States and most other countries in the northern hemisphere are not ideal for growing succulents out-of-doors.  But, if you are in a region that is conducive to growing desert plants in your yard or garden then you can do outside succulents.  A quick interlude: I got into this whole succulent thing (obsession?) after visiting the Botanical Gardens in Phoenix, Arizona.  I have never been so wildly awed and affected by plants!  So, I will admit that succulents grown in the glorious sun are amazing.  Stunning, in fact.  But, you can grow those same plants (with some limitations) in your house. So, back to the point.  I primarily own, write about, and photograph indoor succulents, but I love outdoor succulents, too.  The benefit of sun is color, astounding growth, and very large plants.  But, we lovers of indoor succulents can do amazing things inside, too!  You might read on the internet that colorful succulents cannot be grown inside.  This is a partial truth.  We often cannot get the intensity of color with indoor succulents (We will talk about artificial light sources in a later blog.), but, less color does not an ugly plant make!  The outside people will call indoor plants “etiolated.”  This means that indoor rosettes are not as tight, indoor plants have bigger spaces between the leaves than their outdoor counterparts.  The lack of light is the creator of etiolated succulents.  But, etiolated plants are completely unique.  You will have a plant that no one else has.  So, don’t be afraid to grow what ever kind of succulent you want.  Put them in a south window if possible, but any window will do.  Or, if you don’t have a window, that can be ok, too!  In the interest of full disclosure, I do not think that most Aeoniums can be grown indoors, except in large artificial grow light conditions.  They are gorgeous, but need an incredible amount of sun light.

4. You cannot grow succulents in pots without drainage holes!  This one of the things I argue most with people.  I have actually read on the internet that growing succulents without drainage holes is a “myth.”  For gosh sakes people, it not only can be done, it can be done and result in beautiful long-lived plants!  I have more than 300 plants for proof!  If you want to use planters with drainage holes, more power to you!  If you want to use drainage systems, more power also to you!  Do what works for you!  I don’t use drainage holes, I use drainage systems.  If you would like the low down on how, check out my First Pots blog.  Just do what works for you, and what you are comfortable with!  Then water appropriately.  This isn’t a competition, it is a journey.  A journey into a beautiful world filled with succulents.

5. One set of “foolproof” ways to raise succulents is all you need!  If this were true, what a simple and boring hobby this succulent thing would be!  Once you learn how to keep a succulent alive, and not just alive, but thriving, you can use what you have learned on you next succulent.  Each type of succulent has a learning curve all its own.  Sometimes, you can learn group care, like most Aloes need this, or most Haworthia need that.  There are some general rules of thumb that you need to know to get started in succulents.  But, those general things will not apply to every kind of succulent.  I have succulents I water often, and I have a few succulents that I water once every 6 months or so.  I have kept hundreds of succulents alive, but I have killed dozens.  There are a few kinds of succulents that I am still trying to figure out.  As I have said before, I do not think Aeoniums can be grown well inside.  But, some of them can do pretty well inside. “Kiwi Aeonium” for instance, can grow inside, but, it will never be the wonderfully beautiful plant it is in the sun.  I like my succulents to thrive, so I avoid losing space to Kiwi.  Of course the other thing is the difference between succulent care and more specific cactus care.  Generally speaking, cacti need less water than succulents.  But not always.  So, the take home message is, whichever kind of pot you use, you can grow succulents.  Just remember, less water is almost always the answer, whereas more water is almost never the answer.

The point of this installment is to help everyone understand that you cannot believe everything you read.  And anything you read about succulents on the internet should be critically considered, and applied to your methods only if it makes sense to you and for your plants.  Be especially wary of absolutes, such as, you cannot do this, or you must do this.  Have a wonderful time learning about these marvelous plants!  And, if you have Aeoniums that are thriving inside, I would love a picture!  Leave any comments or questions you have.  Thanks for reading!

