Irrigation is one of the most important and, at the same time, most complicated tasks. It is very difficult to control it, and things get complicated when you have to water succulents, that is, cacti and / or succulent plants.
So I'm going to give you a series of guidelines on watering succulents that will be very useful so that your precious plants can grow without problems.
When should succulents be watered?
Some say that in the morning, others that at night, but the reality is that depends. About what? Of two things: the place where you live and the climate in your area. Thus, for example, if you live in a place where it rains regularly and is also cold in winter, irrigation will be much less frequent than if you are on the Mediterranean coast, where the sun is the star of the sky for much of the year.
Starting from this, We will know that we have to water our succulents if:
- No rain is expected in at least the next seven days if it is summer, or 15-20 if it is any other season.
- Temperatures are kept above 10ºC.
- The substrate is very, very dry, to the point where the plants have started to wrinkle.
- The succulents are growing, which means it is spring and / or summer.
What is the best time? Regardless of the season, I have come to the conclusion that it is evening, since this way the substrate remains humid for longer so the roots have more time to absorb it. In addition, it will allow us to save a little water.
How do you have to water them?
Now that we know more or less when we have to give water to our beloved little plants, let's see how we have to water them so that they can absorb the precious liquid in the right way:
- The first thing to do is check substrate moisture. For this we can do several things:
- Insert a thin wooden stick (like the one used in Japanese restaurants): if the soil is wet, it will stick to it.
- Use a digital humidity meter: it is very easy to use. You just have to put it in the pot to tell us the degree of humidity. But, to be more reliable, it must be inserted in different areas (closer to the edge of the pot, more towards the center).
- Weigh the pot before and after watering: since the soil does not weigh the same dry as it is wet, we can be guided by this difference in weight.
- Then we must fill what we use to irrigate and direct the water jet to the ground, never to the plant. We have to make sure that it is well moistened. To avoid flooding and problems, we can use a sprayer, or, in the case that we have many plants, remove the »artichoke» from the watering can.
- Finally, If we have a plate underneath, we will remove it 15 minutes after watering to remove any excess water.
If you have any doubts, don't leave them out. Question 🙂.
Good morning!
I hope you are still here because I have a succulent that my mother gave me, she brought it from Alicante (where she had it for a long time in the courtyard of the house) to Barcelona (I don't have a terrace but I put it in a very bright place without direct sun) arrived beautiful .. Just the days before bringing it it rained a lot there. He was radiant but the leaves began to fall, they fall a lot every day and I don't know what to do ... the stem is furry and that is brown except for the end of the stems which is green like the leaves. The falling leaves are not soft or dry ... I don't know about plants but they don't look bad. If you could give me an email or WhatsApp where you can pass a photo I suppose it would help.
Could you tell me what to do?
Thank you!
Raquel.
Hello Rachel.
I recommend you take it out of the pot and wrap the soil bread (the roots) with absorbent paper. Keep it like this one night, and the next day plant it in a new pot that has holes in the base, filled with universal substrate mixed with equal parts perlite.
And water little. If you put a plate under it, remove the excess water 20 minutes after watering.
Regards!
Hello I have problems with my succulent? I don't know what it's called because I bought it at a fair, but it has a long stem and leaves on its sides. The sq thing from a while ago its leaves have been falling, they soften or wrinkle, it has water, it has light etc ... But another little plant is coming out of them next to the main stem, and I don't know if this is the reason for that the largest plant is dropping its leaves, please help
Hi Yery.
Do you have it in the sun or in the shade? How often do you water it? Do you have a plate under it?
In order to better help you, I need to know this information. For example, if you have it in a pot without holes or with a plate underneath, the water that is stagnant inside the pot and / or in the plate, the roots will rot and the leaves will fall.
If they had it in the shade nursery, and now it is in the sun, its leaves will also fall due to that sudden exposure to the sun king.
Well, if you have any doubts, contact us 🙂
Regards!
Hi! I have an echeverria (at least here we say so) it is quite large and it looks good. But the lower leaves (the largest ones) You notice them fallen ... not wrinkled or brown yet ... but they are fallen and a little soft ... lack of water? Surplus? I have them on a balcony with a lot of sun. And I water it 1 time every 15 days at most ...
Hi Joaquin.
It is normal for the leaves below to fall off as new ones sprout. Do not worry.
If the plant receives sun, and is healthy, there is no problem. But if you live in Spain it is advisable to start watering a little more often, as summer approaches.
Greetings.