For succulent plant beginners, this is how you should take care of the succulents you just bought home!

examine

1. If you buy succulents online, be sure to open the package immediately after receiving the goods and ventilate the succulents, especially in summer, otherwise black rot is not a trivial matter. Afterwards, check whether there are insects or other dirt on the succulents. If there are pests (especially powderyrhizomes), they must be removed immediately to prevent the invasion of insects. It is recommended to use Flower Protector for insect removal and sterilization!

2. If you buy meat in a greenhouse store, you should also check the meat. Generally, meat from greenhouses has been treated with insecticides and sterilization, so there is no need to panic. It is up to you whether to keep the original planting material. Transplanting with soil can generally increase the survival rate.

Root Pruning

After getting the bare-root succulents, you need to do some simple root pruning. Shake off the excess soil, remove the shriveled and rotten leaves and fibrous roots, and keep the main root. The wound can be coated with dry sulfur powder, or placed in a cool and ventilated place to dry for a day or two to allow the wound to heal and avoid infection and black rot.

Select pot

While the roots are drying, you can prepare the pot and soil. For beginners, there are generally the following options for choosing a pot:

1. “Little Black Square”: They are neat and uniform, suitable for planting one radish in one hole, which can save balcony space.

2. "Jingdezhen Ceramic Pot": Good air permeability, guaranteed to survive the summer. However, because water dissipates quickly, it is not easy for novices to control watering.

3. "Purple clay pot": The purple clay pot with excellent water permeability and air permeability is also the first choice for beginners. The simple shape is very harmonious with the old pile, but the price is relatively expensive.

4. "Korean stoneware pots": Not only is Korean Sedum invading in large numbers, but Korean-style pots are also gradually becoming the mainstream. They are generally glazed on the outside and made of stoneware inside, which is conducive to air permeability.

5. "White porcelain pot": White porcelain pots have poor air permeability. If watering is not properly controlled, it will easily cause water accumulation in the soil, so it is difficult for novices.

There are many kinds of pots. A pair of old boots or a tin box can become a new home for succulents. In short, the selection of pots should be analyzed according to the specific situation. You should choose according to the variety of succulents, the environment of the home, and the composition of the soil. Generally speaking, you should follow: "good water permeability and holes at the bottom".

Soil preparation

Most succulents prefer hydrophobic and breathable planting materials, which can be divided into three types based on their functions:

1. Planting soil: The purpose is to fix the plants and provide nutrients for the growth of succulents. Generally, the common succulent planting soil used in greenhouses can be used. If you like to mix the soil yourself, that's fine too. Usually it's "4 parts peat soil + 2 parts perlite + 2 parts volcanic rock + 2 parts vermiculite"

2. Bottom planting material: The purpose is to prevent excessive water accumulation in the soil. Avoid root rot of succulents or the breeding of pathogens due to moist soil, which can cause various diseases. Generally, large particles such as expanded clay are used. Coarsely screened coal slag is also a good choice, and charcoal with the ability to absorb impurities is also acceptable.

3. Surface planting material: The main purpose is for aesthetics, and it also has some small functions. The sources of paving planting materials are very wide, such as white pebbles, Akadama soil, Kiryu sand, Kanuma soil, etc. You can make reasonable choices according to the different pots and plants. The ultimate goal is still to achieve decorative beauty and fix the plants.

In fact, everyone's soil preparation method is different. The key is to configure it according to the local climate and plant variety.

Colonization

After the plant's wounds have healed completely, you can put it in a pot and put large-grained planting material, such as expanded clay, at the bottom of the pot to facilitate drainage and ventilation. Then use moist soil for dry planting (that is, the soil feels a little moist, and it feels wet when you grab it with your hands, but it will not stick together but will spread out when you loosen it), this can promote the growth of new roots for the plants. Finally, lay your favorite paving stones and place it in a bright and ventilated place (not exposed to the sun). Don't water it yet. After 3-4 days, you can spray some water on the soil surface. Water it thoroughly once a week or so. When the fleshy leaves are full and new leaves grow out, you can gradually expose it to the sun and maintain it normally.

Watering

After planting, it is time to take care of the succulents on a daily basis. Watering is generally done when the soil is dry and then watered thoroughly. That is, give enough water at one time until the bottom holes seep out, and then wait until it is almost dry before watering it thoroughly again. Succulents usually grow fastest in spring and autumn. The cool weather and suitable temperature require succulents to require more water. At this time, you can water them twice a week, usually in the evening. In the hot summer, succulents will enter a dormant state. At this time, you should cut off water appropriately. Do not water them frequently, which will cause the succulents to rot and die. Generally, water them once every 1-2 weeks, and keep them dry and ventilated. Winters in the north are cold, usually below 5°C or below zero, so succulents need to be moved indoors for maintenance and generally watered once a week. Succulents are generally not stressed in the south in winter, so they can still be cared for normally.

