SUCCULENT CARE:
Light:Indoors place succulents near the brightest, sunniest window available. South facing windows are best. If you do not have a sunny window, full spectrum fluorescent lights will work. Outdoors most succulents can tolerate full sun-but partial sun partial shade is best or the plants can get sun burned. Shade from noonday sun in the summertime is desirable or your succulents may become discolored. *Succulent cuttings should be kept out of direct sun for 2-6 weeks until their roots form. Otherwise they can dry out before setting roots and die.

Water:Water succulents heavily when watering-but allow the soil to dry between watering. Succulents cannot be in wet soggy soil for prolonged periods or their roots will die and rot. Make sure succulents have fast draining soil. Use a prepared soil mix for succulents and cacti or mix your own. A layer of pebbles or small stones on top of the soil will aid in drainage and it looks good too. You will need to water more often in warmer months and water very little to not at all in cooler months. Succulents can lose their roots if they are kept wet in the wintertime.

Food:Succulents will benefit from a weak fertilizer offered every 2-3 waterings. Feeding is not necessary in cooler winter months.

Temps:Succulents prefer warmer temps during the day of 70F up to 100F. In higher temps make sure they have adequate shade. They can tolerate temps down to just above freezing in the winter time.

Transplanting succulents:When your succulent out grows a smaller pot you can move it safely to a size up. Gently tap the plant out of its present pot. Brush away some of the old soil around the roots, taking care not to disturb the center of the root ball or to break roots. Put some soil mix in the new pot and place the plant on top. Fill in around the sides-keep the plant at the same level as it was in the old pot. Let the plant stay dry a few days. This will allow any roots that are damaged or broken during the transplanting process to heal before watering to avoid rot of broken roots.

Propogating Plants from Cuttings:Succulents are somewhat easy to propagate from stem or leaf cuttings. This is an inexpensive way to buy plants and plant them yourself or to make another plant from one of the offsets of your larger plants. Allow the cutting to dry for several days to a week (depending upon ambient temps). During this time, a "scab" will form at the cut area. This provides a barrier to protect the plant from dessication or fungus. After the scab has formed, plant the cutting in a soil mix with extra pumice. The extra pumice will allow the aeration necessary to enable production of healthy roots. Sometimes, if you wait a bit too long before planting your cutting, it may produce "aerial" roots, which are actually capable of absorbing water! Keep cuttings out of direct sun(unless it is early a.m. sun) until roots form(2-8 weeks). Keeping cutting in constanly wet soil will cause them to rot. Make sure cuttings are in soil that is moist but not wet. Warmer temps help roots form faster.