Interior Fun

Do Indoor Succulents Go Dormant?

While these plants remain beautiful throughout the year, they enter periods of inactivity.

How To Care For Succulents

Indoor succulents are a fantastic way to add greenery to your household. Not only do they look cute and refreshing, but they also do not need much care beyond sunlight and water. However, it is important to note that there are certain periods where you should avoid watering them too much. Otherwise, you might kill the plant by drowning.

How Do I Know if My Succulent Is Going Dormant?

What works for one succulent might not work for another. Even though these plants may look similar, they belong to a wide variety of species. Make sure you know which ones you own, and check if they are summer-dormant variants or winter-dormant variants. Summer-dormant variants include aloe, haworthia, and sedeveria. On the other hand, echeveria, tillandsia, and lithops are winter-dormant variants.

Dead or Dormant?

For the plant owner, it can be alarming to see shriveled-up leaves and roots. This is not surprising in succulents that look like they are beyond resurrection during dormant months. However, this does not mean that they are dead. One way to assure yourself of the plant being alive is to evaluate its roots. If the roots themselves are completely dried out, then the plant is dead. The rotting plant will also emit an unpleasant odor. However, if the roots look healthy, then you have nothing to worry about. Simply wait until the plant is active and growing again.

How Do I Take Care of Indoor Succulent?

Pay attention to the periods of dormancy. Succulents that go dormant during the winter months need just small amounts of water when they start to wrinkle. Do not be alarmed by the sudden change in appearance. You can leave them be and wait until they grow back during the sunnier months. On the other hand, summer-dormant succulents tend to stop blooming in the lighter times of the year, but they still need the same amounts of water they usually get. This is because they thrive in cool temperatures. For indoor succulents, their periods of dormancy are a lot less long and you may continue watering them as you usually do.

Growing the succulents under the roof can be a bit difficult. Succulents do not make the best indoor plants always. However, this does not mean that you shouldn’t be growing them!

By following a few simple steps, you can take better care of your indoor succulent collection.

Read on to know how to grow these beautiful, cute, and healthy succulents under a roof.

Choose The Right Succulent

All succulents are not ideal for indoor growing. However, picking the succulents that require less light or shade will make a big difference in the success of your indoor succulent growth.
Succulents are bright colored such as red, purple, and orange. They do not grow well under the roof because they need direct sunlight or more light.

The best ones to choose are those that are naturally green in color, for example, Haworthia and Gasteria varieties.

Enough Light

Succulents like light and require about six hours of sun per day, depending on the succulent type. New succulents can parch in direct sunlight; hence, you must moderately disclose them to complete sunlight or provide shade with drapes.

It depends on the layout of your house. They grow in minimal sunlight doesn’t mean they grow well in the absence of it. Some varieties require more sunlight than the rest. Like succulents with bright colors are not the best ones to try indoors as they need some direct sun and don’t make a great indoor plant. So to begin with, the green ones are much better.

Again these indoor succulents also need some 6 hours of sunlight and they can’t be under house arrest all the time. So they must be allowed to stay in the sun even if it’s not direct sunlight for their survival. If you think it’s too tricky, maybe you can consider placing them near a bright window. This might serve their purpose of sunlight besides adding beauty to your window.

You can either place the succulents near a window that gets light for the entire day or near the brightest window or brightest area of your office or home.

Rotate Frequently

Succulents like direct sunlight; however, you are placing the succulents in the same place every day, only one side may get enough light. Since the succulents lean towards the sun, Langton and Ray suggest to rotate these terrarium plants very often since rotating them will help them stand up straight.

Water According to the Season

One of the major issue faced by the growers keep the succulents alive under the roof is Watering. Similar to human beings, succulents also need more energy when they are in the growing stage. During summer and springtime, these plants blossom and drink more water when compared to during the winter and fall. After testing the soil, Langton and Ray has suggested to water the soil when the top measuring 1.25 inches becomes dry. Excessive watering can kill the succulent very quickly, hence ensure to leave the soil dry while watering.

Water the Soil Directly

While watering the succulents, it is always recommended to soak the soil until the water drains out of the drainage holes or place the pots in a pan of water. Let the water absorb through the drainage holes. Do not use a spray bottle to water these plants since glazing over can cause delicate roots and musty leaves. Remove the pan of water, once the top of the soil is soggy.

Keep Succulents Clean

Unavoidably these indoor plants will moderately pick dirt on the leaves, and this hinders their growth, hence clean the surface of the leaves gently with a wet cloth.

Choose a Container with Drainage

It is essential to have a container with a drainage hole because succulents should not be kept in sodden soil. The drainage holes prevent rot and allow the excess water to escape.

Terracotta pots
For new growers, it is better to use Terra-cotta pots.

There are plenty of fancy options available for pots these days, which are beautiful to look at with various designs coming in multiple ranges. But glass containers have to be avoided because there wouldn’t be any let out for water. Not just for succulents, but for every plant, there must be an option to drain out water. Without which then plant sulking in the soggy soil is going to be killed as breathability is essential.

Plant them in Right Soil

Since these indoor plants need drained soil, the usual pot soil or dust from the backyard is not suitable. Hence, use the most suitable soil with the necessary inclusions added. Roots of the succulents are very delicate; thus, be careful while replanting.

Get Rid of Bugs

If you are following a proper healthy way of maintaining the succulents, then pests should not be an issue. However, at times you may have to tackle with Gnats. Whenever the soil stays too wet without proper drainage, then Gnats are seen. These can be avoided by allowing the soil to dry while watering and by using a well drainage soil mix.

Another bug that attacks these indoor plants are mealybugs. These are while little creatures that hold onto succulents with might and main. The most common causes of these mealybugs are excessive watering and over-fertilization. To get rid of mealybugs, it is better to move the infected plants away from the other succulents and spray 70% isopropyl alcohol.

Once you see bugs on your dear succulent you don’t have to be petrified and that’s not the end.

Fertilize Succulents in Summer

It is always better to be careful not to fertilize excessively since over-fertilizing makes these indoor plants very weak and subtle. However, succulents do not require many fertilizers but can be given minimal intake during the spring and summertime

Conclusion

Hope the above-listed tips will help you to take better care of your indoor succulents healthily and beautifully. Ensure that you do not let things get too stressful since succulent gardening is supposed to be a lot of fun and beneficial.

And with that, we officially end this blog post. But before you go, can you do us a solid and spread the love (or laughter) by sharing this on your social media? Who knows, maybe we might even find someone who can relate to our content and benefit from it... Wink