 

So, you have a succulent plant that you have acquired, just now, or a while ago.  You want to put your beloved flora in a pot.  To begin, let’s learn about potting new succulents that are still in the plastic nursery pots, or in an arrangement that has gotten out of hand. Let’s talk containers!  Then we will hit soil needs, and how it all goes together.  This will cover individual pots for single plants.  Arrangements or multi-plant pots will be addressed later

First, the pot.  There are many, many options when it comes to containers in which you might plant your succulent.  There are, however, a few things to think about when choosing a container for planting.  First, the pot should be approximately the same size as the nursery pot. Succulents and cacti abhor large spaces, so pick a vessel correctly sized to your succulent.  Your pot needs to be deep enough to securely anchor the plant. Your pot can have drainage, or not.  I will talk about how to plant in both.  I use pots with drainage for a few of my Succulents, but for the most part I either have no drainage holes, or I plug the holes.  If you are a traditionalist, you can plant in planters or pots, if you are not, you can plant in mugs, candle holders, finger bowls, silver sugar dishes, or plastic dinosaurs.  The possibilities are endless!  My first succulents were planted in repurposed mugs that my kids and I painted.  Those mugs are among my favorite pots to this day.  If you want to plant on a budget, repurpose a can (be careful of sharp edges) or plant in a glass, or other small container you already have.  Check out GoodWill and thrift shops, find something you love on the cheap! Terra-cotta pots are also very inexpensive, and can be fancied up in a million different ways!  I included a link to terra-cotta pots on Amazon, which I have ordered and used.  Try a Pinterest or Google search of “DIY terracotta planters.” There are literally hundreds of ideas for dressing up pots.  Or, leave a pot plain, succulents and cacti look lovely in plain terra-cotta.  Oh, one more thing, if you want to repurpose a food container, be sure to clean it very well.  Use your imagination!

3 inch Terracotta pots (pack of 9)

Once you have selected a pot, we can move on to soil.  There are literally thousands of succulent soil recipes.  So, you can investigate and decide what you want to try.  I make my own soil mixture, and use it for all my pretty babies!  In the above picture you can see what it looks like, sandy dirt.  That is what it is.  I use MiracleGro succulent, cactus, and citrus soil as the base. Which I like, because it has an appropriate amount of organic material (plant) and it is lovely and loose. I buy my soil at large department stores and hardware stores.  You may be able to find it at garden stores or nurseries.   You can use whatever soil you like, but, do not use anything that says “moisture control,” those hold water, which is the opposite of what you need.  Then I add clean sand.  Your sand can be sharp (larger grit than beach or soft sand) or soft, but it needs to be new and clean.  I use a ratio of approximately 2:1.  So two parts soil and one part sand by weight.  To be truthful, I don’t weigh the soil or anything, I eyeball it.  So something between half soil and three-quarters soil (which would be half sand and one-quarter sand).  That is it.  I put the soil and sand in a food grade 3 gallon bucket and mix it together.  Do not mix your soil in a bucket that has contained chemicals, they will leach out of the plastic and poison your soil.  So, use a new bucket!  You might read in various succulent sources that you need to sterilize your soil.  You don’t! Unless you are growing from seed, there is absolutely no reason to sterilize your dirt!  Mix your soil together in you bucket. I use a large metal slotted spoon to mix soil.  Be sure to mix it completely, which will take several minutes of mixing and folding the soil and sand together.  Also, you need to cover your soil when storing it, so make sure you have a lid.  Your soil should feel a little bit dampish, but not wet or sticky.  I actually add water to my soil with a spray bottle to keep it a little bit damp for storage.  Weirdly, if your soil is very dry, it will exclude water, and not let it soak in and through.  The other reason to have dampish soil is dust control.  A quick word of caution: dust is bad for your lung and sinuses, so avoid breathing it!  There may also be fungus or bacteria in the soil that can give you an infection.  So, use a spray bottle to moisten the soil before you dump it out of you pot when repotting.  Be cautious!  I do not reuse soil, as it is usually lacking nutrients and maybe be growing mold or moss.  So I throw away the nursery soil and always use new soil when potting or repotting.  Now we have a pot, and we have soil, and we can move on to potting!!

