Gardening Talks ft. prtvyas

Preeti and her Succulents:

“Welcome to a gardening talk featuring prtvyas. Today we will be answering basic questions on Succulents. We have Mrs. Preeti Vyas with her explanatory answers. Hello Preeti, how are you?” Asked Zehra. 

“Hello everyone, Hello Zehra. I am doing well. It is my pleasure talking with you guys. Thank you, the Affordable Organic Store and Taos for organizing this wonderful session.” Said Preeti. “Preeti has a keen interest in Succulents. She loves succulents, as we can see, the beautiful collection of Succulents around her.” Said Zehra. 

“So, before we start with our questions, can you tell us a little about yourself?” Asked Zehra. “Good afternoon everyone, I am Preeti Vyas. By profession, I am a Training Consultant and have served various corporate and good companies for 16-17 years in HR and training. I shifted from my small house to a bigger one but cannot give up my passion and interest in plants, especially succulents. So, I started my new journey with my small succulents, and spending a good time with them.” Said Preeti.

“Let’s take our first question for today:

1. “how to grow Succulents at home?” Asked Zehra. 

“So, when we define succulents, they have fleshy leaves, that can store water in their leaves, stems, or roots. The important point about succulents is that people normally get confused between Cactus and Succulents. I would like to clear the point, so Cactus are Succulents but not necessarily all Succulents are Cactus. So, they can store water for a longer duration, and growing succulents in your house are easy. You can even grow succulents on your small balcony as, this plant only requires, a great amount of Sunlight. Even indirect sunlight would help the plant to grow, you can put the plant near the window to receive a good amount of light for better growth. I would like to share my experience and process of how to grow them at home. Some important points are:-

1. Choose the best type of Succulents, according to the size available in your home. As there are around 70-75 types of succulents available in the market. I would suggest Aloe Vera, the Snake plant, and Jet plants for small houses or flats, as they require less maintenance only by giving water once a week they can sustain for a long duration.

2. Choose the Container, you must use that type of container that have small holes at the bottom. Because proper drainage is required, as the plant can hold water in its stems, leaves, and roots. So, without proper drainage holes, there are chances that it might get rot very quickly.  
3. Choose the right Soil/ medium, I would suggest those beginners, choose Cocopeat as it is also recommended by many experts, and supported by my experience, as they are friendly with the plants. It should be noted that, after the birth of the baby from the mother, you have to transfer them to a big container, where you can use the builder’s sand or small rocks mixture which is easily available online or in any nursery.
4. Place them in the right place, around 5-6 hours of sunlight is a must for a healthy succulent. If you don’t have a good place, do place them in the window area so that they can get sunlight.
5. Amount of water, I would suggest, water then once a week. I would also suggest, not using a spray bottle to water the plant, you may use a soft brush to clean the dust on the leaves.” Said Preeti.

“Thank you so much for the detailed explanation. So, moving on to the next question:

2. “how to grow Succulents from leaves?” Asked Zehra.

“So, growing succulents from leaves is a task full of Patience. The important points are:-

1. Choose the right, healthy plant from where you can pick the right kind of leaf.  Do pluck the leaf from the bottom side and do not twist the leaf, just turn the leaf with gentle hands. It is suggested, if you live in a hot place, just keep the plucked leaf on a tissue for 3-4 days, as while plucking the leaf it gets wounded, and it requires 3-4 days to recover. 
2. The appearance of the new baby leaves depends on the Weather. The propagation of the leaf would be suitable at the end of the rainy season, which has a kind of hot as well as cold temperatures. And it is also during February, March, or April month, as it is the perfect time for propagation. We need to wait for at least one week or 15 days to get a new leaf.” Said Preeti.

“So, let’s move to the next question:

3. “how to grow Succulents indoors?” Asked Zehra.

“So, I started my journey from growing succulents in a big open place to a small close place. The most important point is:-

1. It should get proper Sunlight because this plant can hold water, and it can receive direct or indirect sunlight for its good health.
2. Choose the right container to grow the succulents indoors.
3. Allow extra water to flow out of the plant, as it should not be in a damp condition, it has the right medium to grow, if possible use Cocopeat if not possible use builders sand and small rocks. You can even mix small thermocol/polystyrene pieces and all-purpose fertilizers. Keep in mind, not to use vermicompost or medicine-kind material initially during the growth stage of the plant.” Said Preeti.

“That was a perfectly explained answer. So, the next question is:

4. “how can we grow Cactus and Succulents from seeds?” Asked Zehra.

“The mantra is Patience. Yes, they are low-maintenance plants but they by their own pace. So, to grow them from seeds, 

• Take one piece of tissue paper and dampen it with little water. 
• After that, you can sprinkle the seeds over the tissue paper. As, they are very small seeds, so by using the tissue it would be easy to plant the seeds.
• With the help of a toothpick, pick a seed and place it on the soil bed of the pot (kept on the surface), where you can grow the plant.

It is also recommended, to avoid overwatering the plant. The soil medium used i.e. Cocopeat is the best medium for the process of plant growth. As cocopeat can store water, daily watering of the plant is not required. It should also be kept in mind that the plant should not be kept in a windy area or windy weather, even if it must not be kept in an open space as they have danger from birds and strong wind blowing the seeds away. Fertilizing the plant at the initial stage should also be avoided. You can use fertilizer after the small baby leaf is grown, but only with the all-purpose fertilizer, with the help of the spoon, you can sprinkle it over the soil. After, that you would get a healthy and good plant.” Said Preeti. 

5. “Any care to be taken regarding the spacing of the seeds?” Asked Zehra.

“You can use a proper square or round tray, the depth of the bed of the tray should not be more than 2 inches. A deeper bed, will not help the plant to germinate properly. You can place the seeds in 1-inch difference on the surface of the soil.” said Preeti.

“So, the last question of the day:

6. “how to take care of Succulents indoors?” Asked Zehra.

“Since, they are very sweet and friendly plant which does not require much maintenance. The Succulent lovers can keep the plant in their houses while keeping some points in mind:-

• Keep them in the direction of Sunlight.
• Avoid giving them water daily.
• You can go for growing:

1. The Jade plant is beautiful.
2. The Snake plant
3. The Pencil Cactus  
4. The Adenium plant, can keep indoors and not under direct AC. (for larger space area)
5. The Aloe Vera plant, etc.” Said Preeti.

Thank you so much Preeti!

It was a very deatiled explanation. I hope this session helps and you everyone, for being in this gardening workshop.

“Thank you so much Preeti for giving your valuable time and knowledge, to solve our viewers’ questions and help them in their situation. Thank you all of you for joining the workshop.”

So let’s ROOT for each other and watch each other GROW.

HAPPY GARDENING!