Succulents are a charming addition to any home. Easily adaptable, they grow well indoors in small pots and trays as well as outdoors planted in the ground or in planters. If you live in a cold area, you can grow succulents outside all summer and then bring them in when cool weather returns; in warm areas, succulents are a year-round landscaping delight.
While succulents withstand summer heat well, here are three summer succulent tips to keep in mind for best results.
1. Grow Succulents Together
Succulents look well combined in a shallow bowl or dish with several other drought-tolerant plants, particularly cacti and other types of succulent. However, you may grow any combination of plants that have similar water and sunlight requirements.
When creating your arrangement, choose plants in a variety of colors and sizes to highlight the different characteristics of each. Use as your inspiration this beautiful basket by combining several types of plant in one container for a lush, overgrown look. Succulents don’t grow very quickly in the summer, so feel free to really crowd them in for best effect. You may need to transfer a few the following spring to make room, but they should last well all summer and winter.
2. Moderate Sun Exposure
Most succulents come from arid, but not desert, regions. They therefore do not appreciate full southern or western sun, and can become sunburned if planted or placed in such locations. Once burned, many succulents have difficult recovering. Feel free to give succulents full exposure in northern- or eastern-facing settings, but choose dappled shade in the west and south.
3. Keep Up the Watering
It is a myth that succulents don’t need any water. While they are water-wise plants that store liquid in their thick, fleshy leaves, that doesn’t mean they don’t require it at all. In the arid environments in which succulents evolved, they usually store water after major rains, but you should take a more measured approach.
Water succulents whenever the soil around their base feels completely dry, and give them enough liquid to soak it several inches down. Then wait for the soil to dry completely again, otherwise you risk causing rot.
Whether growing them alone or combined with other plants in a succulent garden, these are easy plants to care for if you take just a few precautions.