How Often do Succulents Need to be Watered?

Many of know that succulents are pretty hardy plants. As a result, this leaves many people begging the question ‘how often do succulents need to be watered?'. The truth is that there is no one ‘right' answer. A lot of it is going to be dependent on where you are living, as well as the type of succulent you are watering. Therefore, we won't be able to tell you something like ‘you must water once per week' because that probably isn't going to be true. What we can do, however, is give you a few guidelines that will be pointing you towards knowing what is best for your particular plant.

How often do succulents need to be watered?

First of all, we wish we could give you the perfect answer to this, but we can't. This is because there is no one ‘right answer'. This is because every plant is different. You will also find no one location is different, because the climate will have a major impact on how often your plants need watering. That being the case, we can point you to a few things to think about. It will pretty much all boil down to this statement:

When the succulents look like they need watering

You know that succulents are hardy plants. In fact, probably some of the hardiest plants in the world. Therefore, you probably do not need to give the same love and attention that your other plants require. Succulents will need watering when they have run out of water. That is it. If the succulents have no more water in their pot or wherever they are planted, then you need to water them.

This means that you need to understand the area you live in. This means that if you are living in a hotter climate, you will probably need to water your plants fairly often. If you are living in a place that is rather humid, then you could go weeks without needing to water your succulents. You will also need to consider the type of succulent that you have. Plants with thicker leaves tend to require watering a lot less often than other succulents.

The soil you are using will also impact how often you need to water your succulents. A well-draining soil will likely require you to water more. This is because it doesn't hold water quite as well. Most people will recommend that you plant your succulents in cactus soil as a result.

Unless you are watering succulent leaves (for which you would be using a plant mister), you should always use a quality succulent watering bottle. This will enable you to get an even spread of water over the soil. You should not be watering in just one location of the soil. This is because by doing this, you will find that not all of the roots will be able to reach the water. This is because it will cause them to move about. The result will not be good if the plants are living in smaller pots.

Watering Outdoor succulents

Watering succulents outdoors is easy, particularly if you are living in a humid or wet climate. In this case, the chance will be high that the plants will need watering just once or twice. You could go a month or two without needing to put a single drop of water on the plants. This is because there will be enough water falling naturally on them.

The general rule of thumb is that if the soil is dry, you will need to water them. However, when we say this, we mean that it must be really dry. By that, we mean that the soil has no water in it at all. This is because succulents can survive in even the toughest of conditions, however, they are not massive fans of being overwatered. This means that you should be keeping the watering to an absolute minimum. You can load them up with water, and then pretty much forget about them for a while. You should be checking once a week to see if the soil is starting to dry out. If you believe the soil is drying out, top them up a little but do not go overboard.

We promise that you will learn just how often you should be watering your succulents. This is really something that you can't get wrong due to how hardy the plants actually are. The only way you will get it wrong is if you are avoiding watering them for weeks at a time. At that point, they should probably have absorbed enough water from the air to still be alive and kicking too.

How Often to Water Succulents Indoors?

As with watering outdoor succulents, there isn't really a ‘hard and fast' rule for indoor watering. In fact, you can be pretty laid-back about it. Most indoor succulents will require minimal watering. If you load up the soil with water, you can just wait for it to completely dry out before you add some more.

Fortunately, you don't need to pay that much attention to your succulents. These plants are very hardy. They can easily sit in dry soil for a week without a care in the world. In fact, many plant experts will tell you that it is fine to leave your succulents without water on occasion. The plants won't die. In fact, they will probably thrive. This is because leaving the plants will cause their roots to seek out the absolute last drops of water. The result will be stronger roots and, ultimately, a far stronger plant.

So, how often should those plants be watered? We suggest that you just ‘wing it'. When you are watering the plants, you should load them up with water to the point that the soil is almost saturated. This will provide the plant with more than enough to drink for at least a couple of weeks. You should not be afraid to under water your plants here. In fact, if your succulent is fully mature, it won't need as much water. As a result, you should under water it. You can always keep an eye on how much water that plant is drinking. If it is going too quickly (within a week or so), then give the plant a little bit more water the next time. This is because one of the ‘biggest killers' of indoor succulents is too much water. You do not want to run the risk of drowning the plant, right?

If you notice that the soil for your indoor succulents is completely dry, it means that it is time to water your plants again. When we say completely dry, we mean completely dry. This means that there is no water left in the soil. You want that plant to have consumed every last drop of water.

Watering succulent leaves and cuttings

You should disregard all of that advice if you are tending to some leaves and cuttings. These will need a lot more water. In fact, you should be watering them daily. This is because leaves won't have roots to take water from the soil. They will be able to get a bit of moisture from the air, but this likely won't be enough. A quick spritz of water daily should be more than enough. Although, once again you should check to see whether the leaves and cuttings are taking in water. If the leaves don't appear to ever be drying out, even if you are not spraying them, then they are probably getting too much water. Cut back on it. This is something that tends to happen during the more humid days. Yes. This means that even the leaves of these plants, without roots attached, are still ridiculously hardy.

In Recap of How Often to Water succulents

All in all, the answer to the question ‘how often do succulents need to be watered?' is simple: whenever it looks like you should be watering them. If the soil has even the smallest drop of water in it (and it is within reach of the roots), your plant is fine. It won't thrive, but it will survive. However, once you get to know your plants, you will start to know exactly how often watering should take place. Start with once a week and go on from there. We promise that your plants will be fine. You really can't mess up watering succulents unless they are drowning in the water on a daily basis!