Beginner’s Guide to Caring for Succulents: Tips and Tricks

Here are some succulent basics, for anyone starting their house plant collection. Fair warning, house plants can be very addicting.

Succulents have quickly become one of the most popular house plants to care for. They are beautiful and come in a variety of colors, sizes, and shapes. Seriously, going into a garden store and looking at all the different types of succulent plants is exciting and overwhelming all at the same time. There are SO MANY different types. Stopping by my local plant store is definitely something I have missed dearly during this time of social distancing thanks to COVID-19.

Succulents are a wonderful addition to any home. They add color and life to your rooms, and they can be incredibly easy to take care of as long as you know a few important things.

I got my first succulents in high school. It was a pack of three that I convinced my mom to buy for me from the clearance rack at a hardware store. They were overwatered, with only half their leaves. The leaves that were still hanging on were yellow and bloated. And yet, from that day on I was hooked.

You can’t take me to the plant store because I will absolutely not leave empty-handed. There are just too many plants I want to add to my collection.

Caring for these sickly house plants and watching them become healthy was so exciting and productive, I needed more. And now I have over 20 plants in my bedroom alone, most of them being succulents and cacti.

And after all the plants I have acquired over the years, I still have my three very first succulents, displayed proudly on top of my desk. Oh, and they have names too. Fred, Ted, and Sally.

So, if you are here, hoping to start your succulent collection, and you want some basic succulent care instructions to get you started, you came to the right place. This post will be a brief overview of a few things you need to know, including pot selection, the type of soil you need, sunlight, and water. Hopefully, I can help you raise as many healthy and happy succulents as your heart desires!

Also, check out this post, a House Plant Guide for Beginners, from That Mama Club, with info on a ton of other fun and easy house plants if you aren’t as rabid for succulents as everyone else is. There are so many beautiful and easy house plants to take care of on that list.

By the way, I am, in no way, an expert at caring for succulents. I am just using my 8 years of experience to hopefully help someone at the beginning of their journey.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I make a small commission through these links with no impact on your purchase.

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Pot Selection

The first thing you are going to want to do is to find a home for your new plant baby. If you are planting the succulent outside in the ground, you can ignore this portion of the post, and move on to the soil information.

Although it is fun to look at all the cute pots the plant store has to offer and immediately pick the prettiest one, there are a couple of things to think about before you make that decision, the most important being, drainage. Succulents are desert plants that are used to periods of drought (where they get no water). Without drainage, the excess water that collects at the bottom of the pot after watering has nowhere to go, and it will create problems such as bloated leaves and root rot. All of these things can lead to killing your new succulent.

If you are unable to get a pot with a drainage hole, you can place a thick layer of large rocks at the bottom of your pot, before you put the soil in. This will allow some drainage, however, there is still the possibility of root rot. If the succulent’s roots reach below the rocks searching for water or nutrients, they will then be sitting in dampness the next time the plant is watered. So, It depends on the plant and the watering schedule, whether this will work.

But don’t worry, there are tons of adorable pots that meet these criteria! You just need to look.

Check out this pot set from Amazon! They are small, the perfect size for a bedroom or apartment, and they include drainage holes!

Click here to purchase from Amazon!

These pots are pretty small, so you will have to repot the succulent once it starts outgrowing the space. But look for plants that love to be crowded, they will do fantastic in pots like these.

Soil

Now that you have the pot, you need to fill it. You can go to a garden store and find soil that is specifically for succulents and cacti. Getting succulent specific soil is great because it is made to drain water and you don’t need to do anything further.

However, if you already have a bag of soil laying around, and you don’t feel like going to the store again (especially since it can be such a long and exhausting process thanks to Miss Rona). Just mix your regular potting soil with some gravel and/or sand. As I said, succulents are desert plants, so this will mimic the dry soil from that environment. It also ensures that the water drains properly and keeps your succulents happy and healthy.

Water

Okay, you have your plant, it is potted in a good pot with proper soil. Now what? How much water do I actually give my new baby succulent?

The amount of water each succulent needs is unique, but they all have some things in common. If you have been reading this post, you know that succulents are desert plants. Deserts go through times of drought, which is what your plant is expecting. Your succulent should never be sitting in soaked soil for a long time. Allow the soil to completely dry out in between watering.

A helpful tool to ensure that your succulent is getting enough water is as close as your fingertips… Literally, it is your finger! Depending on the size of the pot, dig your finger into the soil next to your succulent. If it comes out damp, no need to water. If it is dry, time to hydrate your baby.

Also, as you get more used to your plant, you will be able to see signs of under or overwatering. For the first sign of underwatering, check the lower leaves of your plant. They will start to shrivel and become dry and hard as your plant tries to protect itself. On the other end, signs of overwatering include yellow and bloated leaves, that feel mushy to the touch, and fall off the plant as soon as you touch them.

The longer you have your succulents, the more you will learn about their needs.

Sunlight

Sunlight is really important if you want to keep your succulent looking cute. A succulent will survive without proper sunlight, but it will not thrive.

When a succulent does not get proper sunlight, it will start elongating in search of more sun, and the adorable compact shape that your succulent is now will disappear.

In my experience, if you are keeping your succulents inside, they need a good full day of the sun shining in through the window to keep their shape. It took me a while to accept that my bedroom just doesn’t get enough sun. After all my succulents stretched out, I knew had to do something different.

So, if you are keeping your succulents in an area where it doesn’t get a lot of sun, place your succulents outside in direct sunlight for 3-4 hours a day. This will keep them healthy, happy, and beautiful.

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There are so many fun things you can do with succulents. But the first step to growing your collection of this incredible plant is learning the basics of taking care of them. Once you have that, you can experiment with arrangements and designs that fit any and all homes. Stay tuned for a post about all the fun ways you can decorate with succulents and cacti.

Have any questions about taking care of succulents? Leave them down below and I will answer them to the best of my knowledge!

xoxo Jackie Em