How to Enhance the Growth of Succulent Plants?
Phytophiles like myself love succulents because of their easy-to-maintain nature and the diversity in which they are available. But every plant to exists in this world has two aspects: good and not-so-good.
Well, in the case of succulents, the not-so-good aspect is that they grow really slow when thrown in comparison to the other plants. Even the fastest growing succulents like Echeveria, Kalanchoe, Aloe, and more take about a year to mature (from two inches to six).
This makes your plantation experience rather tiring: pouring water every day for months only to see them grow merely an inch or two. So, what can you do?
How Can You Make Your Succulent Grow Faster?
Before we dive right into the tips, let me elaborate on their growth process.
If you want to skip this, jump right to the tips to grow succulent faster.
First things first, you have to be patient when you are implementing the tips I am about to share to grow succulents faster. Even though they are slow growers, still their growth rate can be boosted by fractions and they can be kept healthy by planting them in an ideal environment.
What is an ideal environment for succulents to grow?
All plants including succulents hate extreme weather and their growth becomes stagnant if the weather is too hot, cold, dry, or humid. Succulents love sunlight, warm temperatures with fair humidity, and plenty of air.
Generally speaking, these slow-growing plants develop best in spring and summer, winters are not just their time. However, it varies from succulent to succulent. Some of them grow the best in summer to fall. The bottom line is that it varies from plant to plant.
Tips (Proven) to Grow Your Succulent Plants Faster
Keep the Soil Quality Right
The soil in your backyard might be okay to plant and grow the succulents, but you want their growth to be faster, right?
For that, you have to maintain the soil quality by using a bit of fertilizer. The soil in your backyard might lack nitrogen which is pretty essential for these plants to grow. So, what you can do is add nitrogen fertilizer in a month or as those plants require.
If you see their leaves getting pale or their growth is stunted for over a month then take it as an indication they need nitrogen as their food. Not to forget, worm casting is a big help too.
Use the plant care mobile apps
Reading books and articles or listening to podcasts about the type of plants you are growing can be one way to go about it but let me share a wonderful to take better care of your plants and that too spending significantly less time to do so – plant care mobile apps.
From customized guidance and plant identification to watering reminders, disease diagnosis, and a lot more is possible through these plant care mobile apps.
Just make sure to connect to a reliable home WiFi like the one from Kinetic Internet to get up-to-date guidance and accurately fetched results on diseases of the plant.
All in all, these apps can help you make your planting experience great and the process efficient.
Expose them to the sunlight coupled with a grow light
Sunlight, of course, is essential for succulents to grow or any plants for that matter. But succulents are special. They tend to grow faster and healthier under a warm climate and more light.
And in the US, there are States that don’t have strong enough sunlight during the day for most of the year for the ideal growth of succulents. So, what you can do is add a growth light on top of the stand where you have kept them.
Start with a greater distance between the plants and the light and then gradually decrease it while increasing the strength of the light. Make sure the peak exposure time is max 14 hours.
Don’t overcrowd the plants
After some months the parent succulent will reproduce offspring and this reproduction will likely overcrowd the pots in which they are kept.
Having the same pot for parents and offspring will slow down both of their growth. There will be fewer nutrients available for them and the room for their roots to grow will be congested. So, as soon as the offspring are ready, move them to a different pot.
And since they will be young it will be easier for them to get adjusted and grow rather quickly.
Can succulents get bigger?
The answer would be yes and no. It depends on the type of succulents. Aloe and Agave can grow significantly while succulents like Echeveria and Haworthia remain almost the same size. So, if you want bigger succulent plants then go for jade plants or Aloe Vera.