The Little Book Of Cacti And Other Succulents

[Sabel Kantah]

Ibegan to notice that some of my succulents would shed their little leaves (in the case of my Senecio articulatus) during the summer months, and then shoot out tons of new leaves in the dead of winter in my drafty south-facing window. Or I would notice that some succulents would simply stop growing in the heat of the summer, just when you think they should be growing.

This photo was taken in July 2016. Notice the Senecio articulatus in the upper left. It features just two bare and bulbous stalks. Additionally, look at my stemmy Kalanchoe daigremontiana, just two over from the S. articulatus. It's barely got any babies.

Now take a look at this winter photo, which was taken in mid-January 2017. The Senecio articulatus has sprouted a ton of new leaves and the Kalanchoe daigremontiana has been quite prolific with putting out little ones (this is even after I had taken some off for propagation!)

Sunset on succulents. Seriously can't get enough of this gorgeous light. And quite frankly, neither can these succulents. During the winter months some succulents, like Euphorbia and Pachypodium, can slip into dormancy due to lower light. Whereas others are dormant in summer, like Kalanchoe and Aloe. This just means they've stopped growing, but evapotranspitation is still happening, so you'll need to water them. In winter, this means a lot less water, whereas those that are summer dormant will need far more water.

I was once told by a prominent cacti grower to stop watering cacti pretty much from November to March; and water succulents only once every couple weeks in the winter. This is a good general rule of thumb, but it's a little more complicated than that because as we now know, different succulents go dormant different times of year, and the conditions that you put your succulents in differ. If you're in hotter climates, transpiration will still be occurring, so you may need to water them during the dormant season more frequently than you would in lower light, more humid conditions.

Additionally, you should never repot a plant while it's "sleeping"...I mean, how would you like to be roused out of a deep sleep and be told to move to another home? Not very much, I surmise. Same goes for plants, particularly succulents. They would prefer to be repotted when they're growing, so at the first sign of growth, you should be safe to do some planter changes.

If you know your genera of succulent, then this little chart that I assembled from various sources, including Highland Succulents, Succulents.us, and a range of literature, will help you determine seasonal dormancy in your succulents:

Hopefully this has helped you get a little closer to your succulents, even if they are under-observed in our homes. If you see any genera that should be placed in the dormancy tables above, please write in the comments below and do stay tuned for more succulent posts in the near future. ?

It's winter. Snow falls. Your breath rises frosty in the air. Bundled up beyond recognition, you find yourself longing for warmer regions. Arizona's Sonoran Desert would do nicely. Perhaps a trek through Namaqualand, South Africa. Not in the cards? Then, why not bring the desert to you? Create a little heat and drama right in your own living room with potted cacti and succulents. Succulents evoke glorious warmth, while ranging widely (and wildly) in form and texture from the bold, columnar magnificence of Cereus and euphorbias to the exquisite, flower-like forms of aeoniums, aloes and echeverias and the rounded shapes of mammillaria and rebutia cacti. Nolina recurvata (ponytail palm), a slow-growing member of the Agave family, evokes images of otherworldly landscapes, with its strange, swollen base and palm-like leaves. The slender leaves of Dasylirion longissimum arch to form a graceful fountain. Some succulents, like Sedum morganianum, cascade in voluptuous rivulets from hanging or wall-mounted pots.

Viewed alone, succulents become minimalist sculpture. Grouped together, they mirror vast desert scenery. Leaf and stem colors range from the white anddeep-green zebra stripes of Haworthia attenuata to the lavender-tinted leaves of striking, orange-blossomed Echeveria peacockii. Many cacti also produce startling flowers in saturated hues. An echinopsis cactus crowned with a show-stopping blaze of huge apricot or red-orange blooms is breathtaking.

The way succulents are potted can be the difference between success andfailure. First, the pot you choose must be clean, have a good drainage hole,and should be in proportion to the size of the plant. Clay pots are idealbecause they are porous, allowing the soil to dry out more quickly and thesucculent's roots to get needed air circulation. Pots made from glazedceramics, galvanized steel, and other materials will also work. Just rememberthat the soil in these pots will dry out more slowly, so you will need to waterthem less frequently.

