How to Care for Succulents

Succulent plants are easy to love. Their ease of care, sunny dispositions, and slow-growing habits make them perfect for indoor houseplants. A succulent is a thick, fleshy plant that can store water to survive climates with insufficient rainfall or tough soil conditions. In some succulents, the water is stored in the leaves, others store water in their stems, and some have underground organs to store water.

Succulents are sometimes mistakenly thought of as just desert plants, but you can find succulents growing all over the world in a variety of forms. When it comes to caring for your succulent, the best advice is to give it the environment it natively grows well in.

Our succulents are Echeveria rosettes, native from Texas to Central America, the plants prefer low water and brief neglect (time to dry a bit after watering). Care for these succulents are practically foolproof and they grow well in either containers or toasty garden beds. The Echeveria succulent usually doesn’t exceed 12 inches in height or spread. Growing Echeveria in an unglazed clay pot, which will allow water to evaporate, is ideal. Otherwise, they need full sun and well-drained soil.

Our Valentine Succulent Mugs with a variety of Echeveria succulents.

How To Water Succulents

The most important part of good Echeveria care is watering. The biggest problems with succulents tend to come from overwatering. Unfortunately, there’s no perfect watering schedule. How much to water succulents, as with all plants, will change by the season, and even by the week, and totally dependent on the location of your growing succulent.

Tips for Watering Succulents

Plants should only be watered when the soil or planting medium is completely dry. A good, reliable way to water your succulents is to place your planter (with holes in the bottom) on a saucer full of shallow water and wait until the water is absorbed into the soil, then remove the planter from the saucer.

Another option, especially if your planter doesn’t have a drainage hole (like our Valentine mugs), is to water your succulents is by using a spray bottle. Mist the leaves, and then get in close to the base of the plant and spray the top layer of the soil so the roots can take in some water, too.

One sign a succulent has been overwatered is yellowing, translucent mushy leaves due to the excess water. They tend to fall off easily if touched. Succulents should never sit in standing water; it quickly leads to root rot, so proper drainage is essential.

Underwatering is a less common problem, but you’ll likely be able to spot it: Shriveled, droopy leaves. You’ll want to look for consistent wrinkling across the ENTIRE plant (if there are shriveled leaves at the base of the plant only, these may just be older leaves that you can gently remove).

Light for Succulents

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that succulents only like hot weather and full sun. Too much hot sun can burn leaves and drain them of their color. Situate your succulents in full sun - When growing them indoors, they prefer the bright light of a south-facing window. If growing outdoors, mulch around them with gravel or sand to help prevent weeds and conserve moisture in an area with cooler morning sun and afternoon shade.

How to Plant Succulents

We’ve seen succulents planted in rock gardens, hollow logs, cinderblocks, moss, and once you get the hang of succulent care there’s really no limit on “planters”. But if you’re a novice try to always make sure your planter has a drainage hole. A terra-cotta pot is always reliable and usually cheap, it retains water extremely well. Ceramic is another good, breathable option. Plastic pots don’t allow water to evaporate as quickly, so you run the risk of overwatering more quickly than with terra-cotta or ceramic pots.

Array of succulent colors! There are over 150 varieties of Echeveria alone.

Succulent Soil

Most succulents will do best in special succulents and/or cacti potting mix. Regular potting soil often retains too much moisture — great for many other plants but not ideal for succulents. You can also use a blend of potting soil, sand and perlite. Once again, the most important thing to look for is that your growing medium drains easily.

Transplanting

Succulents are easy to transplant due to their shallow and fibrous roots. Here are a few tips to have the best success when replanting succulents.

• Let succulents you've dug out rest a few days before replanting in soil. This allows their roots to heal.

• Succulents thrive in well-drained soil. Amend the soil with material to help with draining.

• Replant succulents at the same depth they were originally grown. Tamp the soil to support the plant and allow the plant to settle for a day or two before watering.

Baby Succulents

Echeveria succulents produce offsets or babies nestled against the mother rosette. These are easy to separate and grow - just pull the little rosette away and replant (following the advice above on soil and transplant). New plants may also be started from leaf cuttings. Simply lay the leaf on the surface of the soil and it will root within a few weeks.