First things, first.  I wear light gardening gloves with a nitrile surface, when I pot and repot.  I also use a large tray or box when I am potting to cover my work surface, and catch the dirt.  Take the succulent out of the nursery pot.  Do this very gently, by turning the whole thing over and gently squeezing the pot.  Pull very slightly on the plant, but be very careful not pull it out of the soil or knock off leaves.  If the succulent has any kind of spines or stickers, wear heavy-duty gardening gloves!  If it is a very spiny cactus, then this is not the blog to be reading for instructions on repotting spiny cacti.  That is a very delicate process and will be addressed in the another blog.  You can injure yourself severely with cactus spines.  So let’s talk about that process later.  Ok, so you have un-potted your plant.  Now very gently remove some of the soil from the roots.  Try not to tear off the roots.  If you do tear off some roots, it is ok, the plant will live.  You might read that you need to completely remove soil, which you do not need to do.  Bare rooting your plan is shocking to it, and may cause damage.  Do not rinse your plant’s roots!  You really just need to loosen up the roots a bit to help with rooting in the new pot.  I like to remove the ridge of soil around the base of the plant, but be careful not to damage or wound the stem.  If there are dead leaves, you can remove those.  Set the plant down carefully to wait for its new pot!

First, let’s run through potting in a pot with a drainage hole.  So you have decided to use traditional potting and are using a pot that will drain.  I do not use draining pots, except for the most water sensitive of my succulents.  I currently am using a pot that drains for 2 of my plants, a Baby Toes and a Wooly Cotyledon, which are extremely sensitive to overwatering.  So I use draining pots about 1% of the time (2 out of approximately 200 plants).  Now, add some soil to the bottom of the pot.  You can glue a piece of screen to the bottom of the pot over the hole to keep the soil in, but still let the water out.  You don’t have to use screen, but then make sure to use a saucer or plastic drip tray under the pot.  It will be messy.  Add soil until the pot is about 1/3 full.  Then set the new plant on the soil and check for depth.  You want the bottom row of leaves on your plant to be to be level or slightly above the rim of the pot.   The final height of the soil should be slightly below the rim of the pot.  If the plant is not high enough, remove it from the pot and add more soil to the pot.  When your plant height is where you want it, back fill the pot with soil around the plant.  Pat the soil down and be sure that the plant is secure, and will not fall over.  Very heavy plants need to be potted lower than light or flat plants.  Jades are usually very top-heavy, so make sure to use a pot deep enough and heavy enough to keep your plant upright.  There!  You have planted your succulent in a pot with drainage.  Now we will look at potting in pots with no drainage.

You will need, in addition to the plant and the soil, clean gravel or small rocks, a glue gun, and aluminum foil.  You only need the glue gun and foil if your pot has drainage and you want to plug it.  If there is no drainage hole, then you are good to go.  First, carefully glue a small foil piece over the hole on the outside of the pot.  You may also glue it to the inside, so really whatever floats your boat.  Now we have the drainage hole covered.   Remember that hot glue will burn you because it is hot.  And, I am not sure why I used such a large piece of foil, you really only need enough to cover the hole with enough overhang to glue it down.

Now you have a pot with no drainage hole.  So we will need to place a drainage system in the pot.  Place the clean gravel in the bottom of the pot, and fill the pot about 1/3 full with gravel.

These rocks will act as a drainage system.  The excess water will drain into the gravel and out of the soil.  You might read in another source that you need to add activated charcoal or another layer of something else.  You don’t.  Rocks and soil make for a very nice growing environment for your succulent baby,  Now potting is exactly like the potting with a drainage hole.  Add a layer of soil and check the height of the plant.  Add more soil if needed, or place the plant in the center of the pot and back fill around it.  Pat the soil down and be sure to check for stability in the plant.  Fill the soil almost to the top of the pot.  Don’t water your newly potted succulents for a couple of days.  Then, water deeply and place in a bright spot.  Water again in about 2 weeks, or when the soil around the plant is completely dry.  Do not overwater!  You will kill your precious succulent if you overwater it.  Then you will be sad.  But, keep in mind that these are plants with a learning curve, so if your plant does not do well, change what you are doing and start over with a new plant or a salvaged plant.  One more thing.  The photos in this blog are of my own collection, and you might have noticed that I do not use top dressing.  You can use it if you want to use it, but be careful not to choose top dressing that holds water next to your plant.  That will result in rot.  Rot is bad.  So make good choices! Good luck!!  Feel free to ask questions or leave comments!