Succulents: types and basic rules of care

A common occurrence when, as a possessor of a plant, we do not know its exact generic or species affiliation. And it very often can be succulents, the names of which are sometimes difficult to pronounce. Amazing plants with unusual leaves and stems and even more original colors will always catch admiring glances. They love the sun, and in order for it to affect them only from the best side, nature awarded succulents with spines and thorns, thick leathery leaves and an interesting shape.

What are succulents?

Succulents are a large group of plants of different genera and families, united by a common ability for all of them to accumulate moisture in a special tissue. This is the result of adaptation to environmental conditions, as they are inhabitants of the arid climate. If you can find a plant most suited to lack of moisture, high temperatures and rare precipitation, then it is succulents. Species included in the group are representatives of cacti, milkweed, agave, lithops and even specimens from the families of Aroids (Zamiokulkas) and Bromelievs.

The ability to retain moisture is the result of evolution, and for this succulents have a variety of adaptations. For an economical flow of the available water reserve, there are dense leathery leaves with a waxy coating, which reduces its evaporation, the stem is reduced, the leaves of some species are modified into spines, poorly developed or nonexistent. Moisture is retained in leaves or stems, which often has a ribbed structure - this is also an adaptation, in case precipitation is excessive, then the folds straighten, and the succulent will not burst.

Succulents: Species

Classification of succulents in botany is carried out depending on where the depot is located, in stems or leaves. Thus, two large groups are formed:

1. Stem succulents (photo above). All moisture accumulates in a modified (elongated or spherical) stem. Leaves, as a rule, are transformed into spines or underdeveloped. Typical representatives are a large part of cacti.

2. Leaf succulents. Species included in this group accumulate and store moisture in thick leaves, which are collected in a rosette, and the stem is most often reduced. To this group of succulents is the well-known aloe and agave (pictured below), unusual lithopses, purification, representatives of the genus Haworthia, Echveria.

If we talk about the issues of cultivation, succulents are too broad a group of different species. Even within a single family of cacti, care for individual species can be very different. But nevertheless there are basic nuances that will help to choose the right direction at the initial stage, when the plant only appeared in your house.

Which place to choose?

Succulents are definitely the children of the sun. Therefore, it should be a lot throughout the year. Southern windows, open balconies and terraces are the best choice for such plants, although some species prefer bright but diffuse light. Succulents do not tolerate drafts at all, the air temperature should be high in summer and cool during the winter dormancy of plants. If they do not have enough light, they, of course, will grow, but they will lose all decorative and, especially, the ability to blossom. Succulents, the photos of which are presented below, have suffered from improper lighting and watering. First of all, this manifests itself in deformation of the stem and changes in its color.

Substrate for succulents

Soil plays an important role in the life of any plant. Succulents do not tolerate organic matter in the soil, that is, ordinary land, well seasoned with humus, is the first step to their destruction. When composing the soil, three things should be remembered: lightness, air permeability and good drainage. Experienced growers advise mixing in equal proportions leaf and sod land, large river sand. If you are not confident in your abilities, then it is best to buy a ready-made substrate in the store, and use as a drainage keramzit. If the plant grows in the natural conditions in the mountains or on stony soils, then it is best to add rubble to the substrate. A pot for a succulent should not be too large, since they grow very slowly. It is best suited to a shallow, but wide form. When transplanting, the diameter of the pot is increased by only 1.5-2 cm, the succulents feel better in crowded conditions.

How to water succulents?

Despite their high drought resistance, watering is necessary, and it must be regular. Water should be soft, at room temperature. All this contradicts the widespread opinion that you can practically not water succulents. Species having leaves (spurge, agave, zamioculcus) require more moisture than the same cacti or lithopses. But it is important to remember that plants of this group have a pronounced winter dormancy period when watering is stopped at all or minimized. It is completely destructive combination of high humidity in the soil with low air temperatures, sooner or later it will lead to decay of the root system, that is why watering in winter time is reduced.

The use of complex mineral fertilizers is possible, but with caution. If the concentration is high, then the plant can crack, since excess nitrogen provokes too active growth. Organic fertilizers do not like succulents. Top dressing should be done during a period of active growth or flowering, with a frequency of once a month.

How do succulents bloom?

The process of flowering succulents is very interesting, and some of them can be envied even by the most beautifully flowering plants. True, sometimes it should wait long enough, many specimens bloom only in adulthood and under certain conditions. Some succulents, whose flowers have tremendous beauty, can be easily grown at home, they are primarily known to all known Echinopsis, with proper care, watering and rest period they will please you with flowering every year.

Mammillaria flourish very much, and care for them is extremely simple. Litopsy, or, as they are also called, "living stones", are themselves similar to some amazing alien flowers, although, in fact, these are modified leaves.