Succulents seem to be the only thing anybody talks about nowadays when it comes to ornamentals and gardening. This has led to a rising interest in specific things people can do to keep their succulents alive. Well, no need to wonder about ways to keep your succulents alive anymore! In this article, we will reflect on multiple methods that you can use to keep your succulents alive.
Use a Well Draining Soil
The first essential thing to remember when caring for your succulents is that succulents require incredibly well-draining soil. This is because succulent roots enjoy a dry setting. Most soils are too thick for most succulent roots. Succulent roots require a silty soil so that when watering excess water can seep out from the bottom of the soil allowing the soil to stay dry. If too much moisture stays within the soil, then your succulent will rot.
Use the Correct Potting Media
The second essential thing to remember when attempting to keep your succulents alive is to use the correct potting media. Succulents require potting media that allows excess water to easily flow out from the bottom of your pot. When purchasing your pot for your succulent check to make sure that draining holes are present. If draining holes are not present, then you can always buy a drill and drill a hole into the bottom of the potting media to create your own draining holes. If your potting media does not have draining holes then it is likely that when watering excess water will accumulate at the bottom of your pot. This will cause your succulent to rot. This will be evident as the leaves to your succulent begin to yellow and the roots turn black.
Be Careful With Fertilizer
The third thing to remember when attempting to keep your succulents alive is to be careful with various fertilizers. It is true that in order to grow the healthiest succulents possible an ample amount of Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Iron, Potassium, and Magnesium are necessary. But sometimes people can go crazy trying to provide these nutrients to succulents with fertilizers, such as superphosphate. When dealing with fertilizers it is important to remember two things. First fertilizers for succulents are only effective during their active periods. During dormant periods, fertilizers will likely kill your succulent as too much of an element such as Nitrogen will cause the succulent to die. But it is important to remember that even when adding fertilizer to a succulent during an active period to only use half the dose recommended for a normal plant. This is because succulents thrive off stress. Ironically, unlike other plants, succulents become stronger and more vibrant when they go through a period where they are starved of nutrients. This is the reason why fertilizers should be used sparingly when attempting to keep your succulent alive.
Watch Out for Pests
The last thing to remember when attempting to keep your succulents alive is to watch out for pests that may be killing your succulent. There is a wide range of pests that are detrimental to succulent health. The most popular, that you should watch out for when caring for your succulents, are mealy bugs. Mealybugs are tiny organisms that clump together and suck out nutrients from your succulent. They are detrimental to your succulent because they can easily spread disease. You can identify a mealybug by looking for white clumps on the leaves of your succulents or on the roots. To kill a mealybug simply spray or rub them off with isopropyl alcohol. It is important that when you have a mealybug infestation to separate the infected plant from others as soon as possible. It may even be best to throw out the plant entirely so that it does not kill others, but isopropyl alcohol is still an effective solution.
In conclusion, keeping your succulents alive is not hard at all, it only takes a little practice. It is important to remember that with anything in life that when you fail to keep your succulent alive the best thing to do is to just try again. Were sure that on your second or third time around you’ll get it right. If you are looking to buy a succulent for the first time or replace one that you’ve killed go to Succulent Market. They have an awesome variety of high-quality succulents for sale.
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