Korean Succulent Care
It can be daunting when paying more money for a plant, and being unsure of what to expect, or how to care for the plant when it arrives on your doorstep. Does it need water immediately? What kind of soil mix should I use? How can we make sure the plant doesn’t lose it’s lovely colors?
What to expect when you receive an imported plant….
The best thing to do when you receive your new imported plant: Pot in 100% grit if you have it. If you do not have grit, then you can use a mix of succulent soil with about 75% perlite, but grit is always best. The plant should root on it’s own without any help. Misting the top 1 inch of the mix every 3 days can help encourage root growth, but usually isn’t necessary. If your plant is showing signs of dehydration (which is ok, see below), you can mist the mix so the plant pulls up some moisture as soon as roots form. Place your plant in a bright location, no full sun, especially after you first receive it. They’re not accustomed to sun after being shipped. Being in a dark box for several days can cause the plant to burn if placed in full sun. So, a bright location, either under a grow light, or filtered sunlight until the plant recovers from shipping. If you want to give your plant full sun, acclimate the plant slowly, starting with 30 minutes of full sun, then increasing the time by 30 minutes every other day until the plant is fully acclimated. Be sure to watch the plant carefully while doing this. If you see any dark spots on plant forming, remove the plant from the sun, and place in shade immediately. I will be posting more on this subject within the next few days.
Wrinkled/dehydrated plants: Imported plants go through a lengthy process and a long journey to make it to the USA from S. Korea, or whatever country they come from. They have most or all of their roots completely removed, and go through a sanitation process before being exported, and then imported into the USA. The USDA requires that they’re completely sterile, and deemed to be pest and disease free. This ensures we get healthy and pest free plants! But, without roots, the plants can sometimes get a bit dehydrated.. So if you receive a plant, and it’s a little wrinkled, please don’t worry, or be alarmed at this. It’s completely normal, and this does not indicate the plant is unhealthy. Succulents can live a very long time with no water at all. I’m not saying this is good for them, just that it’s not going to hurt them.
As soon as the plant grows a bit more roots, and can take up some water, they plump back up almost overnight, so a wrinkled plant isn’t anything to worry about at all. They can be unsightly, but this goes away immediately after the plant roots, and is able to take up some water.
Loss of color: Succulents change with the seasons, as do all plants. As we all know, most succulents have a growing season of spring, summer, and fall.. They go dormant in winter. The colors of a succulent are much more vibrant in the fall, winter, and spring seasons. The change of temperatures can cause a gorgeous display of color in our succulent gardens. If you’re new to succulents, just wait and see! In the summer, most plants are significantly more green, whereas in winter, the colors will pop with insanely vibrant color.
There are some things we can do to try and offset the summertime loss of color. You will need to invest in some really good grow lights for your home. Not all are really expensive, you can actually get some pretty inexpensive LED lights that do a great job in keeping our plants happy. I will post some links for some of my favorites in a few days.
I will be posting more on these subjects in the very near future, as I plan to start a plant care blog. Will be posting much more soon!
