Adapting Dutch succulents

Bought some succulents from Holland. They looked good, but the houses gradually withered, not one was saved. Now I want to buy new plants, but is it worth? Can, there is no chance at all to adapt the "Dutch" to our conditions?

Kira NAUMOVA, Omsk region.

No need to despair. for example, my first succulent from Holland - Echeveria Lola - still pleases with its healthy appearance.

CAUSE OF THE DEATH OF SUCCULENTS

The way from the native greenhouse to the store, which may take several weeks, succulents spend in the dark, stuffy and crowded. And it's always stress. Upon arrival, new challenges begin: newcomers are hooked up to the "old-timers", which no one has been buying for the second month. Mushroom spores, rot, bacteria, pests, appeared due to flaws in care, succulents instantly attack, whose immunity is already undermined by the long journey.

WHAT TO DO

Buy plants as fresh as possible. If they are visually strong, clean, dense - you can take.

METHODS FOR ADAPTING SUCCULENTS

TRADITIONAL:

1. get the plant out of the pot, shake off the roots from the soil (If you want to, wash away)
2. remove rotten, dry leaves and roots;
3. sprinkle the cuts with crushed coal;
4. be sure to treat plants from bacteria and fungi ("Phytosporin" or "Tri-Hodermin"), as well as from pests ("Fitoverm" or "Aktara") ;
5. plant in a pot of the same size in the soil for succulents;
6. quarantine.

HOW DO I:

1. I cut off the entire aerial part (I remove the bottom leaves from the rosette species, I divide other succulents into cuttings), I throw away the roots and soil;
2. delete all suspicious (darkening, rotten) fragments;
3. I soak the prepared material in a solution of a complex fungicide for disease prevention, and then insecticide - from pests (according to instructions) ;
4. I dry for a week or two (depending on the size of the cutting) ;
5. I plant it in the soil for succulents.

© Author: Ludmila PUSHKAREVA, collector of succulents, r. Peaceful. Photo by the author

CARE FOR SUCCULENTS IN HOME CONDITIONS – FLOWER TIPS AND REVIEWS

SUKKULENTY – PHOTO

"Succulents are a trend of fashion, and there is nothing special about them "- I thought a couple of years ago, when she walked past the shelves with colorful overseas echeveria. One day in winter she could not stand it and brought home a powdery pink flower. I enjoyed the unearthly beauty for two or three weeks. Then interesting transformations began to occur with the plant.: it stretched out a lot, and the lower leaves dried up. Got it, that Echeveria lacks light and placed it under the lamp. However, the flower did not look aesthetically pleasing anymore., so she carefully separated the leaves and began to wait for new shoots.

I often read on the Internet: succulents are completely unpretentious, do not require maintenance, you don't even need to water them for months. But I felt some kind of catch. I started to understand the topic, met collectors and eventually formulated a few basic rules for myself.

1. Succulents need attention

The main difficulty is to keep them in the winter.. Without additional illumination, most specimens stretch and lose their exotic color. In summer, too bright light can leave burns on plants., therefore it is important to shade them. Watering succulents with caution, do not overdo. Plus, be sure to ventilate the room.

2. The soil is special

The rule applies here: the poorer the soil, the brighter the colors. I add vermiculite to the sod land, zeolite and fine gravel. If there is a lot of gravel and zeolite, water does not stay long, the soil dries quickly, excluding root rot. However, you have to water the plant more often..

3. Cool wintering

For the winter, you need to reduce or practically stop watering. The lower leaves will dry out, don't be scared, this is normal. At a temperature of about + 15 city, you can do without additional lighting. If there is no lamp and the plant is stretched, cut the top off in the spring and plant to root. Succulents tolerate lower temperatures well.. Acceptable +5 city., eg, on an insulated balcony. Even with 0 city, in dry ground hazards, that the plant will freeze, not. the main thing, stop fertilizing a month before the onset of cold weather.

© Author: Ekaterina NOVAK, r. Tver. Photo by the author

PAINTED CACTUSES, SUKKULENTY – HOW TO CARE AFTER PURCHASE AND WILL THEY SURVIVE?

More and more often, you can find painted succulents on sale.. I never buy such plants. And here on New Year's holidays, a friend, knowing my love for flowers, presented as a gift several "masquerade" copies. Now my goal is to help them survive.

Immediately transplanted newcomers into the soil for cacti and succulents, removing all the peat from the roots, especially from the root collar, which is prone to rot. I started to water only a week later.. I don’t dare to wash the paint off the leaves.. Read, that it gets into the pores of the leaf blade and seals the stomata, after which the plant cannot breathe, does not evaporate moisture and is held only by reserves, accumulated in fleshy leaves. They start to dry out, devoid of light and breath, and as a result, the plant dies.

© Author: Galina ELINA. Moscow region.

COMMENTS OF THE SPECIALIST

Paint succulents with aerosols, and often with car paints. If you used a mild vegetable dye, then the paint may peel off over time. And even from-

washable with warm water, upon contact with which it turns into a film, and it is easy to remove. Peel the leaves gently, so as not to damage the skin-epidermis. After the procedure, treat each leaf with a solution

"Epina" or "Zircon" and dry the plant. You can try to remove paint "not for plants" with a nail polish remover without acetone, or at least free up a large area for the plant to breathe..

You did the right thing, that pets were immediately transplanted into a new substrate. Water these plants drip, since moisture evaporation is disturbed.

© Author: Lilia MALTSEVA, agrochemist, r. Novy Oskol

TO THE PINK OF ADVICE ON SUCCULANTS

For several years I have collected a collection of succulents, and with them - a lot of advice on content. Today I am sharing some of them., suitable for careful transplantation.

I use mineral substrate, since it is most similar to the soil of the natural habitat of these plants. I mix zeolite, diatomite, brick chips, volcanic lava, perlite, gravel (1:1:1:0, 5:0, 5:0, 5). Adding a long lasting fertilizer (eg, The Eighth) and granulated ash - according to the instructions.

Pots for succulents should be the size of the root system (i.e. small). They can be from any material., the main thing, not to absorb water (this applies mainly to clay and plaster flowerpots). Otherwise, the plant will have to be watered more often., and, possibly, he will not have enough moisture - he will begin to lose turgor. I put my babies in plastic cups from baby cottage cheese, cutting off the protruding edges.

Many succulents, eg, ehe-verii E. Pearl of Nuremberg (Gem of Nuremberg) and E. runyonii Topsy-Turvy ("inside out"), grap-topetalum Paraguayan, etc., covered with epicuticular wax. Its main function is to protect the plant. therefore, working with these kinds, I always use gloves, so as not to damage the plaque.

With fragile and small-sized succulents, I carry out procedures with tweezers: plant and transplant, remove dried leaves from the plant, etc..

To gently brush off the soil, caught on the leaves when planting, I use a brush with very soft bristles..

As a planter to mask tall plastic cups (I grow in such sansevieria) suitable glass for toothbrushes.

© Author: Olga MARSO, Krasnodar region.

ADAPTATION OF SUCCULENTS AFTER PURCHASE – VIDEO