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How to Care for Your New Succulent

How to Care for Your New Succulent

Succulents are everywhere these days, and that makes me so happy! You can hardly go anywhere and not be presented with an adorable little tray of baby succulents, cacti, or air plants. Trader Joe's. Home Depot. Starbucks. Target. Home Goods. IHOP. Okay, maybe not IHOP ... yet. But you can find plant sales in all kinds of unexpected places. You get sucked in by the tiny little pots. You get sucked in by all the variety. You get sucked in by the ones who appear to be on the struggle bus -- surely, I can help this little guy live! So you swipe up one (or two or ... nevermind), shuttle your prize home, locate a nice prominent place to rest it, maybe give it a little drink, and sit back and admire it.

Then a few days go by, and then a few more. If you're in one of the climates where they grow regardless (looking at you, Florida and California), the little dude may look just like he did when he jumped in your cart. Lucky you. But if you're not living on the coast, you may have to take some extra steps to keep your little guy happy. Here are some tips that may help you start out right when you first bring home your new succulent pet.

Be Careful

First, identify what plant you have so you can figure out the care requirements. Should be easy, right? *sigh* In my experience, not many succulents -- or other plants, for that matter -- come with identification beyond something generic like "small succulent," let alone with care instructions, which is a shame. But never fear, we have the internet and a bunch of apps to help with identifying your plant. Two of my favorite apps for identifying new plants are Google's Lens, and LeafSnap, by Appixi. There are tons of other plant identification apps for both indoor and outdoor plants; those are just two I have used and found to be accurate and helpful and are free to use. Once you know what plant you have, do a quick internet search to get guidance on its care requirements.

Pro Tip: If you have multiple plants already, try grouping plants with similar care needs together.

There's a lot of information out there, but here are the main things you're looking for:

Where does this little guy want to live his best life? (Environment)
What does he eat and how often? (Feeding) (Hint: Those are two separate questions, and no, the answer isn't always "water, duh.")

In this post, I'll cover a few thoughts about the first question, Environment. Watch for a future post covering the feeding question.

Location, Location, Location

For your little guy to be happy, you need to find the ideal place for him to live his life. A lot of plants don't like to be moved from their happy place, but finding that sweet spot often involves a lot of trial and error. There are two main criteria in searching for indoor plant placement: Light and airflow. (I guess there are really three, because temperature swings can cause havoc as well, but both light and airflow play a role in temperature, so you're kind of already covered if you address those two other criteria.)

Let There Be Light

Many succulents like "6-8 hours of natural, indirect light." Don't we all? But sadly, this usually isn't available in your home, or if it is, you may have too many plants to share it. So what do you do? Move? Prolly not. Often, especially if you have a lot of plants, you simply buy grow lights to supplement. There are hundreds of varieties of grow lights, and you almost can't go wrong, so simply go searching for the size and specs that best fit your space, budget, style, and needs. But just like low light can be a problem, so can too much direct sunlight be. If you've found the perfect window for your little dude but feel there's too much light, consider backing him a bit more into the room with a plant stand or even a hanging plant holder to limit his exposure.

Easy Breezy, Baby

Another thing to consider that often gets overlooked is airflow. While some houseplants actually like a little breeze around to strengthen them, most don't handle it well. So try not to place your new plant in the path of a fan, AC vent, or heater to avoid overly drying the little guy out, varying his temperature and humidity too much, or even blowing tender leaves off his stems.

Movin' On Up?

One final thought that sort of fits in with the location topic is something I wish someone had told me early on in my plant-buying days: Resist the urge to repot your new plant! In most cases, the grow pot he came in will be fine for him for a great long while. Instead of upsetting your plant, take that gorgeous, slightly larger decorative pot you bought and place a right-fitting, high-lipped drip catcher down inside. Then seat the whole potted plant in there just as you got it. If you need some more height to get the grow pot's lip up just below the fancy pot lip, place a little piece of foam, wood, small rocks, or whatever under the drip tray first. (Just make sure the whatever can get wet, because drip trays can leak.)

Recap

Your new plant's happiness depends on you learning what it needs and giving it to him (just like you!). Find his best environment and feed him well, and you're well on your way to enjoying your succulent pet for a long time.