Starter Succelent Help!

[stiglitz]

Hey forum! I am new to keeping plants, and I got my very first succulent two days ago (May 21st, 2016). It's a Crassula mesembryanthemoides, and is pretty neat.

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I've been doing some research on general succulent care, but I was wondering if I could get some help on two things:

1) The employee told me that if I wanted to, I could pinch off some of the tips of the plant to promote bushier growth. Is this true? If so, when should I do this?
2) From the pictures, does it look like the plant needs to be transplanted into a bigger pot already? Currently, the plant is ~5 inches tall. The pot is 2 inches tall, and the diameter of the pot at the top is ~3 inches tall. I bought a bigger pot that the plant could go into if/when I need to transplant it.

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Thanks!

[stiglitz]

Anyone?

[greenknight]

1.You could pinch it, but it had a nice form now - I don't think I would. If you think it needs it, prune any time during the growing season up to about a month before dormancy begins in the fall - pruning stimulates new growth, you want it to have time to mature before the growing season ends. Move it right up close to the window, even a few inches makes a difference - plenty of light will make for compact growth.

2. I would repot into a 4" pot. Best to remove all the old potting mix - rinsing it off with a garden hose works well - so the pot contains a uniform mix. If the mix it's in is very similar to what you're using you could skip that, Crassulas are not very fussy.

[stiglitz]

1.You could pinch it, but it had a nice form now - I don't think I would. If you think it needs it, prune any time during the growing season up to about a month before dormancy begins in the fall - pruning stimulates new growth, you want it to have time to mature before the growing season ends. Move it right up close to the window, even a few inches makes a difference - plenty of light will make for compact growth.

2. I would repot into a 4" pot. Best to remove all the old potting mix - rinsing it off with a garden hose works well - so the pot contains a uniform mix. If the mix it's in is very similar to what you're using you could skip that, Crassulas are not very fussy.

Thanks for the reply!

1. Thank you, this helps a lot. I think I will hold off on the pruning for now since it looks good. The window that it is sitting on is south facing; is this optimal for its growth?

2. In that case I will replant it in a separate pot as soon as I can. Would you recommend buying already made cactus soil available in stores, or making my own DIY soil?

[greenknight]

A south-facing window should be good. They will tolerate light shade, but in strong light they develop some red color that's very attractive - http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2373/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . In the first picture it looks like it's reaching toward the window a bit, led me to think it wasn't getting all that good of light - having it closer to the glass (but it shouldn't be touching it) will reduce the tendency to lean, since it's getting light from a wider angle. What you don't want to do is turn it to keep it symmetrical, that increases the chance of sunburn - keep the side that's adapted to the sun facing the sun. Keep an eye on it when the sun gets very hot until you know how it responds, It's possible you might need to move it farther from the window then.

Crassulas are pretty tolerant about soil, but it would be best to use something with better drainage than most commercial cactus mixes have - makes it easier to avoid over-watering

[stiglitz]

A south-facing window should be good. They will tolerate light shade, but in strong light they develop some red color that's very attractive - http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2373/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . In the first picture it looks like it's reaching toward the window a bit, led me to think it wasn't getting all that good of light - having it closer to the glass (but it shouldn't be touching it) will reduce the tendency to lean, since it's getting light from a wider angle. What you don't want to do is turn it to keep it symmetrical, that increases the chance of sunburn - keep the side that's adapted to the sun facing the sun. Keep an eye on it when the sun gets very hot until you know how it responds, It's possible you might need to move it farther from the window then.

Crassulas are pretty tolerant about soil, but it would be best to use something with better drainage than most commercial cactus mixes have - makes it easier to avoid over-watering

Okay I will move all of my succulents (I bought two more for additional variety in my room!) as close to the window as possible without touching it. And thank you very much for telling me not to keep rotating it to keep it symmetrical; I was planning on doing this but now I wont. I didn't know it would increase the chance of sunburn; when I transplant I will be sure to keep track of what side was originally facing the sun.