By Monica Cardoza
For The Washington Post
It’s easy to love succulents. They’re decorative, compact, inexpensive and readily available. But it’s their reputation for being low-maintenance that makes people want to bring home one or three — or a dozen.
While it’s true that they aren’t demanding plants, succulents, which include cacti, do have very specific needs in of soil, water and light. And when those needs aren’t met, the plant suffers. Then, in an effort to correct the problems, owners often just end up making things worse, or even killing the plant.
“People have that nurturing instinct,” says Paul G. Wesolowski, president of the Philadelphia Cactus & Succulent Society. “They want to give it love and attention and water, and they literally kill it with kindness.”
Here, plant experts share tips for helping your succulents thrive.
Start with healthy plants
You can find high-quality succulents at plant shops, independent garden centers and big-box stores. But you have to know what to look for. Choose plants that are evenly colored and uniformly plump, indicators that they have received the correct amounts of water and light.
Avoid succulents with wet soil, a sign that they have been overwatered. These plants may eventually develop soft, mushy leaves or root rot, which can lead to their demise. “I’ve bought plants and let them sit for about a week, and they had rotted by the end of that week,” says Cassidy Tuttle, author of “Succulents: Everything You Need to Select, Pair and Care for Succulents.”
Compact succulents that have received inadequate light will get leggy and stretch, known as etiolation. “The new growth may plump out, but the skinny section will have what’s called a ‘neck,’ and will never plump out again,” says Wesolowski. Go for plants that are compact with thick, glossy leaves instead. (Succulents generally have leaves in which they store water. Those without leaves store water in their stems.)
Check the plants for disease and infestations, including mealy bugs, which look like a cottony, white substance, and powdery mildew, which initially appears as white circles on leaves and stems. If you have succulents at home, quarantine your new ones for a week or two. “This avoids spreading a pest or disease overlooked in the store,” Wesolowski says.
Choose plants labeled with their botanical name so you can look up their specific care needs online. “The kind of succulent you have will impact the amount of light and water it needs,” says Tuttle, who blogs at Succulents and Sunshine.
Or you can buy from online retailers. One of the largest is Altman Plants. Smaller ones, recommended by Tuttle, include Mountain Crest Gardens and Leaf & Clay. You can also check with local Cactus and Succulent Society chapters for recommended online sellers.
Before ordering, Wesolowski says, carefully read the plant description, including whether it will arrive in a pot or as an unpotted plug. Also make sure you understand the return policy. “Typically, a reliable nursery will give you a refund,” he says. “If you don’t think a plant you received online is as described, you can send it back, and depending on the policy, it may be a refund or a credit toward another purchase.”
Choose the right soil
Commercial succulent soil runs the gamut from organic mixes containing peat or shredded coconut, or coir, to gritty mixes with larger particles, including granite, pumice and calcined clay.
“A lot of commercial nurseries use a peat-based potting mix, and when peat dries out, it’s hard to rewet, and the water rolls right off it,” says Wesolowski, who uses a coir-based mix instead. “Coir doesn’t dry out the way peat does, and it’s not endangered the way peat bogs are.”
Tuttle prefers a gritty mix. “A larger particle size allows for more airflow through the soil, so it can dry off faster,” she says. “It also gives succulents more space to put off new roots.”
She makes her own, but compares it with Jack’s Gritty Mix. To prevent the mix from escaping through drainage holes, Tuttle uses drywall mesh tape on the inside of the pot.
If the soil you choose contains fertilizer, don’t add more. But if it doesn’t, a half-strength solution of low-nitrogen cactus/succulent fertilizer once a year may be adequate. “If you fertilize, the plants grow faster, and most people don’t have enough light to keep their succulent compact,” Tuttle says.
Water by need, not frequency
“When in doubt, give it drought,” Wesolowski says. “Succulents are designed to store water and can go weeks or even months without it. You can kill it in two weeks by watering it every day.”
If you’re unsure whether to water Wesolowski suggests a “pencil test.” Stick a pencil (or a toothpick or the plant’s thin plastic label) into the soil. “If it comes out dirty, it’s water that’s allowing the dirt to adhere to the pencil,” he says. “If it’s relatively clean, the soil is dry and you can water.”
Pots with drainage holes prevent overwatering and root rot. However, if your container has no drainage hole, approximate how much soil is in it, then add half as much water, Tuttle says. A container with about a cup of soil, for example, can take a half cup of water. Pick it up to feel how heavy it is, and don’t water again until it’s lighter, or use the pencil test.
If you’re watering from the top in a pot with drainage holes, pour the water slowly into the soil in small doses so it saturates the center of the pot before running out the bottom into a saucer. The top soil should get evenly wet, and the pot should feel heavier. “It can sit in the saucer of water for a day, but you don’t want it to be constantly sitting in a saucer of water,” Wesolowski says. “The roots need air. Otherwise, they can rot.”
To water from the bottom, Tuttle recommends sitting the pot in water for about 15 minutes, or until the top of the soil feels moist. While it’s sitting, you can pour some water on top “to get things going.” Then remove it from the water and allow the excess to drain. “I call it the ‘soak and dry method,’ getting your soil soaked all the way to the center, then letting it dry out completely before you water again.”
Provide adequate light
Most succulents need a lot of light — think at least six hours of bright, indirect light each day — to thrive. To achieve that you have three options: natural light, grow lights or a combination. A south-facing window receiving bright light all day may suffice. But if your plants are near a window and they begin to stretch or lose their bright colors, it’s time to add lighting.
Grow lights come in a variety of models, including lightbulbs, stand-alone fixtures, hanging options and more. For a small terrarium with three plants on her desk in her windowless office, Tuttle outfits an adjustable desk lamp with an LED bulb and places it 6 to 12 inches from the plants. “They’re maintaining their color, and staying compact,” says Tuttle, who sets the light’s timer for 12 hours a day.
Tuttle and Wesolowski both have so many plants that they find it easiest to keep them in shelving units outfitted with long tube grow lights. “The artificial lights they have today are incredible,” Wesolowski says. “The better, more efficient lights tend to be 2- or 4-foot-long tubes or fixtures. They also make smaller lights. But I say, ‘Go all in. Get the 4-foot fixture. Just buy more succulents.’”
