Succulent Care: Common Misconceptions
Misconception #1: Succulents are the easiest plants
My foray into plant parenthood began with succulents because like most people, I was under the impression that they are the “easiest plants” to care for. Needless to say, this belief made killing my first succulent somewhat discouraging. I thought “if I can’t even keep a succulent alive, what can I keep alive? It wasn’t until I branched out into mistreating other houseplants that I realized what should have been obvious all along: there is no such thing as a universal “easiest plant”. The reason my notoriously fussy Calathea recovered from every one of my learning curve screw-ups was the same reason my succulents turned to mush the instant I looked at them wrong; it all comes down to environment. Environmental conditions have everything to do with how easy a plant’s care is. Most types of succulents are native to Africa or Central and South America. They are perfectly adapted to very bright, very hot conditions. So while they may be the easiest plants to grow for someone closer to the equator, it’s no surprise that I was struggling to keep them happy in cold, humid New England. No matter how closely you follow care instructions, your plant will always be happier, healthier, and more capable of fighting off pests and infections (in other words, easier) if you can recreate its natural environment. For most succulents, this means dry, hot, and sunny.
Misconception #2: Pot in cactus soil
This is the most common bad succulent advice I see, and the mistake I made immediately after googling “succulent care” for the first time. While it is essential that you use a cactus/succulent soil for your succulents, cactus soil straight out of the bag is almost always too rich and moisture-retaining. You will have much better luck mixing it with an inorganic additive to improve drainage. I use perlite – it’s lightweight, inexpensive, and effective. I recommend mixing it at a ratio of at least one third perlite to two thirds cactus soil. I usually mix them 50/50, especially for varieties that are prone to rot, like echeveria. Do not be fooled if your bag of cactus soil says that it contains perlite. I can pretty much guarantee you that it’s not enough perlite to make a difference.
Another thing I learned the hard way – check the ingredients of your cactus soil for peat moss. It is the primary ingredient in many name brand cactus & succulent soils, which makes them unsuitable succulents even after the addition of perlite. Peat moss is highly moisture-retaining – in fact, this is one of its primary functions in the garden. It is designed to stay wet, making it a succulent death sentence in large enough proportions. As general rule, if a succulent’s roots don’t dry completely within two days, it will rot. A small amount of peat in the soil is okay (and basically unavoidable), but it should not be the primary ingredient.
Misconception #3: A layer of pebbles = drainage
Every succulent care blog post will tell you that succulents need drainage, but there seems to be some confusion about what drainage actually is. I’ve read countless posts that claim that if your pot doesn’t have a hole, you can create drainage by adding a layer of pebbles to the bottom beneath the soil. This is just not true. Unless the water is flowing out of the pot, there is no drainage. At best, the water will stagnate indefinitely in the bottom of the pot, never quite evaporating. At worst (and most likely), water will continue to accumulate until it rises above the pebbles and rots your succulent’s roots.
So now that we’ve talked about drainage, let’s talk about good drainage. Unless your climate is extremely hot and arid, the chances are good that any hole in any pot is not necessarily enough to keep your succulents from rotting. Personally, I won’t pot succulents in anything other than terra cotta, because it is very breathable and fast-drying. It took an embarrassing number of succulent deaths for me to successfully fight the urge to pot them in adorable glazed ceramic, but now I will never go back. They also seem to do well in plastic nursery pots, which have plenty of drainage holes all across the bottom. Again, this is largely environment-specific. If you live somewhere dry and hot, you will have a much better shot succeeding with other types of containers. But if you’re a beginner, especially one in a cold and humid place, I strongly suggest terra cotta.
Misconception #4: Water every 10-14 days
This and using the wrong soil are what killed my first batch of succulents. For those of us who aren’t naturally green-thumbed (like me), the appeal of a concrete rule to follow is hard to resist. Unfortunately, the ’10-14’ days schedule is a massive oversimplification, and only ends up being right about half the time. So for those who crave the comfort and guidance of a general rule, here’s the one I use: do not water your succulent until the bottom leaves have started to wrinkle slightly. Seriously. Do not. The amount of time this takes will vary widely depending on the temperature, humidity, hours of sunlight, and especially the genus/species of the plant. If you’re anything like me, waiting for your poor plant to wrinkle will be slightly painful, but shove the feeling down. Succulents are perfectly adapted to being thirsty, and once you water them, they will plump right back up to their adorable chubby shape. I have never rotted or overwatered a succulent while following this rule. The catch is that there are some varieties that won’t wrinkle no matter how thirsty they get, including most cacti. I am working on a detailed breakdown of which succulents to use the wrinkle rule for, so keep an eye out for that! But in the meantime, if the leaves are soft (like an echeveria or a tender sedum), it’s a safe bet that they’ll wrinkle when your plant is thirsty. If they are spiky (like most cacti and haworthia), they probably won’t.
Misconception #5: “succulent care”
Aside from very general rules and guidelines, “succulent care” is itself a flawed concept. There are at least 30 succulent families, hundreds of succulent genera, and thousands (upon thousands) of succulent species. I have succulents that need to be watered every 5 days and others that will rot if they’re watered more than twice a month. There are succulents that can withstand frost and others that will die if temperatures approach freezing. Some need 8+ hours of direct sun daily, and others prefer shade. The best thing you can do for your succulent is find out what it is and research care instructions for that species (genus is usually close enough if you have a less common variety). And because there is so much succulent misinformation out there, try to find a few different sources before you decide how you’re going to care for your plant.
I hope this was helpful! I know it would have saved me a lot of time, money, and energy to find a post like this starting out, so my goal is to do that for you. Feel free to pass this on to your succulent-challenged friends if you think it would help them. I’ve linked some of my favorite products at the bottom. They are my go-tos that are staples of my plant supply drawer and I do not get paid to advertise them (yet! Hopefully someday!).
RECOMMENDATIONS
Terra cotta pots & saucers ($1-2 each) - 2 inch | 3 inch | 4 inch | Saucers
Plastic nursery pots (all under $1) - Multiple sizes
Perlite ($9) - Espoma perlite (they have this on amazon too)
Succulent soil - VERY GRITTY ($16/2 quarts) - Bonsai Jack Succulent Mix - this stuff is pricey but high quality. It’s good straight out of the bag, and does not need to be cut with perlite. This mix has basically no soil in it, and it is IDEAL for rot-prone succulents like echeveria, but too gritty for thirstier varieties, such as string of pearls or string of hearts.
Succulent soil - Less gritty - I buy my soil-based mix at a local nursery and cut it with perlite at home. Unfortunately, they don’t sell online yet, and I refuse to recommend something unless I’ve used it myself. However, they have their ingredients posted online. They use sand, peat, perlite, grit, and fine gravel. If you mix this yourself, make sure to go easy on the peat!
PRODUCTS TO AVOID:
These are things I have seen recommended elsewhere, used myself, and hated. Things that should never be inflicted on anyone else.
SOIL TO AVOID: This soil killed my first batch of succulents. Not only is it basically all peat moss, but the bag I got was full of fungus gnat larvae, and many other reviews report fungus gnats as well as mold. It has a lot of good reviews, so it’s possible my bag was an anomaly. But I doubt it. Here it is.