How to prevent succulents from growing too tall

1. Insufficient ultraviolet rays

Why do we talk about ultraviolet rays instead of light? This is because during billions of years of evolution of meat, the amount of ultraviolet rays has always maintained a proportional relationship with the total amount of sunlight. When the sunlight is strong, there is more ultraviolet rays, and when the sunlight is soft, there is less ultraviolet rays, so for succulents, we simply use the amount of ultraviolet rays to judge the total amount of sunlight.

But what Rourou never expected was that there is a substance called glass in the world, and glass can block 90% of ultraviolet rays. So Rourou’s sunlight total amount counting system immediately failed. The succulents behind the glass window always think that the light they receive is only one tenth of the actual light. Fortunately, if your succulents think that this one-tenth of sunlight is enough, they will be fine. But once the amount of ultraviolet rays is lower than the critical value in the succulents' minds, they will immediately save themselves.

Self-rescue method 1: Spread out into a pancake or even wear a skirt. Using this method, succulents can effectively expand the area of ​​​​the leaves that receive light.

Self-rescue method 2: excessive growth. By using this method, the obstruction between leaves can be reduced as much as possible, greatly improving the utilization rate of the leaf surface area.

You see, it was the glass that caused the fleshy plant's senses to become disordered, and then the fleshy plant started to save itself, causing this kind of excessive growth. Isn't the fleshy plant silly and cute?

The solution is actually simple. If you plan to grow the plants indoors, try not to buy succulents grown outdoors. Greenhouse succulents grown from leaf cuttings would be more suitable for you. Although the greenhouse has excellent light, it also lacks ultraviolet rays, so the ultraviolet imbalance of greenhouse succulents would be relatively mild.
In addition, opening windows frequently can effectively alleviate this problem, because scattered ultraviolet rays will come in through the windows (one window is enough to double the ultraviolet content in the room), making the succulents think that there is enough sunlight.

2. Overwatering

This is a problem caused by a mismatch between the amount of water and the amount of sunlight. When the water absorbed by the succulents cannot be consumed by photosynthesis, it will be stored in the stems (the leaves are already full of water at this time). The expansion of the vacuoles in the stems will cause the succulents to use the already limited organic matter to construct stem cells, thereby causing the stems to grow too long.

Water as much as you get light. Greenhouses are also used for indoor cultivation, but the succulents there grow fast because they have dozens of times more light than you do. Don't water them too much to increase the growth rate. Those succulents that are said to be able to survive in the rain are those that are grown outdoors. You still have to be extra restrained with the lady you have at home.

3. The soil is too fertile (too much nitrogen fertilizer)

If flower lovers who grow succulents at home apply fertilizer, they usually use compound fertilizer. Today's plant compound fertilizers must be mainly nitrogen fertilizers (nitrogen fertilizers can grow leaves and branches luxuriantly). However, nitrogen fertilizer is a very bad thing for succulents, because nitrogen fertilizer can accelerate the cell division of succulents. If photosynthesis cannot keep up, the succulents will immediately grow tall and thin, and the growth will be weak and easy to fall over.

4. Poor placement

This is really not superstition (Feng Shui), it is real. To put it bluntly, the excessive growth of succulents is caused by their phototropism.

For example, if you place your succulent on a table next to the windowsill, the first ray of sunlight every morning at breakfast can only illuminate the succulent's head. Hehe, if you were it, would you stretch your neck hard to get more sun? You would definitely do that, right? Go get it checked out right away, as this type of growth is the easiest to avoid and is also often the easiest to ignore.

5. Poor root breathing

This situation is actually similar to the cause of excessive growth caused by too much water. After all, poor root breathing is mostly caused by excessive watering. However, the analysis of its internal mechanism is different. Since succulents live in arid mountainous areas, their leaves have very weak breathing capacity (they need to retain moisture by closing stomata during the day and collect carbon dioxide at night). Therefore, the important task of breathing is left to the roots. After all, the roots are in the cool underground world, away from wind and sun.

Then the problem arises. When the roots of succulents have difficulty breathing, the entire plant will be suffocated. In the absence of oxygen, the life activity level of succulents is greatly reduced and photosynthesis will also slow down. The organic matter produced will also be supplied to the stem part first (the stem is the hub). At this point, everyone should understand that this will inevitably cause the stems to grow too long.

The method to avoid this situation is actually simple: control water and ventilate. Otherwise, even if the plant does not grow too tall, it will become waterlogged or black rot, and a series of problems will occur.
The above are all methods to prevent succulents from growing too tall. The growth can be restored, but the growth is irreversible. Once it occurs, it grows extremely quickly. I have seen succulents that grow several centimeters a day. When you discover it, even if you put it outside immediately, it will be too late, and it may even be sunburned to death. If leggy growth has already occurred, don't be discouraged. You even have reason to be happy because you have taken the first step in growing succulents. When this succulent becomes rejuvenated again, it will show you a different kind of beauty.