Do you have problems growing succulents? Are they dying on you, despite your best efforts? Do you want to learn how to take care of them properly, and watch them grow for years? This book may be for you!
I've been growing succulents for a while now...
This can be the hardest and heartwrenching thing to see, especially if you've done everything else correctly. And you have a history of a black thumb.
A common misconception about succulents is that you don't have to water them very often.
That's not always the case.
Succulents, like other plants, need water to survive. While it's true they can live off less water than a normal plant, they still need to be watered. I recommend following the instructions for the specific succulent, which tend to change from plant to plant.
I normally let the soil (the top layer you can feel) dry out before I water them again. Depending on how humid the room or area is, and how much sunlight the plants get, this can mean anywhere from a few days to up to a week. In the winter, you cut it back. Sometimes every few weeks, to every few months. Different climates call for different measures
You should keep track of when you water, how much, and how often. You're the only person who can say if you've given them enough water, or even too much.
Anyways, on with the info:
One of the quickest and easiest ways to tell if your succulent is underwatered is that the plant's leaves will start to shrivel. As time goes on, the leaves will even start to drop as the water levels inside get even worse. The plant does this to conserve energy and water. The leaves will stop feeling nice and thick, and they'll start to thin and deflate. Like so:
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It is relatively easy to come back from underwatering, but only to a certain extent. If the leaves have already turned brown and shriveled, pluck those off and put some water in that pot! Don't overwater them; give them a good, thorough watering, and let the soil dry before watering again. It may take a while, but that plant should start looking better after a few waterings.
Slow and steady with it.
Overwatered succulents are sometimes harder to see, as they can look normal, but feel different. Their leaves tend to be soft and mushy (not as firm as usual), and can also look a bit deflated. Sometimes, the leaves will start to rot and turn black as the overwatering continues. The leaves can also drop due to underwatering, but overwatering looks more like this:
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Overwatered plants tend to lose their leaves easily, even just a faint touch, but underwatered succulents have leaves that dry and fall off from the bottom of the plant.
Recovering from an overwatered plant can be tricky. Let the soil dry out before watering again. Move it to a sunnier spot, to make it dry out faster, and let it grow better (this might take a few tries). If your plant has started to rot, and is deteriorating fast, cut off the dead or mushy bits, and save anything still green. Sometimes, this means propagating new plants from the cuttings.
Hopefully this helps save your plants!
Propagating is next, but stick around, because after that, we're discussing individual succulents from around the world.
