Spring is here: What this means for your succulents
The time all succulent parents have been waiting for
It's the time when succulents bloom and give use the best of themselves. Unlike some other holiday species where they need the long dark nights and fluctuation in temperatures to flower succulents don’t. Succulents flower a couple times a year and the most common times are spring and autumn.
Spring is also the time where succulents give us their best colours and can perform the most dramatic colour changes. Even though the most common practice is to not give succulent direct sun light because it can burn their leaves, the drastic temperature change will help those colours come though. One way to help them with this is to place them in some soft direct morning sun light. Try it and see your succulents change in colour day by day. One thing to be careful is to never water them in the morning in case of water droplets being left on their leafs. The water can act as a magnifying glass and the direct light from the sun will burn their leafs.
Succulent dormancy explained
What is dormancy and why do succulent go dormant? All plants go through a dormant cicle. What this means is when succulents go dormant, they go into survival mode. Now spring time ether puts some succulents in to dormancy or makes succulents come out of dormancy. There are winter and summer dormant succulents. All succulents can have very different dormant periods depending on the species. When they do this all depend on wether they come from. The northern hemisphere or southern Hemisphere.
This means that if your succulent originates in a country that is in the souther hemisphere and you live in the northern hemisphere your succulent will go dormant in the summer time. Now succulents are opportunists which means they will thrive if the conditions are right and you may notice it coming in and out of dormancy depending on how much you water it and as well as being exposed to dramatic temperature changes. When in doubt don’t water your succulent. You are more lightly to kill a succulent by over watering it. Only water your succulent when the soils is dry all the way though.
How to water your succulent if it is dormant
The biggest question around dormancy is whether succulents need more or less water. When a succulent is dormant it is in survival mode which means it as trying to preserve its energy and survive a drought or the heat. You should not water your succulent when it is dormant and only water it when it is completely dry if you are not sure. A dormant succulent can go without water for up to 2-3 months. A general rule is to water your succulent every two weeks when it is out of dormancy and every 4 weeks when a succulent is dormant. Number 1 rule to not kill your succulents is to only water when the soil is dry all the way through. This mean all the way to the bottom of the pot. If your succulents are potted in pots with drainage holes you can pick up the pot and check the soil that way or if you have any in glass terrariums you can lift the glass terrarium up and check that the bottom of of the soil is completely dry before watering it again. Do not be scared leaving your succulents unwatered for an other week before watering them again.
How do you know if your succulents is dormant
The easiest way is by keeping an eye on when you water your succulents. Now if you only water your succulent when the soil is dry all the way through and don’t keep a watering schedule and have no idea how often you have been watering your succulents start now.
Once you start a watering schedular for your succulents you will notice the time between watering. If you are watering your succulents every two weeks or even more often you know they are out of dormancy and maybe even need to be fertilised to get them to flourish and grow as much as possible. Now if you notice your watering schedule change and the time between watering is getting longer than you know that your succulent is on it way to dormancy. If you start to water your succulent less than every two weeks then it’s time to stop fertilising it too. Succulent’s may also go through mini dormant periods in the middle of their non dormant period or come out of dormancy for a short period of time in their dormancy period. This is the opportunistic side of succulents that is coming out. Maybe because of a watering schedule change or most lightly a temperature change it has triggered your succulent to come out or go back in to dormancy.
Take away
Water your succulents only when the soil has dried out all the way through.
Fertilise your succulents if they are actively growing to help them flourish and bloom for you.
Keep an eye on your watering schedule if you want to know when your succulent is dormant.
Give your succulents some supervised bright or soft direct sun to watch them show off their colours.
Last but not least, if in doubt skip watering.