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How to Take Care of a Succulent Garden

Succulents are one of the most popular types of plants. Needing little to no water for long periods of time, succulents, which are easy to maintain and have a beautiful look, can brighten up both the interior and exterior of your home. Taking care of a succulent garden is easier than you think. If you follow these steps, you will have the perfect succulent garden for your house. The following steps illustrate how to take care of an indoor succulent and outdoor succulent.

Taking care of an indoor succulent:

Plant your succulent in a pot that drains: Succulents don’t enjoy living in heavy amounts of water. They are used to heavy sunlight with little to no water in their container.

Use soil that drains well: Since succulents require very little water, your pot is going to need soil that will keep the needed water in and help the plant stay moist.

Plenty of sunlight: A usual succulent only requires half a day of sunlight. When winter rolls around and the climate starts to get colder, your succulent will need less sunlight (the amount of sunlight needed may vary depending on your plant).

Water to a decent amount: Watering is the biggest piece of the succulent growing puzzle. Succulents don’t require much water so it’s very easy to overwater your plants. Depending on the size of your succulent, the amount of water needed might be bigger or smaller. If you have a smaller plant, you might want to give it a light mist, but if you have a bigger plant, you might want to use a cup of water. 

Maintain correct temperature: For succulents, their temperatures should be around 70 to 80 degrees in summer, and 50 to 60 in winter.

Taking care of an outdoor succulent

Find the correct pot for your succulent: All succulents need to be in the sun, so make sure that your succulent is in a sunny spot outside.

Make sure you have appropriate soil: The soil must be able to drain well. If it doesn’t try filling your pot with sand or gravel to increase drainage. Your succulent may start to rot if it doesn’t have the correct soil.

Water to the right extent: Water the base of the plant until you see that the soil is fully moist. Then wait until the soil isn’t moist anymore to water the base.

Bring succulent indoors for the winter: Succulents do not like the cold. When the weather starts to change, bring your succulent inside. 

When asking a 10th grader at San Mateo Highschool named Abe Bredl about his thoughts on succulent gardens, he responded, “I have like 20 succulents. They’re a great plant for beginners or an avid gardener. They aren’t super hard to take care of. However, they still need as much love as any plant.” On the topic of what types of plants are good for beginners, Bredl stated,“I would say that a Parodia Magnifica is a really good one since it only needs to be watered every 10-14 days. Another good one would be an echeveria of any type, since they don’t get leggy and tall if they don’t get enough light, and they’re also not sharp. Finally, I would say Haworthias, in general, are really good for beginners. Since they don’t take up too much space, so you can put them on your desk (All of the ones I recommended are quite small), and it’s relatively easy to take care of… It’s really easy to move to an outside garden.” I then asked an ex-florist named Peggy Lucas tips for making a succulent garden, and she said, “If you break a succulent off or if a piece of succulent drops off, let it dry off and then stick it in the ground. It’s a lot easier for it to propagate. Succulents are the coldest because they are hardy and easy to transport. They like warm weather. If my info is correct and they don’t like direct sunlight.” When asked about what mistakes you should avoid when making a succulent garden, she responded,“I think not to crowd the plants and give them a little space because they grow fast and plant rike pants. You want to cluster plants like the same amount of water in a pot or dish.”