What’s All the Fuss About Succulents?

In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The very hardy nature of succulents makes them ideal for Australian conditions, and you can see more and more succulents being planted in pots and planter boxes across our region.

Succulents are easy to grow, just as long as you have the basics right i.e., potting mix, sunlight duration, and watering frequency. You can buy specialist succulent potting mixes in garden shops or you can make your own. To make your own, mix together three parts regular potting mix, two parts coarse sand, and one-part pumice or perlite.

Succulents indeed need sunlight but there is a certain amount of sunlight or length of exposure for them to grow healthy. The general rule of thumb is 4-6 hours of exposure to sunlight. Such length of sunlight exposure is perfect for their healthy growth. Even the shade succulents do need sunlight.

Better Homes and Gardens says that rather than giving your succulents sips of water here and there, give them a good soaking to the point the water runs out the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot. Be sure to empty the water that runs into the saucer beneath the plant pot. Then let the soil dry out completely before watering again. If the soil is still moist a week after watering, wait another week.

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