How To Care For Succulents & Keep Them Alive

A ton of you have asked me about how to take care of your new succulents that you were inspired to pick up because they were just SO EFFING CUTE (btw, that’s how the obsession starts, so beware). I wrote a post a while back on how to keep orchids alive, so I figured it was time for one about succulents…

As a seasoned plant mom (the only kind of mother I plan to be for a while), I have a few tips to share with you guys about how to take care of your succulents.

I picked up this lil cutie recently, and it’s my favorite to date.

I learned the hard way that if you keep them too wet (i.e. watering too often) and they’re in bright light, they’ll grow up really quickly – rather than fill out. The petals need time to soak up the water and “bloom,” if you will. They start to look really spindly and tend to fall over and become all crazy and wild.

The key with succulents is to not overwater — just like orchids. They don’t want to be constantly sitting in damp soil (and orchid’s roots will rot if they’re left in standing water). If you want them to fill out their leaves and not just continuously grow, be sure to let yours nearly dry out between waterings. I soak mine weekly and then forget about them. You can tell by pressing into the top of the soil if it’s damp or dry enough to water… Succulents are like cactus, so once established are fairly drought resistant.

You can check for specific care tips based on the type of succulent you get – some prefer varying amounts of light as well as being an indoor or outdoor plant. Also, if you’re repotting or propogating, be sure to pot your succulent in cactus soil that drains easily and breathes well.

Check out this post for more tips plus crystal recommendations to place with your plants or succulents if they are struggling! I’ve placed moss agate and clear quartz in ones that got super dehydrated or stressed from moving, etc. and it really helps them make it through… Highly recommend. All of my succulents, plants, and orchids have each of those now.

Here are a few articles to learn more about picking the right succulent, potting, and more…

• Cactus and Succulent Care for Beginners
• 9 Secrets to Growing Succulents Indoors
• How to Grow Healthy Succulents Indoors
• Caring For Your Succulents

Hope this helps you guys! If you have any kind of question for an #AskSCB post, send it in using the submission box at the top of the FAQ & Post Index Page.

xx