Transcript:
Watering succulents is the number one challenge people have when it comes to keeping succulents alive in this video. I’m going to teach you a method that has helped. Thousands of people keep their succulent only alive, but looking great. Let’s get started first off. Do not use a spray bottle. A lot of people will recommend using a spray bottle for growing succulents, but it’s kind of like filling your bathtub with a dropper of water. Instead of using the faucet, it’s just not an effective method, and it does not promote healthy root growth for your succulents. Instead, use something that pours water on a watering can a measuring cup or even a squeeze bottle like this one. If you’re just getting started with succulents, make sure that you’re using a pot that has a drainage hole. This will allow water to flow out the bottom of the pot, so you don’t get a standing pool of water that can cause your succulents to rot. You’ll also want to make sure you’re using a well draining soil. Most normal potting soils are too dense and they retain too much water for succulents, succulents need a potting soil That has a large particle size. That dries out quickly. It needs to hold just enough water that the seconds can get what they need, but not stay wet for days on end the mix that I use and recommend, especially for indoor succulents, is called a gritty mix, so it has really large particle sizes as you can see roughly about a quarter of an inch. It has some organic material and inorganic material, so it holds water, but it dries out extremely quickly. The other thing that’s really important Is it absorbs water the moment water touches it normal peat moss based soils actually repel water when they’re completely dry and you’ll find out why that’s important in just a minute. This soil is available, pre-mixed online, or you can also find materials locally and mix it up yourself. I’ll include links in the description for where you can purchase it online now. Let’s talk about how to actually water your succulents. The method that I like to use is called the soak and dry method. You’re going to take water and pour it over the entire arrangement and completely soaked of the soil. It’s okay to get water on top of your succulents. It’ll run off or dry up pretty quickly, although if you do notice that water is standing in the succulent for more than a day, you’ll want to try and blow it out so that it doesn’t cause rot again. You just want to pour that water completely over all the soil and make sure that the soil gets completely wet and you should also see some water running out the bottom of the pot once the soil is soaked. You’re gonna let your succulent dry out until the soil is completely dry. If you want to check to see if the soil is dry, just feel around the drainage hole, and if it’s still cool or wet to the touch, then your succulent’s not quite dry yet and you need a wait before you water. Once the soil is dry. Then you can go ahead and soak the soil again and repeat the whole process over again. This watering method allows your seconds to develop a really deep, really strong root system. If you’re just lightly watering every once in a while, your succulents are going to put out really thin and shallow roots and they’re not going to be able to go through long periods of drought, but with this soaking dry method, your succulent gets used to that deep watering. It’ll soak up as much of it as it can and then store it until it gets watered again for a container that doesn’t have a drainage hole instead of just pouring water on continuously. You’ll actually want to measure out the amount of water you’re putting on the arrangement. So if your pot contains about a cup of soil, you’ll want to put on about a half of cup of water. You can do that using either a measuring cup or one of my favorite things to use. Is this squeeze bottle, which has measurements on it, and then you’ll just pour on that exact amount of water. You’ll still want to make sure the soil gets completely wet all over. Just make sure you’re only using the amount of water that you’ve measured out then to make sure this soil is actually dry before you water again. What I recommend doing is just feeling the pot. After you’ve added all the water, you’re going to notice a big difference in weight over the next couple of days as the water dries out once you no longer feel that the pot is getting lighter, then you’re safe to water again watering and non drain container. This way will make sure that you don’t get too much water on the arrangement. So if you don’t have a pool of standing water at the bottom, which can cause your roots to rot now? You’re probably thinking awesome. I know how to water my succulents. But how often do I actually water them? You only want to water when this soil is completely dry. The amount of time that that takes is going to vary, depending on whether your succulents are outside or inside and also depending on the type of soil that you’re using. A non draining pot is also going to dry out slower than a pot with a drainage hole. So you’ll want to just check for either the weight or feel around the drainage hole to see when the soil is dry. A lot of people will recommend watering your succulents once a week or every two weeks, but honestly, there’s not a good rule of thumb for that because it really depends on your soil. However, if you use this soap and then dry method, and you’re only watering when your soil is dry, your succulents are going to look awesome, always err on the side of too little water as it’s a lot easier to revive a succulent that hasn’t gotten enough water, and then it is to save one that’s starting to rot now if you’re using the soak and dry method, and you start to notice signs of under watering or over watering, you’ll need to adjust your watering frequency a little bit, maybe adding a day or two before you water again, for example, if your soil dries out about every five days, but you start to notice that your succulents are looking a little limp or dull or the leaves aren’t quite as plump as they used to be. It’s probably a sign. They’re not getting enough water, so you could increase your watering frequency to every four days. Don’t make a dramatic change because that can cause problems. You want to just make a little adjustment so that your succulents get a little bit more water on the flip side if you’ve been watering every five days and you’re noticing that the leaves are starting to turn a little bit yellow and translucent and they’re looking like they’re just going to bulge or burst. They’re probably getting too much water, and in that case, you want to decrease your watering frequency to maybe every seven days again. Don’t make a dramatic change in your watering. Just make slight adjustments so that your succulents are getting the water. They need. Be sure to grab my cheat sheet below. That will help you figure out whether you’re giving your succulents too much or too little water and help you make those adjustments as needed. Now, you know how to keep your succulents looking awesome and how to water them the right way so that they will thrive. Thanks so much for watching. If you like this video, be sure to give it a thumbs up, hit, subscribe and then share it with any of your succulent loving friends and we’ll see you next time. you!