Succulents are easy to take care of, small, and just about the perfect apartment plant. Here’s how to grow your own.
Succulents have gone viral, as far as houseplants can go viral anyway. Thanks to their minimal care requirements, massive availability, and generally charming aesthetics, you’d be hard pressed to survey a room full of millenials and find that none of them own a succulent or two. There are actually thousands of different species of cacti and succulents that may work for your apartment, whether you want a smaller potted one to go on your desk or a taller floor plant to take up some space. Let’s break down just how easy it is to care for succulents in your apartment.
Soil and Pans
Succulents are usually grown in propagation pans are first. These are shallow pans that are no more than four inches deep and six inches in diameter, but you want to make sure you’re disinfecting the pan with hot water as well. After that, it’s time to pick a soil. Porous soils that drain quickly are ideal for succulents. Different mixtures can have different impacts, so don’t be afraid to try out different things—one common mix that is recommended for apartment owners is two-parts potting soil to one-part perlite and one-part small gravel, such as pumice. Mix them together and then bake the soil at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. This pasteurizes the soil which, when cool, should be wet thoroughly and then drained. At this point, you can fill your propagation pans about half an inch from the rim with soil.
Planting Seeds
The seeds should be planted as deep as they are wide. Press down lightly, cover smaller seeds with a little bit of soil, and once you’re done, cover the pans with a clear material like glass or even just plastic. Place those pans in bright, but not directly sunny, locations to help encourage growth. You can also use a bit of water. The process for growing succulents and cacti is so easy that it’s no wonder they make such a great apartment house plant.
Watch Them Grow
At this point, you have to do very little work and get to enjoy the way your new succulent friend accents your apartment living space. Just watch for germination, which typically takes place about three weeks after you sow the seeds. Once this happens, you can remove the cover during the day to allow things to vent out, just be sure you’re not letting the soil dry out. After six months to a year, you can transplant your seedlings into a new container with fresh soil. Just be sure you wait until your succulent is two to four inches tall before relocating it to a new home.
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