Growing succulents indoors is a necessity in Canada as our weather doesn't allow for outdoor gardens year round. Unless of course we are talking about hardy Sempervivum and some Sedum, they have to come inside before first frost.
If you want the quick and dirty here it is:
Keys to successfully growing indoors in Canada: the strongest light you can afford to give such as a south facing window or grow lights. Deep, infrequent watering- when in doubt, wait. Comfortable, warm temperatures similar to what you enjoy. And lastly, air flow for strong, healthy plants.
I will preface all of my advice with the following: I am not a botanist nor a horticulturalist. My formal education consists of graphic design and photography. What I am is an avid, experienced succulent collector who is enthusiastic about plant care. My goal is to provide advice to the four season succulent gardeners, those of us who can not grow outside year round.
Now that I've shared my qualifications, let’s talk why you’re here. You’ve bought a succulent plant or two and you want to know how to keep them looking their best indoors.
Here are the basic need-to-knows about potted succulents:
They need to be potted in a gritty, fast drying, well draining soil. My mixture includes cactus soil, perlite, lava rocks, crushed granite and worm castings. Straight soil (even cactus soil with no amendments) will retain too much moisture for indoor growing. Refer to my blog about well draining potting soil.
Strong, Direct Light:
Succulents want all the light. That is the top requirement to keep them looking their perky, colourful best. Many factors go into the best lighting situation, but at a bare minimum, plan to have them right on a window sill over winter. This will still be less light than it wants, but we do what we can over the colder months here in Canada. The glass cuts the intensity of the light, and, as we all know, the days are very short over winter. With this is mind, don’t be discouraged if the colours revert to green slightly or they stretch out a little. You can start fresh with cuttings or you can simply introduce them to true, outdoor sunlight when spring arrives. I will touch both on cuttings and introducing them to full sun in a later blog series.
Alternatively, consider buying a grow light. You don’t have to go all out and have an elaborate setup, but consider purchasing a grow light bulb that will fit into a regular lamp. They are sold in most local nurseries and on-line. Look for 6500 K, 'daylight' LED bulbs. If your collection has grown and you need more, local nurseries also carry grow light bars as well as Amazon. I use Barrina brand, and have many shelves and bars; more than I care to count.
If window light is all you have available, they will do best in a south or west facing window. If you choose to bring them outdoors in the spring be sure to introduce them to true sunshine gradually to avoid burning them. A few hours a day of morning light increasing over a period of a few weeks should do the trick. Also do not start leaving them outside until the overnight temperature is above 10 degrees Celsius. This is just a broad average that will keep the majority safe although some will tolerate lower temperatures.
Sempervivum, also known as live forevers, and commonly known as hens and chicks are the only type I personally keep outside all year here in Canada. They thrive in ground over winter and perk up bigger and better each spring. You will never find Sempervivum in my indoor collection as they do poorly indoors and do not play well with tender succulents. There are two categories you can easily place succulents for our learning purposes, and that is tender and hardy. Tender must be protected when temperatures become cold and hardy can withstand the majority of our Canadian winters.
Deep, Infrequent Waterings:
Succulents love water- they do- what they don’t love is sitting in wet soil (referred to a having wet feet). Think of it like this: when you water, a healthy succulent will uptake what it needs to fill out and become plump. If the soil it is planted in stays wet (doesn’t drain/ dry out quickly) it will continue to take up water- there is no off switch. Eventually this will lead to leaves bursting and spliting. Or the leaves will fill up to the point they pop right off. Eventually, a once healthy succulent will rot when left sitting wet too long. Leaves popping off is self preservation as it knows it might rot and is popping off leaves to make babies in a last ditch effort to survive.
So long story short: if it’s still plump or too chilly (which would cause a deep watering to not dry quickly) do not water. If it’s puckered, wrinkly, or you can fold a leaf like a taco; water. When in doubt, walk away. Succulents would much rather be a little thirsty than rot.
When watering give the base of the plants (avoiding getting the leaves wet or water in the rosettes) a good soak. Set on a paper towel or over a sink and let water drain through. I personally like to fill a small tray with water and set it in. This is called bottom watering and can be a great way to easily get plump, fat succulents. The trick is knowing how long to leave them and unfortunately it can be a trial and error. You don’t want the top soil to become saturated, (not here in Canada where it could take a long time to dry due to our growing environment) you just want the water to wick upwards to about the half way point. I only plant in pots with drainage holes.
Should you use distilled water, filtered water or rain water? I use tap water myself, the only difference being I fill large jugs and leave them out a few days before using. Does this work? It’s just my routine, everyone finds what works best for them.
Warm and Cozy Temperatures:
This one is short and sweet. Tender succulents are not native to Canada and therefore must be protected from our harsh winters. The rule of thumb I stick to: do not leave them outside once temps drop to below 10 degrees Celsius at night. Can they stay out longer? Yes, some can. Have I tested this theory? Sure have, results were sometimes heartbreaking. So the short of it is, protect them from low temperatures. As succulents store their water in their leaves and their stems, the water cells will burst once they have frozen and there’s no coming back from this.
Interesting to note, they need a period of darkness at night, and they like it cooler then, just like many of us do to sleep. Often, our thermostat is set to be cooler overnight and that will suffice.
Air Flow and Circulation:
One of the most important, almost always overlooked, keys to indoor succulent growing success is air flow. Lack of air flow can cause powdery mildew and fungus issues, help pests to go unchecked and spread as well as promote weak new growth. Fans will do wonders to the overall health of your plants. The areas most common to keep succulents and enjoy them is often a high traffic area, so this is not the most immediate issue. It is just good practice to keep in mind and give them a higher success rate.
Recap of keys to successfully growing indoors in Canada: the strongest light you can afford to give such as a south facing window or grow lights. Deep, infrequent watering- when in doubt, wait. Comfortable, warm temperatures similar to what you enjoy. And lastly, air flow for strong, healthy plants.
I’ve personally grown out (via leaves and cuttings) thousands of succulents. I've educated myself and spent countless hours researching because I want them to survive and thrive. I love the opportunity to spread this knowledge to help others be successful too. If you have further questions or comments not covered here, please email me at jessica@leafandchick.com and I will get back to you in as timely manner as possible.
I will amend any topics as new or better information presents itself to me. Just as you are all learning about succulent care, I am also continually learning; perhaps I just started my journey earlier than you.