Irrigation is one of the most important and, at the same time, most complicated tasks. It is very difficult to control it, and things get complicated when you have to water succulents, that is, cacti and / or succulent plants.
So I'm going to give you a series of guidelines on watering succulents that will be very useful so that your precious plants can grow without problems.
When should succulents be watered?
Some say that in the morning, others that at night, but the reality is that reports. About what? Of two things: the place where you live and the climate in your area. Thus, for example, if you live in a place where it rains regularly and is also cold in winter, irrigation will be much less frequent than if you are on the Mediterranean coast, where the sun is the star of the sky for much of the year.
Starting from this, We will know that we have to water our succulents if:
- No rain is expected in at least the next seven days if it is summer, or 15-20 if it is any other season.
- Temperatures are kept above 10ºC.
- The substrate is very, very dry, to the point where the plants have started to wrinkle.
- The succulents are growing, which means it is spring and / or summer.
What is the best time? Regardless of the season, I have come to the conclusion that it is in the afternoon, since this way the substrate remains humid for longer so the roots have more time to absorb it. In addition, it will allow us to save a little water.
How do you have to water them?
Now that we know more or less when we have to give water to our beloved little plants, let's see how we have to water them so that they can absorb the precious liquid in the right way:
- The first thing to do is check substrate moisture. For this we can do several things:
- Insert a thin wooden stick (like the one used in Japanese restaurants): if the soil is wet, it will stick to it.
- Use a digital humidity meter: it is very easy to use. You just have to put it in the pot to tell us the degree of humidity. But, to be more reliable, it must be inserted in different areas (closer to the edge of the pot, more towards the center).
- Weigh the pot before and after watering: since the soil does not weigh the same dry as it is wet, we can be guided by this difference in weight.
- Then we must fill what we use to irrigate and direct the water jet to the ground, never to the plant. We have to make sure that it is well moistened. To avoid flooding and problems, we can use a sprayer, or, in the case that we have many plants, remove the »artichoke» from the watering can.
- Finally, If we have a plate underneath, we will remove it 15 minutes after watering to remove any excess water.
If you have any questions, don't leave them unanswered. Ask  .