Succulents are low-maintenance, in-style, and affordable. They’re also super fun to collect because there are so many different kinds. It’s really no surprise that succulents have become some of the most popular houseplants. If you’re planning to add a few succulents to home or office in Rochester or Webster, then take a moment to peruse this quick succulent care guide from the experts at Kittelberger Florist & Gifts.
How Succulents Differ from other Plants
Most green plants have paper-thin leaves, but succulents sprout thick, rubbery leaves, which help them store water. Their unique structures make them well suited to tolerating drought in arid climates, like deserts.
Why Succulents Make the Perfect Houseplants
Succulents are an upbeat way to modernize a home or office, and they’re also really healthy for your environment. Succulents create a calm atmosphere with positive energy that encourages productivity and concentration. They also help purify the air by pulling toxins, like VOCs, toward their roots and transforming the chemicals into nutrients. While they work to clean indoor air pollution, succulents also replenish the air by emitting fresh oxygen.
Favorite Succulent Varieties
There are countless varieties of succulents, which makes it tough to point to just a few. Their wide collection of different looks, however, is what makes them so much fun to grow, arrange in containers, and even use in floral arrangements. If you do receive a succulent in a bouquet of flowers, wait for the flowers to be spent. Then plant the succulent. It’ll sprout roots and flourish.
Sedum
Sedum succulents are the perfect fillers for any succulent garden. They grow rapidly and spread out fast, giving a container fullness and depth. There’s a vast diversity of sedum succulents. Some produce small rosettes, others grow in tall columns of leaves, and other sedums produce long, dangling bunches of leaf segments.
Green Sedum
Echeveria
Echeveria succulents are some of the most commonly spotted in succulent gardens and greenhouses. Their classic starburst shapes are lovely to look at, like staring into the center of a mandala, but otherwise, they’re quite varied. Some echeveria have crinkled leaves, while others are smooth. Leaves also vary from round to pointed and stick-like to tubular. They grow in shades of green, red, pink, and even black.
Echeveria Succulents
Kalanchoe
These are arguably the most cheerful of all succulents thanks to their bright clusters of flowers in pink, red, orange, yellow, and white. Kalanchoe plants have broad, paddle-like leaves, and when they’re properly cared for they’ll bloom during the darkest months of the year — from autumn until spring.
Orange Kalanchoe
How to Grow Indoor Succulents Like a Professional
Pot succulents in a low-nutrient potting mix formulated specifically for cacti and succulents. Choose a container that will drain easily and remember that succulents with compact root systems grow more quickly. A snug pot is the best choice. Perch succulents in a location where they’ll receive plenty of direct sunlight and rotate occasionally to promote even growth. Succulents don’t need to be pruned but should have any dead leaves or other debris removed promptly to prevent bacterial growth.
Most importantly, water succulents sparingly and allow the soil to dry completely before watering again. Never allow a succulent to sit in standing water.
Various Succulents
If a succulent’s leaves begin to turn yellow or brown persistently, this is a sign of distress. This usually happens due to over-watering, but can also indicate a plant that hasn’t received enough water. Check the soil and contact Kittelberger Florist & Gifts for professional advice.
