What care is required for succulents at home?

Succulents are called plants that have tissues to store large amounts of water. In nature, they grow in arid climates, often in deserts. At the same time, many amateur gardeners are happy to grow domesticated species of succulents on their windowsills. What kind of care do succulents need when growing at home?

Forced beauty

Florists love succulents for good reason. Most of them are very decorative. And this decorative effect is primarily due to the presence of special mechanisms in plants that allow them to adapt to drought conditions: evaporate less moisture, store it for a long time, resist the scorching sun and animals.

• Dense wax film, spines, pubescence, rosette structure of leaves with a reduced stem, rounded shape of leaves - these are ways to reduce evaporation.
• Thick, fleshy stems, and in their absence a massive ribbed stalk, are reservoirs for moisture reserves.
• Pale color of leaves, red pigmentation is a protection from the scorching sun.

At the same time, succulents are not united by origin, they can be found in different parts of the earth, where there is a lot of sun and little moisture. In nature, they are forced to defend themselves against eating by animals, so many of them have natural adaptations for this:

• spines;
• poisonous or bitter juice;
• resemblance to stones or even animals.

The most famous of succulents are:

• stone flower (echeveria);
• stonecrop (sedum);
• Crassula (Crassula);
• aloe;
• Kalanchoe;
• most types of cacti.

Succulents can be divided into two types according to the method of moisture accumulation:

• stem (accumulate moisture in special folds of stems) - milkweeds and cacti;
• leafy (reserve moisture in the leaves) - echeveria, aloe, haworthia, lithops, rejuvenation, stonecrop.

By the way, you can grow succulents not only one in a pot. A succulent mix of several varieties, with different shapes and colors, will look much more decorative. Such compositions can be purchased ready-made or created independently. For example, to collect cactus, haworthia, gasteria, lithops, echeveria in a wide ceramic bowl, add pachyphytum, sedum, fat, monantes to them, decorate the composition with a decorative stone, sprinkle the surface with small pebbles or wood bark - you will get a harmonious mix of shapes and colors that can please eye almost all year round.

Seasonal care

In order to provide succulents with proper care and comfort, it is important to recreate for them at home the familiar microclimate of their environment. This applies to the amount of moisture, light and temperature conditions. One more fact should be taken into account here: winter is the period of natural rest of succulents, when the air temperature decreases, and the vital processes of plants slow down significantly. A dormant period may come in the summer, when the air temperature rises very sharply.

In general, succulents are accustomed to good lighting conditions and are capable of withstanding quite intense heat. They tolerate a lack of light poorly: they are pulled, bent, and lose the natural color of the leaves. Flowering varieties do not bloom under such conditions. With excessive sun, they can get burns, some species produce crimson protective pigment. This is a sign that the succulents are too hot.

Tip

To avoid sunburn, but not greatly reduce the amount of light, set the succulent pots away from the glass, to the edge of the window sill.And even better - on a table or dresser in front of a windowsill.

At the same time, air humidity should be low - one that succulents are used to. Accordingly, as neighbors, flowers that demand high humidity and love irrigation will not suit them. To simulate natural watering, it is important to water the succulents only when the earthen lump is dry. Watering should be plentiful, but sparse - as happens in desert conditions.

• Vegetation period.

Most often this time is from March-April to October-November. At this time, the optimum temperature will be 25-35 degrees. Succulents need to be fed during this period approximately once a month with fertilizers with a low nitrogen content. Water them with water, which in its properties is close to natural (rain or condensed from the air). Therefore, water with a low salt content is needed. This can be distilled, melt, rain or bottled water. During the active growing season, watering succulents should be carried out approximately once a week, if during this time the earthen lump has time to dry out. If not, then a little less. If the earth dries faster, it is recommended to water the plants more often.

• Rest period.

From November-December to February-March, most of the succulents are at rest, when all vegetation processes are greatly slowed down. In this case, plants will be enough +15 degrees. Top dressing during this period is impractical. Succulents should be watered during dormancy no more than once a month, because to maintain the vital functions of a larger volume of liquid (given the ability of these plants to store moisture) is not required.

In winter, it is prudent to move the pots with succulents closer to the glass. This will increase the amount of light and slightly reduce the temperature of the air around them. In addition, cold is an indispensable condition for flowering for some types of succulents.

Reproduction and transplantation

It is necessary to transplant succulents during the growth period - best in spring. For soil, it is important that it passes air and moisture well. Therefore, it should consist of a mixture of sheet earth, humus, sand and perlite.

Succulents can be propagated by seeds or parts of plants. The second method is easier, therefore more common. It can be leaves, cuttings, leaf sockets, sprouts, babies - each species has its own way of propagation, but with any of them rooting is quite easy. It is enough to bury the necessary part into the ground by about 1 cm and provide optimal watering.

Diseases and Pests

One of the most dangerous for succulents are pests of the coccidi group:

• worms;
• scale insects;
• false shields;
• felts;
• dactylopids.

They are extremely prolific, in addition, they have a protective coating, which greatly complicates the fight against them. The greatest likelihood of infection by them exists in imported plants or those brought by tourists from tropical latitudes. To avoid pest problems, it is necessary to leave the succulent for a month quarantine on a separate window sill. During this period, it is important to carefully monitor the appearance of insect larvae, carefully examining the places of their accumulation: sinuses and veins of leaves, stems and trunks. However, some types of pests affect the root system, so you can detect them only by freeing the roots from the ground, if the plant shows signs of oppression.

Where else can you wait for the appearance of pests?

• From the street - during the summer content of plants in the open air.
• With the clothes of a florist colleague.
• From the office (here the flowers are often groomed).
• From bouquets, especially not processed for long transportation (local flora).
• With greens, fruits or vegetables.
• With a soil mixture that has not been sterilized before planting succulents.

To combat these pests, if they are still found on succulents, the following insecticides can be used:

• "Aktara";
• "Actellik";
• "Fosbezid."

Of the diseases, succulents most common stem or root rot.These diseases are fungal, so in most cases they lead to the death of the plant. It is very rarely possible to detect an unaffected part of a plant and plant it.

Most of the troubles associated with the propagation of pests or the emergence of diseases arise due to the improper content of succulents. Therefore, it is so important to maintain the temperature and humidity conditions, keep the plants clean, prevent them from crowding on the windowsill, ventilate the room, and carry out preventive treatments. And then succulents will delight their owners with a beautiful appearance and abundant flowering (if the species is blooming). Indeed, in essence, it is difficult to find a more unpretentious houseplant than succulent.