I fell in love with these little guys a couple of years ago, and I've been obsessed ever since.
They are seriously THE easiest plant to take care of, and add a lot to a room.
They don't needs tons of sun (in fact, they prefer not to be in direct sunlight), and only need to be watered every couple weeks. As a bonus, if they are healthy they will produce "chicks" which is like getting free plants! There are many types of succulents, which makes for a beautifully varied display. To plant them, grab these things:
Rocks (I like to get both big and small rocks to help filtration)
Soil made for cacti and succulents (here is a great soil)
Flower pot or bowl with a drainage hole on the bottom
Succulent plants
Decorative rocks (optional)
The ONLY thing succulents are picky about is filtration. It is absolutely necessary to get well filtered dirt made for these little guys, which is very different from regular soil. If you don't feel like buying special dirt just for these plants, you can mix regular potting soil with some sand and tiny pebbles. The result will be about the same. If you don't have a well-filtered area for them, their roots will rot and then bye bye birdie.
After you have all your supplies ready to go, put a layer of rocks on the bottom of your bowls or flower pots.
I like to also place some smaller rocks over this layer, but it's not absolutely necessary. I figure the more filtration the better!
After this, pour your soil over the rocks, leaving some room at the top. Remember that your plants will take up quite a bit of room, and you don't want to overfill to pot (wild guess as to how I know this). After you've added the dirt, you are ready to add the plants! I like to "roll" the roots in my hand a bit to loosen up the dirt from the starter pot it was in. Clear a space in the dirt, and place your plant where you'd like it!
Repeat until your display is full of these beautiful things. Succulents don't need a lot of space, so don't worry about planting them close together. As you can see, mine are quite packed in there.
Look! It's one of my favorite things of all time! This Aloe Vera got its own little pot. Yep, I played favorites.
After I planted everything my bowl looked like this:
I added just a few white rocks for a decorative touch.
Here is the entire display:
The best way to care for succulents is to water them every two weeks. Some people do it more, but this watering schedule has always worked for me. When you do water them, really soak the soil. The extra water should drain out of the bottom.
Note: Sometimes these plants tend to fall prey to white little webby things (these are mealy bugs), and these pests damage them. To take care of the problem, mix 1 part isopropyl alcohol with 4 parts water. Dip a cotton swab into the solution and gently wipe the webby things off. I usually use peppermint oil in water for pest issues, however this did not work on the mealy bugs.
Succulents don't like to be in direct sunlight (my windows have a slight tint, keeping out powerful rays Korean style, so I still keep mine by the window).
Happy planting! What things do you grow indoors? I'd love to hear your thoughts and tips!
