David Josephson - Succulent Gardening

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C opyright 2019 David Josephson

Preface

I f you desire greenery but havent succeeded in your efforts with houseplants, succulents might be the ideal plant for you. Regardless of your experience, where you live, or the size of your home, succulent gardening is a sure way to help you realize your dream in all your gardening endeavors. They are great for adding vibrancy and structure to your home. They add green to your living space and thrive without problems in room temperature environments. They can be grown indoors and outdoors providing a beautiful bright color adorning your environment. They are also not picky as to what type of pot you use to hold them but ideally would prefer to be in containers with drainage holes to keep the soil well drained. Succulents can be naturally found growing in virtually any clime: from hot desert and seaside cliffs to humid jungles and frigid mountains. Their hardiness and ability to grow in a wide variety of climates make them popular houseplants. Getting the plant is easy as you can just take a cutting from your local plant shop or a neighbor, and propagate your plant.

This massive guide has everything you need to know to make your plant arrangements incredible and get the most out of these wonderful plants. You will learn about, varieties of easy-to-grow succulents suitable for any environments, as well as care and arrangement tips for each. You will also learn how to select, plant, and grow this, versatile, and hardy plants, as well as how to take cuttings and propagate.

1 Tips for Growing Healthy Succulents

S ucculent gardens can brighten any indoor space. They're able to live and thrive through the harshest of environments and form a vast and diverse group of plants offering excellent choices for any home. They require minimal attention and are incredibly easy to look after. With the right information, succulents can be an easy way of bringing in a little bit of greenery into your home. They're easy to propagate and suited to most homes. They sprout baby plants off the end of their leaves regularly, which can be shared or re-planted.

They are best placed on the windowsill in the home where they can get the most sunlight. Identifying a succulent is simple and straightforward. They come in a vast variety of exciting sizes, colors, and shapes, often with stunning flowers and distinctive frills or spines with thick, fleshy leaves or stems. The color variation of succulents makes them attractive to many people. Also, their distinct leaf shapes give them striking textures that transform them into a beautiful plant ideal for a decorative addition to any home.

The color varies from red, blue-green, yellow, pink, white, burgundy, almost black, variegated, and more. They are easy to grow because they have special water-storage tissues that allow them to thrive in areas that are too dry for most other plants. Their fleshy leaves, thick stems or enlarged roots will enable them to store water. They are generally drought-tolerant plants suitable for any condition.

Succulents can survive under the dry humidity and warm conditions found in most indoor conditions and homes. While they grow best in bright light, they can quickly adapt to lower light. Although they are very tolerant of dry conditions, they do need water, especially during the growing season. The one good thing they have in common is the ability to store water in their fleshy leaves and stems to help them get through long periods of drought.

Some succulents seem more drought tolerant than others. You should consider the types of plants, location, soil type, and moisture level before you start. If you are starting, begin with plants that are easy and foolproof and plan the design with sufficient space for the plants to fill in as they grow over time.

Picking the right plant

Some succulents grow better indoors, while others thrive outdoors, it is crucial to pick the right plants suitable for your needs. If youre growing succulents outdoors, youll want to find out on how much sunlight they need. Most succulents wont survive the winter outside. You should be aware of frost tolerance of your choice if you are living in cold winters region. To make your succulent looking great and survive year around, you need to make the right selection.

Choosing the right container

There are a lot of options of containers in which to plant your succulents, but if you are just starting, it is advisable you use a container with a drainage hole. The pot doesnt need to be rooted because most succulents have relatively shallow root systems.

This will make things a bit easier, because, succulents can't stand overly moist soil. They do not like to be soaked in soggy soil. Succulent thrives well in a well-drained pot so make sure containers have drainage holes to allow excess water to exit. A pot that is porous and allows more air flow to the roots will be a good choice. Ceramics and terra cotta are generally good options for most climates. Glass containers are equally good options. But a container that has no place for water to drain out and good airflow will not be easy to develop healthy roots, sturdy stems, and leaves.

Fertilizer

Succulents, being native to poor, gritty soils, are adapted to survive in any environment. A standard houseplant fertilizer is okay for most succulents, but keep in mind that you can easily over fertilize them. You dont need a special succulent fertilizer ordinarily, they should be fed lightly or apply about half what you would use for a regular houseplant. They experience rapid growth during spring and summer, but growth slows down in winter. Compost sifted around them also makes excellent succulent food.