How to Water Your Succulent Arrangement
We love our Lazy plants, but even they need a little TLC sometimes. When it comes to succulents and cacti plant care, a little goes a long way - especially when it comes to water. In our previous blog posts, we outlined how to water your succulents, emphasizing the importance of allowing the soil to dry completely in between thorough waterings. Read that blog post here, along with an instructional video.
Watering succulents and cacti correctly is key to helping grow your indoor plant garden. But what about succulent arrangements? Do the same rules apply? The answer is yes...and no.
The Desert Varnish Succulent Arrangement
What Stays the Same?
Whether the succulents are packed together in a beautiful arrangement or potted as solo stars, one thing remains true - DON’T OVERWATER. The best way to make sure of this is to lengthen the time between waterings and to test the soil.
In a bright, sunny spot, it will usually take at least 1-2 weeks for the soil to completely dry between healthy soaks. If you have a large succulent where it is difficult to tell the soil moisture level, stick a moisture meter (or some kind of wooden skewer) into the soil to confirm that it is completely dry and ready for more water.
Other easy ways to tell when your succulent needs watering is by looking at the leaves. Soft and wrinkled succulent leaves indicate that they are thirsty and ready for water. Lastly, wet soil weighs more - so paying attention to the weight of your planter is another way to keep track of how much moisture is in your plant soil.
What’s Different?
Succulent arrangements are beautiful, bountiful works of art. The best arrangements will often combine a large variety of succulent species and colors to satisfy even the pickiest plant lovers. The thing is that there is only so much space in a planter, and more succulents means less space. They are packed together tightly and there is less room for the water to enter and spread throughout the soil evenly. On top of that, succulent arrangements often do not have a built-in drainage hole, especially if the planters are handmade and hand-painted.
The Slouching Sloth Succulent Arrangement
What’s the Solution?
Thankfully, succulents are water-resistant plants and do not need a lot of water. The best way to ensure that a succulent arrangement receives a balanced drink is to run water evenly over the tops of the succulents and allow it to funnel into the soil between the succulent leaves. This gives the best chance for all of your succulents to receive their necessary nutrition for plant growth while avoiding saturation or overwatering in any particular part of the soil. A good method is to bring the entire succulent arrangement to the sink and run the water faucet slowly over all of the succulent plants for 5-10 seconds. Again, water-resistant means they don’t need much, so underwatering is rarely an issue and cna always be fixed with a quick spritz!
Succulent arrangements make wonderful gifts and are carefully curated works of living art - so let’s keep them alive as long as possible!