New to succulents, you may have asked yourself should you mist succulents because it seems like an easy way to keep your plants healthy. However, misting is not always the best option for these plants.
Misting succulents is an adequate intention to support their growth. They do not need misting as often as other types of plants because they store moisture in their leaves and stems. Misting mature plants too often can cause root rot and other issues related to excessive moisture.
It is important to know when and how to mist succulents to keep them healthy and thriving. Here are some things you should know before misting your succulents.
Should you mist succulents?
Let’s take a look at when misting can be important! There are differences between mature succulents and succulents grown from a cutting or seeded ones. Baby succulents mostly don’t have roots or only a little developed root system. This helps to keep the succulents hydrated for the best health possible.
If they dry out completely, their leaves can shrivel up and die off pretty quickly! So make sure you are giving your little guys a nice drink of water every day with some easy misting.
Because freshly grown succulents don’t have many leaves and only one at the beginning when starting with a cutting, just one dying leave can cause the whole plant to die.
But how often should you mist your developing succulents? It’s best not to give them excessive misting, but just get the soil wet enough that it feels moist when you touch it with your finger. If there is water dripping off then they have had too much!
You should mist your succulent babies thoroughly once per day. Check them in the morning or evening and when the soil is dry you can go for it. Make sure to not overdo with the water and let their soil dry out slightly in between waterings.
This allows them to drink up the moisture and storing it in the thick leave/s.
Misting your succulents
It’s best to grab some purified water and put it into a clean spray bottle. Tap water can have chemicals and too many minerals in it. Chemicals will harm your plant and too many minerals can cause leave discoloration.
Remember: only half fill the container with each refill! You don’t want any extra water sitting around doing nothing, but also not using more than necessary either. Then, go ahead and spray your succulent plants with an adequate amount of water.
You should stop misting once your succulents start maturing, like when there are at least four sets of leaves.
To mist you succulents is a good way to help them grow, but once they have grown up it is not beneficial sometimes even bad.
Watering succulents
When watering your succulents you have to memorize different watering rules than caring for developing plants.
Indoor-grown succulents should not get water on top of the leaves because if it sits there for too long it can cause rotting and discoloring. That is why misting as the only watering method is not recommended.
Because of wind that drys out the water outdoor succulents are not that sensitive when it comes to water on their leaves.
The most successful way to water succulents is by completely soaking the soil and letting it dry out before watering again. This is commonly called the “soak and dry” method.
Simply use a watering can with little water dispensing to not overflood the succulent leaves. Make sure the soil around your plant is completely soaked and well-draining and giving the excess water the opportunity to flow away.
Succulent roots can start rotting after sitting in waterlogged soil for three days or more so make sure to only water them once the soil dried out.
Unfortunately, there is no common watering schedule that satisfies every succulent. So you have to check for your specific succulent plant and your climate conditions.
Advice on watering succulents
As a reference point, you can use the rough timeline of watering the succulents every two to three weeks. Then you can find your own schedule. Succulents normally live in areas that have heavy but infrequent water supply and quick-drying soil.
Succulents need more water if they have a dull color. Moreover, their leaves are hanging down and they are not as firm and upright as normal. In addition, the leaves are thinner and have some wrinkles.
If you were watering your succulent plant too much they look a bit translucent and the leaves turn yellowish. Furthermore, the leaves fall off easily after the slightest contact.
During the dry phases, succulent plants start growing new roots, that search for water. By that, they develop a much larger and healthier root system which enables them to withstand long dry periods.
To make sure your succulents are healthy and get enough but not too much water you can use a tracking system. Either you can use an app or just a good old notebook.
This may seem a bit over the top but remember that succulents don’t have a clear watering schedule. Once you know your succulents you don’t need that much effort to receive beautiful thriving plants. But for the beginning, it’s awesome to go and saves one or another succulent.
Succulents can also be grown outdoors in the ground or in a container with drainage holes as long as the soil is well-draining. It’s best to use a pot with a drainage hole so that excess water can drain safely.
Soil preparation for succulent watering
Soil for succulents should be well-draining, meaning that it will not get waterlogged easily, but also has good organic properties to provide nutrients and promote the growth of new plant roots.
Well-draining soil appears to be gritty because the soil has particles of about a quarter-inch. Approximately two-thirds of the soil is inorganic like rocks and one-third is organic like bark, coir, wood.
Lastly, make sure there are drainage holes at the bottom before filling up with potting mix! After that, you are ready to go and water flows as it should.
This supports the “soak and dry” method by giving you the opportunity to use a drainage plate under the pot giving the water the possibility to excess and sit in there. After thirty to forty minutes you can throw away the unnecessary water and end up with nice soaked soil.
Final thoughts
You should use misting when growing succulents from seed or cutting propagation, which promotes healthy growth for the sensitive succulents.
You can mist them daily but not too excessive so they don’t drown. After they grow a few leaves and roots you can stop misting the plant and start watering it. Because if the water sits on the leaves for too long it can cause rotting.
The best way to go is the “soak and dry” method which means to provide them once in a while excessive watering but only for a short time to soak and then to let them dry out completely before watering them again. This will get the succulent’s root system thriving!
Unfortunately, there is no schedule when to water them so make sure to look at the signs. Your succulent will tell you what it needs!
When a succulent plant is getting too much water, it will look translucent and the leaves will fall off after a slight touch. If Succulents are running out of water they have a dull color. Moreover, their leaves are hanging down and they are not as firm and upright as normal.
Necessary soil preparation for healthy succulent watering is to use well-draining soil that looks “gritty” because it has bigger particles that provide good water flow. It should also have good organic ingredients to provide enough nutrients. Last but not least remember the drainage holes for a good water flow.
If you go for those tips and only use misting in necessary situations you will have healthy and thriving succulent plants!
