The Complete Guide for Properly Growing Succulents

Raising succulents is not as straightforward, especially for beginners. The common problems encountered by novice succulent plant lovers are:

• Why do my succulents grow taller/leaner/thinner?

• Why are my succulents getting greener in color?

• Why is my succulent dying?

I will summarize some of the habits beginners should practice when raising succulents. Check the following ideas:

• Using "succulent soil" purchased directly from an online store to grow succulents.

• Placing succulents on desks, windowsills, or bay windows.

• Watering succulents every day.

The succulents we mostly buy are primarily from greenhouse farming. However, after we purchase succulents, the indoor environment in our houses is generally far worse than that in greenhouses. Therefore, the succulents getting leggy or fading are inevitable losses.

Outdoor raising is the best solution to prevent these problems. However, we primarily raise succulent plants indoors, like at home or in an office, so we have to look for hacks to better their growth.

Hopefully, you can grow healthy succulents and avoid their color fading off or getting leggy. You will be better off after reading the following tips I summarized using my two years of experience growing succulents indoors.

To solve the above problems, we should start by answering the following questions:

• What is an excellent external growth environment for succulents?

• How do you choose suitable soil for succulents?

• How do you make succulents look better by fertilizing?

So, let's explain each question one by one:

An excellent external growth environment for succulents includes the following factors:

1. Enough and unobstructed light

If growing the succulents outdoors is possible, you don't need to worry about ventilation and significant temperature differences between day and night.

Otherwise, try to put it by the window when you can't raise the plant outdoors. Since you can open the windows in spring, summer, and autumn, there is little temperature difference and ventilation. In addition, outside exposure from the window facilitates light penetration. Also, using a grow light can help your succulents grow indoors.

2. The significant temperature difference between day and night

A temperature difference is one of the main reasons for the color of succulents, but it isn't easy to artificially create a high-temperature difference out. Furthermore, it isn't easy to attain a temperature difference in closed environments.

3. Ventilation

The need for ventilation mainly keeps the succulents from being sultry to death due to the high temperature. But, at the same time, it can also make the moisture in the soil evaporate as soon as possible and reduce the chance of breeding bacteria.

4. Relatively high air humidity

To raise succulents indoors, the air humidity should be above 30%. In terms of light, there are several things to consider, given that it is the component responsible for the succulent's color.

Outdoors, there is sufficient natural light (enough ultraviolet rays). Hence, to protect themselves from sunburn, plants will push their pigments to the outermost layer to resist too much light. As a result, various succulents have varying tints, which is why there are colorful pigments. Similarly, if the light is not enough, the plant does not have to push the pigment out, which causes fading.

However, why does the succulent still fade if the sun can still shine into a room?

Because of the glass block. Glass blocks the vast majority of UV rays, so while sunlight can get into the room, there is little penetration of UV light.