Hello, human. We succulents are a resilient but often misunderstood bunch. We see you trying your best, but sometimes your care, while well-intentioned, harms us. To help our relationship thrive, here are the biggest mistakes we see from our perspective.
This is the most common and fatal error. Our leaves and stems are designed to store water for long droughts. When you water us on a strict schedule, like every Sunday, you ignore our actual needs and the signals from our environment. Constantly wet soil suffocates our roots, preventing them from absorbing oxygen. This leads to root rot, a fast-acting condition that turns our roots to mush and quickly travels up to our core, killing us from the inside out. Please, only water us when our soil is completely dry, and even then, wait a few more days.
Placing us on a dim office desk or a dark shelf because we "look cute" there is a slow death sentence. We are sun-worshippers. We need abundant, bright, indirect light to maintain our compact shape and vibrant colors. Without it, we undergo etiolation: we stretch out unnaturally, becoming pale and leggy as we desperately reach for a light source. This weakens our structure and is a permanent deformity. A sunny windowsill is our best friend.
Planting us in dense, moisture-retentive potting soil is like forcing us to stand in a swamp with wet socks—it’s uncomfortable and dangerous. We need our substrate to be gritty and fast-draining. A specialized succulent or cactus mix, often amended with perlite or pumice, is essential. Equally important is a pot with a drainage hole. This hole is our emergency exit for excess water. Without it, water pools at the bottom of the pot, creating a perfect environment for the root rot we fear so much.
While we don't always need frequent repotting, being placed in a pot that is drastically too large is a problem. A huge pot holds a massive volume of soil, which takes a very long time to dry out after watering. This keeps our root system constantly surrounded by dampness, again leading to the dreaded root rot. A good rule is to choose a pot that is only slightly larger (about an inch or two) than our root ball. This provides room for growth without risking waterlogged soil.
Cramming us tightly into a terrarium or a closed container might look aesthetically pleasing to you, but it's a stifling nightmare for us. Stagnant, humid air encourages the growth of mold and fungal diseases, especially when combined with damp soil. We thrive in environments with good air circulation, which helps keep our leaves and soil surface dry, preventing pests like mealybugs and fungal infections from taking hold.