So how do you control watering?

a. Look at the leaves: If healthy leaves are wrinkled and shrunken, or if some varieties have drooping leaves that look listless, then that is a "thirst" signal from the succulents.

b. Look at the soil: Beginners can observe the changes in moisture in the soil. There is a simple way to do this. Just weigh it with your hand. The weight of the soil in the pot is very different when it is full of moisture and when it is lacking in moisture. In addition, if a gap forms between the outer edge of the soil and the inner edge of the pot, and the soil surface is cracked, this is also a sign of water shortage;

c. Look at the pot: Red pottery pots and other pots with good air permeability are not easy to retain water, so you can water more according to the specific situation; white porcelain pots or pots without holes should reduce watering according to the specific situation;

d. Look at the soil: if the soil is loose and breathable, you can water it more often according to the specific situation. If the soil is fine and compact, you should consider watering less.

sunshine

During the growing season, many succulents require sufficient sunlight, generally 4 to 6 hours a day. Different varieties and states of succulents have different requirements for light. For example, longer sunlight is needed during the flowering period to promote flowering; succulents that have just been potted should not be exposed to the sun; succulents in the Euphorbiaceae family like sunlight very much, etc. Growing succulents in the shade will cause the distance between their leaves to become larger, their colors to fade, their stems to become fragile, their leaves to become deformed, and their resistance to the outside world to decrease, making them particularly ugly. But don't worry, if you gradually expose them to light for a while, the succulents will still become cute. Remember to provide shade when the temperature exceeds 30 degrees Celsius in summer. It doesn't matter if the plant looks a little ugly, saving lives is the most important thing.

Diseases

Diseases are generally divided into two types: insect pests and fungal pests.

➜➜ Pests

Here we mainly talk about scale insects. There is a saying in the meat world: continuous heavy rain + continuous high temperature + exposure to the sun = zombie powder (dead seedlings, corpses, root mealybugs). Although it is funny, it also indirectly shows how much everyone hates scale insects. This plague god not only sucks the above-ground parts of succulents, but also hides in the soil. White cotton-like substances can often be found around the root fibers of succulents, which are their credit. Therefore, preventing and controlling scale insects is a basic skill that succulent lovers must acquire. For daily prevention and treatment we need to do:

a. Make sure that the plants and planting materials are free of any insects.

b. Once insects are found on the ground part of the plant, they will not be tolerated! If there is only a small amount, you can pick it out with a bamboo stick and kill it (mandatory), or you can wash it with clean water. If there is a large-scale outbreak and the insects are shamelessly hiding in the gaps between leaves and other places that are difficult for us to reach, then we have to take real action. Generally, special insecticides for succulents can be purchased online or in physical stores (the one I use is pyraclostrobin, recommended by the owner of a pesticide store). The concentration should be appropriately mixed, and the liquid medicine should be placed in a spray bottle. Carefully spray the parts where insects have infested. Also spray areas without insects as a general preventive measure. Two points should be noted during this period: 1. It is generally best to apply the pesticide in the evening and in a ventilated environment. 2. The frequency of applying pesticides is once every two weeks. If there is no insect pest, there is no need to apply pesticides frequently.

c. If the insects cleverly hide in the soil, don't panic. You can usually change the soil, carefully separate the roots, remove the soil with insects, and replace it with new soil. If you don't want to change the pot, you can use the immersion method, that is, immerse the bottom of the pot in the medicine solution for about 1 to 2 minutes.

d. Many people have noticed that where scale insects break out, there are often colonies of ants. This is not a good thing, because many times ants and scale insects have a mutualistic relationship. They suck the nectar secreted by scale insects and in return move the insects to other plants. This may explain why the scale insect outbreak is so widespread. According to the experience of some great masters, ants cannot be left alive either.

➜➜ Fungal damage

Fungal damage usually manifests itself as black rot, black spots or rust spots. These are caused by germs or bacteria.

a. Watering should be controlled at ordinary times and analyzed according to specific circumstances. Excessive waterlogging in the soil should not be caused.

b. Once diseased plants are found, they should be isolated immediately to prevent them from infecting other succulents.

c. Usually, you should improve ventilation conditions and spray fungicides regularly.

You also need to know some small knowledge: Generally, leaves of plants with black rot cannot be used for leaf cuttings, the soil where the diseased plants have been needs to be isolated and sterilized, etc.