New To Succulents? Placement, Precautions, Tips

Succulents are often stereotyped as these low maintenance, care-free, simply plug into a garden and neglect plant… and that’s mostly true.

The thing is, some thoughtful planning and consideration should be taken before buying and planting live succulents in your garden and home.

At the end of the day, succulent placement and precautions will ensure your succulents thrive.

Sprinkling System

Make sure you shut down or avoid using the sprinkling system where you plant or place your succulents. They will respond to the daily watering by turning yellow, then black and rotting out.

You only really want to water succulents when the soil is bone dry, so throw out any weekly or biweekly schedule you have for them to ensure they aren't getting too much water.

Succulent Soil

Use a succulent and cacti soil.  And add perlite to this to increase the drainage.

Once you’ve chosen the section of your garden, dig out the traditional soil and replace with new succulent soil.

You can find succulent and cacti soil and perlite at any home and garden store.

Afternoon Shade

Succulents aren’t big fans of afternoon sunlight.

Too much intense sunlight will scorch them. White marks on the foliage mean it got a light sunburn.  Brown marks mean it was severe. 

Consider placing your succulent in areas that provide early morning sun and afternoon shade.

Take note of trees, sections of your yard, and windows that provide the sun and shade succulents need and place or plant them there.

Glass Containers

Glass containers are not great options for succulents that need direct sunlight. Glass containers bend light and act as a magnifying glass resulting in scorched succulents.

Glass terrariums and containers would be great for low light office succulents.

They typically don't have a drainage hole, so be extra careful when watering.

Luckily, you can see the soil through the glass. Look for difference shades of soil between the top of the soil and bottom of the soil to see if the plant needs to be watered.

The bottom of the soil is where the extra water will stay until it eventually evaporates away.

Plant in Containers

Terra cotta and ceramic containers with drainage holes are highly recommended.

The reason being these allow the soil to breath - making the soil dry out faster.

When watering, make sure the water drains out the hole. Sometimes the drainage hole may get clogged due to a variety of reason - so use a toothpick, skewer, pencil, etc to open that hole if you don't notice it is draining. 

Most soft succulents (the plants we mostly carry) prefer outdoor climates to stay above 40 degrees F.  

If your climate dips below that when it gets cold consider planting them in containers you can easily move indoors.  

Plant in Garden

Planting succulents in your garden should be well-thought and planned out. 

You should first understand the hardiness zone of your area and choose plants that will tolerate your zone.

Secondly - you should understand the sunlight patterns to ensure the plants have morning sun and afternoon shade to avoid sunburns.    

Frost hardy succulents and succulents that fall within your hardiness zone can be planted in your garden year-round. To check out your hardiness zone, click here 

Grow Lights

Best for areas where Fall and Winter months are cold and cloudy for extended periods of time.

Grow lights will prevent succulent etiolation, or stretching and warmth.

Etolation occurs when the a succulent is desperate for sunlight and stretches as a last resort to get access to it.  Your adorable compact succulent become "leggy" as a result.

Warmth - most soft succulents prefer temperatures to stay between 40 - 85 degrees F.  The warmth of the grow light will help succulents near cold windows in cold climates.