Bestie, you’ve done it! You have completed the first 3 sections of our Succulent Care course! Welcome to our most advanced section, 401! Succulent Care 101 covered overwatering, types of light, soil, and fertilizing succulents. Succulent Care 201 focused on water-related issues, pruning, and propagation. The last section, Succulent Care 301, focused on repotting, succulent blooms, and sun-related issues. 

Let’s finish this course strong! 

Becoming the Ultimate Succ Parent

Succulents can be one of the easiest plants to grow once you have their proper care down! Succs are typically different than leafy green house plants, like fiddle leaf figs and monsteras. They require different forms of care and can even thrive off a little neglect. 

Remember, becoming the ultimate plant parent takes attention to detail and experience, it won’t happen overnight. 

In this course, we’ll build on the skills we learned in our previous sections to add skills in group potting, succulent intuition, and keeping a succulent journal. As you may know by now, all succulents are different! Keep that in mind as you read through, and when in doubt, take a peek at your specific succ’s care instructions to make sure you are providing the best care.

Let’s Get Schooled

1. Group Potting 

Have you been dreaming about those large pots of succulents with a variety of bbs?! So have we, but creating those arrangements is not as easy as sticking random succulents together. 

Here are some things to keep in mind when group potting:

Watering Requirements

Succulents sluuurp up their water at different speeds. While the Drench + Dry Watering Method is the best method to water all of your succs, group pot succulents together that require waterings at the same rate. 

The dormant season of your succulent also plays into watering requirements. Determine which plants will go dormant in the same season and plant those together. 

Lighting Requirements

Succulents thrive in different amounts of sunlight, some love the direct sun and can change colors via stressing. If you group pot sun-loving succulents and bbs that prefer shade, neither plant will thrive. 

Soil and Spacing 

We recommend organic cactus soil whenever you pot your succulents. Cactus soil is chunky and lightweight and is best used for cacti, succulents, and citrus plants. It allows water to easily run through your pot and drains out almost immediately. If you are looking to let succulents grow larger, give plants about 2” of space. If you are happy with their size, you can plant them closer together.

2. Succulent Intuition

When you know the messages your succs are sending you, you can become great at understanding what your bb needs! With a little bit more attention to your plant, and specifically their leaves, you can begin reading your succ’s mind. 

Signs to Look Out For:

Bloated Leaves: 

Overwatered succs will suffer from bloated yellow leaves that easily fall off with the slightest touch. If you notice the leaves at the bottom of your plant begin looking yellow or bloated, this is the first sign of overwatering.

The cure depends on the severity of the case, if the plant has not suffered from too much you can top it and grow a whole new succ, but if it is too far gone you might have to say goodbye. 

Rubbery Leaves:

If you notice your succ’s leaves feel rubbery or you see pink or white roots growing above the soil, your bb could be underwatered. 

Those roots growing above the soil are also known as aerial roots. Typically they grow when your plant is trying to absorb moisture from the air. You may trim them off and water your succ more frequently to resolve this problem! 

White Cobweb-y Leaves 

Uh oh – this is can be a cause for concern. If you notice something that looks like spider webs growing around your succulent beware of potential pests. Mealybugs is a white, cobweb-y, moisture sucking, unwelcome party crasher. 

If you notice cotton ball-esque growths around the stem of your plant you are almost sure to have mealybugs. As soon as you notice mealybugs, it’s time to take action! They multiply quickly and before you know it you will have an infestation on your hands. 

Learn how to get rid of pests and avoid future infestations here. 

3. Keeping a Succulent Journal

Okay, think your old diary, but revamped and focused on succulents. A succulent journal is your all-in-one resource for your particular succulent’s care. Jot down things like watering schedule, lighting, repotting, fertilizing, blooms, bugs, wilting: literally everything you know or observe about your plant. Having it all written down in one place will help you notice changes that can prevent or fix potential problems. 

Once you get the hang of it, succulents can be the most low-maintenance plant you will ever own. Every few days take a moment to reflect on your succulents and notice any changes. Are they changing colors? It could be growing season and they are stressing! Are leaves getting a touch wrinkly? Might be time to water.

As you jot down the things you notice about your plant and the solutions you used to fix it, you will become the ultimate plant parent! Keeping up with your bbs care and growth in a journal is an easy and fun way to seriously up your plant parent game. 

Don’t know where to start? Begin with jotting down your watering, repotting, and fertilizing schedule, and keep moving from there. From there you can get as creative as you want! Sketch out your succulents to keep tabs on growth or even get photos printed and glue them directly onto the pages. 

Be sure to tag @sucstu on all of your posts of succulents and succ journals! We cannot wait to see your bb’s growth and creations!

And that’s a wrap! You have completed all sections of our course

Go on and grow with confidence! Want to take a step back and revisit Succulent Care 101, Succulent Care 201, or Succulent Care 301? Go ahead, bestie! 

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