Succulent Plant Care Instructions

Day One:  
Once you get your new plant home, give it a deep drink in the sink to fully saturate the soil. Notice how heavy the pot is when wet, on day five this will become helpful. Find a tray to put under the pot, this will catch excess water and prevent the pots or soil from staining furniture, a plastic lid to a takeout container works well. 

Day Two:  
Find a bright window to place the plant in. In general, unobstructed south-facing windows receive the most direct sunlight. Next best option is unobstructed east or west-facing windows. If you find that your windows are obstructed by a neighboring building, consider purchasing a grow light.  

Tips for growing succulents under synthetic light:  
When purchasing a grow light it is important to look for a full-spectrum LED bulb. Steer away from grow lights that produce only red and blue spectrums, which are light frequencies responsible for the most plant growth. A good place to start is with GE’s LED plant light bulb. Position the light bulb so it is no more than three feet away from the top of the plant.   

Day Five: 
As you get used to your new plant, check in on its soil moisture.  

To check soil moisture, try any of the following or a mixture of multiple:  

• Use the finger test! Stick your pointer finger into the soil. You should be able to feel the moisture in the soil. If it feels moist or soil sticks to your finger, the plant does not require watering yet.  
• Succulents store lots of water in their leaves as a reserve. Those reserves get tapped into when the roots are unable to find water. If your succulent starts looking wrinkly it is time to water.  
• Pick up the container: does it seem lighter in weight than when you watered it five days ago? How light? If it is much lighter, give the plant a drink. 
• Does the terracotta pot feel moist to the touch? If the terra cotta is moist, it does not require watering yet. 

Day Ten: 
By day ten you should have watered at least once. If not and your soil is still very moist, make sure that your pot is draining or consider moving the plant to a sunnier location.  

Continue to water at a rate that works for you and your plant. In general, water once the soil is dry!  

Now it is time to mention the importance of a fertilizer routine. All houseplants benefit from a weak dose of balanced fertilizer (sold as 10:10:10, 5:5:5 or 20:20:20) once a month. Fertilize during the warmer months and abstain during the cooler months.  

...four months later 
Succulents will be very happy growing outside during the summertime. If you have access to an outdoor space, consider moving your plant outside. By June temperatures remain above 50 degrees, so the risk of cold damage is gone. However, depending on your outdoor location intense sun can also do damage! If you have a very sunny location, you’ll need to acclimate your plant. You may need to water your plant more often if it moves outside! 

How to acclimate your plant:  
A location that has morning sun is perfect as morning sun is gentler than afternoon sun. Leave plants outside for three to five hours on the first day, then bring them back inside. Second day, five to seven hours. Day three, repeat. Day four move them to a very sunny location or the location they will remain, leave them there for three hours, then move them back to the original area. Day five you can leave them in their final sunny location for the remaining days—even through nighttime. 

...six months later 
If your plant has been growing larger, time to see if it needs to be “potted on”, which means moving it to a larger pot. Check to see if there are roots growing out of the drainage hole. If not, gently pop the plant out of the pot. If there are roots pressed up against the side of the pot, it is time to repot your plant to a larger pot size. When moving up in size only, increase the pot size by 1 to 2 inches in diameter.