Next, choose the right planting medium. A good, fast-draining,nursery-bought cactus mix works well; regular potting mix doesn't drain fastenough. You can also make your own soil mix by blending equal parts of indoorpotting mix with pumice, perlite, vermiculite, or coarse sand.

The tools you need for repotting a spiny succulent are heavy gloves, a pairof tongs, and a rolled-up newspaper or bath towel to hold the plant in placewhile you are pouring soil into the pot. First, place one square inch or so ofplastic screening (the type that's used to cover windows) over the drainagehole of your pot. Don't use broken pottery or rocks; they can clog the drainagehole. Next, scatter a handful of pea gravel over the bottom of the pot forextra drainage. Add soil mix one third of the way up the pot, pressing the soillightly with your fingers without compacting it. Then, slightly tilt theplastic nursery pot housing your cactus or succulent and gently squeeze it,loosening the plant, root ball, and soil from the pot. Using the tools ifyou're handling a prickly cactus or heavy gloves for other succulents, lift theplant from the nursery pot. Brush a small amount of rooting hormone on the roottips. Carefully position the plant in the new pot and add soil up to the baseof the plant, making sure not to bury any green. The succulent's base should beabout an inch below the rim of the pot.

Gently compress the soil with trowel or fingers. Cover with a thin layer ofpea gravel to weight down the light cactus mix. Use a light brush to remove anybits of soil from the plant itself. Avoid transplanting a succulent when it isin flower, or it may lose its bloom.

To grow succulents successfully indoors, it is essential to match the lightrequirements of the plants with the available light in the space where youchoose to display them. Though most succulents need ample light, it is amistake to assume they all can tolerate strong, direct sunlight. Some,especially cacti (with the exception of the epiphytic species), do require afull blast of sun for at least four hours a day, preferably from a south-facingwindow, but many other succulents thrive best on strong indirect light. Ifyou're placing succulents in front of a window with southern, western, oreastern exposure, it's a good idea to use blinds to slightly diffuse the light,or display your plants a little further back in the room, away from the window.All plants grow toward the light. Succulents are no exception, so turn themonce in a while to prevent a lopsided growth pattern, but be careful of sunburnto the previously shaded side.

If you've got little or no sunlight, don't despair. Handsome sansevieriasare the perfect choice for you. The snake plant, Sansevieriatrifasciata, has stiff and erect sword-like leaves up to four feet long andthree inches wide. The leaves are dark green with light green striping. Twoother choices for lower light levels include Euphorbia trigona andEuphorbia lactea. Succulents can also be grown under Gro-lux fluorescentor HID grow lights placed about two feet above the plants.

The key to watering cacti and and other succulents is restraint. Err on theside of too little rather than too much. Understanding how they behave in thewild may help you in this regard. Succulents have adapted to an environmentwith little water. Most receive rainfall only in a concentrated period of timeduring spring, when they put out slow, new growth and also flower. The rainyseason is followed by a long, dry period in which the plants are dormant. Withthis in mind, water and drain your plants well during the period of activegrowth (usually spring and summer), allowing the soil to thoroughly dry outbefore watering again. Once a week is usually adequate. Succulents are adaptedto handle some neglect, so an occasional two weeks without water won't hurtthem. Taper off watering to once a month during fall and winter when mostsucculents are dormant. It is best not to water your succulent at least a weekbefore and after transplanting.

One effective way to test soil moisture is the "cake test method." Slide anarrow wooden skewer into the soil near the rim of your pot. Push the skewer tothe bottom of the pot, then pull it out. If the skewer is dry, it's time towater. If the skewer is at all moist or if wet soil clings to the skewer, theplant doesn't need water.

Always water thoroughly near the rim of the pot, keeping the water away fromdirect contact with the plant. Rather than using a dish to catch excess water,try watering them in the sink or bathtub, allowing the soil to drain thoroughlybefore replacing the plant in its usual location. If the succulent is too largeto move, a dish may become a necessity. If so, water the soil a little at atime. Wait a minute or so, then repeat until a small amount drains into thedish. Absorb this excess with a paper towel.

Indoors, succulents grow more slowly than outdoors, and they do not respondwell to overfeeding. Unless the needs of a specific plant suggest otherwise,use an all-purpose liquid fertilizer diluted to one-quarter strength once amonth during the growing season (usually March through August) and not at allin other months.

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