In this post, we will be talking about when to water your succulents. This is a very good question and the answer is a lot more complicated than you’d think. Your watering schedule depends on several factors. These factors include the species of succulent, your soil, and your climate.
Your succulent
The species of your succulent, think Graptosedum vs. Mammillaria Cactus, will dictate your watering schedule. When your succulent is thirsty, you will see wrinkling on their leaves. As we learned in my post 5 Reasons Succulents Are The Best Plants for Beginners, succulents store water in their leaves. This is so they can withstand a severe drought in their natural habitat. When you notice that your succulent’s leaves wrinkling, this is an indication that you should be watering them more frequently going forward. As your succulent has new growth, older leaves will die off naturally. However, do not wait to see wrinkling on your leaves before you water as this could cause you to lose those bottom leaves prematurely.
Your Soil
Your soil will also play a major factor in your watering schedule. If you have a good cactus mix soil with good drainage, your soil will dry out more frequently. If you do not have a good mix with perlite or orchid bark (paid link), your soil will retain moisture for a lot longer.
When I started gardening, I invested in a $10 Dr.Meter moisture meter (paid link) so that I could quickly assess the moisture of all the plants in my garden. Based on the reading from the meter, I would decide if it was time to water or not. If you do not want to spend $10, you could use a wooden chop stick. Stick it into your soil and pull it out. If it comes out moist or with soil attached, it is not time to water. You could also just stick your finger an inch or two into the soil to feel if your soil is wet.
Your containers also play a role into how quickly your soil will dry up. I have found that ceramic and plastic pots will retain moisture much longer than terracotta pots. My favorite pots are terracotta because they help the plant breathe.
Your Climate
Lastly, your climate also plays a big role in your watering schedule. As you get more into gardening and plants, you will hear talk of USDA Plant Hardiness Zone. These zones will tell you what the best plants are to grow in your zone. If you go to their website, you can type in your zip code and get your hardiness zone. Here in Southern California, I am in zone 10b. When you find a plant that you like, you can google their ideal zone. You could also google the best plants for your specific zone.
When you are purchasing plants, it is important to ask if your succulents are fully acclimated to being out in the direct sun. Remember that these plants are grown in large greenhouses with filtered sunlight. I’ve burned lots of plants that I brought home and put them outside before acclimating them to direct sun. To acclimate your succulent, you should put it outside in direct sun for a few hours a day and then move them to the shade. After a week, they should be ready for direct sun.
Your watering schedule will depend on if your succulent is indoors or outdoors. If outdoors, it will also depend if they are in direct or indirect sunlight. Also, in the summer, your soil will dry out quicker. This might have you watering every three or four days.
In the winter, you might water once a week or every two weeks. For some succulent species, you might actually need to stop watering all together in the winter.
Ultimately, succulents are very resilient plants. Unless they get completely burned in the sun, any damage is salvageable. Remember that with watering, less is more. You can make more mistakes and kill more plants with overwatering than underwatering. Overwatering your succulent will cause your plant’s stems and leaves to yellow and rot. If this happens, you should cut off the top new growth and try to propagate this part. Use my succulent propagation guide if you need help.
Please do not overthink or overcomplicate your watering schedule. Don’t listen to people online who give you exact times to water. As you learned, watering depends on a lot of variables based on your own situation. There is no one schedule fits all.
As you continue your succulent journey, these skills and knowledge will become second nature. Please tell me in the comments or on social media using the hashtag #succulentflora if you learned anything new and anything you’d like me to write about!