How often to water succulents - practical advice for lovers of cacti and not only

Tell me how often to water succulents? My work consists of business trips and sometimes I don't go home for weeks. At the same time, I just adore indoor flowers, and before I had a lot of them. But after changing the type of activity, none of my green pets survived. I decided to try at least start cacti, maybe at least they will grow. Will they be able to withstand two weeks without watering?

As you know, the homeland of succulents is a hot desert, so their moisture requirements are different from other indoor plants. Rare rainfall forced these desert dwellers to adapt and store water in the future. At the same time, it is important to know how often to water succulents so as not to ruin them. On the one hand, they have a special structure and there is a sufficient amount of moisture in the fleshy leaves or stems. Thanks to this, the plants provide themselves with moisture for some time on their own. However, this does not mean that flowers can live for months without watering. When reserves are depleted, the leaves become lethargic and the cactus or other representative of this species may completely dry out. True, after watering, it quickly restores turgor, but at the same time it absolutely does not tolerate excess water and quickly decays. How do you find the middle ground?

How often to water succulents

The frequency of watering depends on the growing conditions of the plants, namely, what their temperature is. The warmer it is in the room, the more often the soil needs to be moistened. Accordingly, the second factor that determines the irrigation regime will be the season. Although houses or apartments are heated, the temperature in them differs significantly in summer and winter. In addition, in autumn, growth processes slow down in succulents and their needs decrease.

On average, it is recommended to water such crops:

• in spring and summer - every 5 days;
• in autumn and winter - once every 2 weeks.

Succulents hibernating in a cool room (up to 12 ° C) can do without a single humidification.

Some subtleties of watering succulents

Still, the main criterion for the irrigation regime is the species belonging of the culture. Some succulents need more moisture and need to be watered more often, for example echeveria... Compact stone rose bushes will be properly watered often, but in small portions. But species with a well-developed stem can be watered less often, but more abundantly. Water will be absorbed into the soil, but a developed root system will be able to take moisture from the bottom of the pot for some time.

The most unpretentious crumbs in relation to watering are lithops. These living pebbles can calmly wait for the owner even for a month.

It is also worth considering the material of the container in which the flowers grow. In clay pots, moisture lasts longer. In plastic pots, the soil dries out faster.

Caring for cacti - video