Le Mie Ricompense
People have gone wild for succulents in the last few years. No cafe is complete without some quirky cacti, and every workspace has a neglected Sansevieria in the corner.
This new interest has spawned some misinformation about these hardy plants, so we're here to clear up some common misconceptions and answer your questions!
How often should you water a succulent?
As per the above, it’s important to get the basic care requirements of all your plants, but in terms of the biggest succulent families - Aloes, Sansevierias and Cacti - keep watering to a bare minimum!! We’re talking weeks on end. The soil should be bone dry before watering.
On the other hand, plants like the Madagascar Jewel and most Hoyas prefer to be watered around once every ten days.
Do succulents clean the air?
We tend to think of foliage plants as king among air-purifiers but succulents also have powerful Breathe properties. Mother-in-Law’s tongues and Emerald Palms were some of the most successful air-purifiers in NASA’s famous clean air study.
Can you cut off a piece of a succulent and re-pot?
Yes! A lot of succulents can be propagated in this way. Whether the best method is cutting off a frond, repotting a pup or separating from the roots will depend on the variety.
Growing a new succulent from a cutting is a particularly cool way of repotting and it won’t harm your plant to give it a go - cut off a healthy frond above a ‘joint,’ let it dry out and then it should sprout roots, after which you can pop it into a small growing pot with cactus-specific soil.
Misconception 1: 'Succulents are unkillable plants'
‘I can’t even keep succulents alive’ is a refrain we hear a lot from anxious plant-owners. It’s meant to be a huge mark of plant care failure, but a lot more common than people think! In fact, people come to us with succulent woes more often than almost any other group.
Succulents require minimal care but they still have specific demands. Even sitting in a room that’s too moist could cause your cacti to shrivel up and, unlike a lot of foliage plants, by the time you see evidence of overwatering, it may be too late to resolve.
Misconception 2: 'Succulents = cacti'
All cacti are succulents but not all succulents are cacti. Which brings us to one of our most frequently asked questions: what IS a succulent?
As a rough guideline: succulents are plants that store water in their fronds, leaves or stems. The word ‘succulent’ comes from the Latin sucus, meaning juice, or sap. As succulents are plants that have adapted to live in dry environment, they’re often desert-natives but not always - some Hoyas prefer tropical climates, for example.
Succulents can be climbers, flowering plants, delicate, stubby, viney, and in any number of colours (all of the below are succulents).
Linear Hanging Hoya, Mother-in-Law's Tongue, Spiral Cactus, Madagascar Jewel (one of our Classic Subscription plants).
Misconception 3: 'Succulents are cheap'
The tiny succulents you find at market stalls might not cost much but this changes rapidly as they go up in size (and these poor babies are unlikely to last). As what counts as a succulent varies hugely, the cost of succulents varies too. But typically, succulent plants will be slow growing, which makes mature varieties more valuable.
It takes time, energy, space and labour to grow certain varieties, but of course succulents DO grow, and some are relatively fast growers, such as the Hoya Linearis.
