Why you suck at succulents...part 2 (water)
Oh, hello.
You're back! I can't say I'm SURPRISED, but I'm not totally UN-SURPRISED. I mean, I delivered a hardcore dose of truth serum last week, and some people can't deal with such honesty...
BUT YOU CAN. Here you sit, eager to take in more succulent care knowledge-nuggets (trademark Me, 2018), and lucky for you, I'm prepared to offer such things. So let's get it done.
Today's topic - WATER.
Or, more accurately, the lack thereof. You see, if you don't recall from last week's post, succulents are desert plants. And what is the ONE fact that basically EVERYONE who was lucky enough to attend school through like 3rd grade knows about deserts? Everyone together now - they're dry!
“(Succulents) soak up and store water like a Hungy, Hungry Hippo snarfs up little white balls.”
A thick, juicy succulent with high turgor pressure. Ohhhh yeaaahhhhh.
In fact, the idea that succulents don't need water is basically in their name! The word succulent is derived from the Latin word "succus" meaning "juice." The name was likely given to these plants because their various plant bits store lots of water (to use during drought, which they encounter often) that oozes out as juice when you break those bits open.
All that H2O tends to give succulents a plump, juicy, rigid, and downright sexy shapeliness. (Is anyone else getting a little warm? Hubba Hubba!) VOCAB ALERT! The science word for this concept is turgor pressure. It's basically the pressure of water pushing up against the plant's cell membranes and walls. Look right. That's what turgor pressure looks like...
Now, succulents can handle a long drought because they soak up and store water like a Hungy, Hungry Hippo snarfs up little white balls. Plus, they're not accustomed to regular water access, which means they're prone to rot if they get too much. So, how do you know if you're basically drowning your succy-babies? The simple answer is, if you don't let them REALLY dry out, enough to see a difference in the turgor pressure in their leaves, you're probably watering them too much. Look below for a pic of a VERY dry succulent...
See how the leaves are sad and shriveled and wrinkly, like your fingers after a bath that's gone a bit too long, but you don't want to get out because it's REALLY darn cold today and you just need a little "me time?" That's kinda what you're looking for.
Honestly, this baby COULD have been watered a few weeks ago; she is, perhaps, a bit (like a lot) OVERLY dry. HOWEVER, notice that she's not even close to dead & she's got a nice, tight habit. In addition, she's dried out like this about 20 times in her 3 years with me, and she's grown up a lot in that time. She's not all stretchy and ugly. She calls me "Kiley" now, instead of "Mommy." And she does her own dishes. What I'm getting at is that a little independence (from water) really does your succulent babies a world of good, no matter how hard it is to see them getting all wrinkly.
Also note, that some species, like echeverias, don't really get "wrinkly," their leaves just get less firm. So, give those babies' leaves a squeeze (NEW CATCHPHRASE!), and do it often. As that old adage says, "Familiarize yourself with the changes in leaf squishiness." Basically, compare their plumpness a day after watering, and a couple weeks after watering. Alternatively, you can use the soil as an indicator. When it's dry-as-poo a full finger-depth below the surface, you MIGHT be okay to water. But, that's more wishy-washy and depends on lots of things, like the vessel you've got your succs planted in, the number of plants, etc. So, I like to squeeze those leaves, baby! Plus, who's gonna turn down a little pinch of that juicy succulent body? NO ONE IS, that's who.
Hopefully that helps you idiots I MEAN SMART FOLKS to not murder quite as many succulents in the near future. There are a couple of exceptions, like if you're trying to root out new succulents. However, if you're JUST NOW figuring out succulents don't need that much water, well, you're just a little ways off from rooting out your own cuttings. You'll get there. Just give it time. And come back next week, when we'll be talking about introducing your little guys to THE GREAT OUTDOORS!
Catch you on the flip, lovelies.
I'm Kiley