Succulent

Season

Year round indoors

Care

Succulents need a lot of natural sunlight, so it’s good to keep them in a room with an abundance of light. Avoid placing them in direct sunlight, as it can scorch the leaves and keep the plant from blooming. These low maintenance plants don’t require daily watering, but a complete saturation every few weeks or so depending on the temperature. Let the soil completely dry out between waterings and then saturate it. Test the soil by sticking your finger in the first couple inches and make sure it’s dry.  Because succulent leaves are capable of storing water, this plant is easy to care for. It is best to take off the wrap/container and place in a sink before watering to allow it to drain from the bottom of the pot. Once the pot has drained, replace it to its original spot.

Home to Garden

When planting an outdoor garden, choose your succulents and accompanying plants carefully. Succulents prefer lots of sunshine, dry soil, and little watering. If this doesn’t fit the surrounding flora, consider using your succulents as houseplants or moving them to a separate location. Gently remove plants from their pots and plant them making sure the soil level remains the same depth as it was in the pot. Slowly acclimate your plants by providing some shade and shelter for the first week. Add a few hours more of sunlight every couple of days. This will allow for a healthy transition. Most succulent varieties need at least half a day to a full day of sunlight. In extremely hot areas, some afternoon shade is recommended. Succulents grown in too much shade will stretch looking for more sun.

Flower Meaning

Succulents are widely known as a symbol of tenacity, strength, selflessness, and enduring love. Gifting succulents would be a great idea to show your unconditional love to the person you love or care for the most.

Fun Facts

The word succulent comes from the Latin word "sucus," which means juice or sap. Approximately 60 different plant families contain succulents including families like Cactaceae (cacti) and Xanthorrhoeaeceae (which is also home to aloe vera). Originally, cacti grew only in the American continents. Succulents were native to many regions from northern Europe to the Far East, however, most were concentrated in southern and eastern Africa. Major expeditions began in the late 15th century during the race to find a western sea route to India. During many expeditions, new species of plants were found. Christopher Columbus is known to be one of the first people to have taken the first cactus to Europe, and presented these "weird" (as it appeared then), leafless plants to Queen Isabella of Spain. Meanwhile, many explorers such as Vasco de Gama discovered succulents in southwestern Africa and India.