How to Plant a Succulent
When to repot succulents
There are various times it’s necessary to repot your succulents. The first is right after you buy them. A lot of times nurseries will grow succulents in a very organic soil that doesn’t drain well.
This works ok in the nursery where the climate is controlled, but generally doesn’t work well once you bring your succulents home. It’s best to repot succulents into fresh soil after you purchase them.
As a general rule, I recommend leaving about 1/2″ to 1″ (1-2.5cm) between the edge of the pot and your succulent’s leaves. If your succulent is about 3″ (7.5cm) in diameter, then you’ll want to place it a pot that’s about 4″ (10cm) in diameter.
Remove Your Pot and Soil
The first step of successful succulent planting is to get rid of the nursery pot and remove as much soil as you can. Nurseries almost always plant their succulents in soil that’s way too dense and retains too much water. The more of this nursery soil you’re able to get rid of, the healthier your succulent’s roots will be.
You may not be able to get all the soil off without damaging the roots, and that’s totally fine. Just get rid of as much as you can while being gentle on your succulent.
I don’t generally recommend washing off your succulent roots as this can be problematic for them and cause problems down the road. I cover this in more detail in the video below:
Fill Your Pot Almost to the Top
Before you place your succulent in the pot you’ve chosen, fill it almost (but not quite) to the top with succulent soil. Leave a little bit of room at the top, so the roots will have a comfortable fit, and you’ll be able to add more soil later on.
Place Your Succulent
Now it’s time to add your succulent to the planter! You can plant it–centered or off-center, whichever you’d like.
Nestle some of the roots into the soil, so they’ll get as a bit of a head start on growth.
Fill the Pot All the Way to the Top
Now it’s time to fill up the pot. You want to leave just a tiny bit of room between the top of the soil and top of the pot. Make sure the leaves of the succulent sit completely above the soil, to prevent rotting.
If you’ve purchased soil from Bonsai Jack, you’ll have an awesome chopstick that’s great for poking your soil over and over, which will help remove any large pockets of air between the roots.
This will help prevent your soil from sinking down after a few waterings
Add a Top Dressing
To finish off your potted succulent, add a top dressing. This is why you left a little bit of room at the top of your pot.
The top dressing can be something bright and fun or a simple gravel, like I used here. As you add your top dressing, press down on the soil to help the succulent stay in place.
Most important!!!
Once your succulent is potted and the top dressing is in place, let it sit for one to two days before you water it. This resting period will give the roots time to heal before they start soaking up water, which helps prevent root rot.
And that’s all there is to it! Pretty simple, right?
The most common mistakes I see in potting are a) not removing the soil from the roots, b) forgetting to add a top dressing, and c) watering too soon.
Follow the steps above, and you’ll avoid these common problems, and get a great start on your healthy succulent garden!