Indoor Succulent Care: Stop Killing Them

Indoor Succulent Care: Stop Killing Them

I’ve killed more succulents than I care to admit. For years, I thought I had a black thumb specifically reserved for these plants. Everyone said they were easy, practically indestructible, the perfect beginner plant. Meanwhile, mine turned to mush or shriveled into sad little husks within months.

Then I figured out what I was doing wrong. Turns out, succulents aren’t hard to keep alive. They just need you to stop treating them like normal houseplants. Once I made a few key changes, my success rate went from maybe 20% to close to 90%. I’m going to walk you through exactly what worked for me, because if you’re reading this, you’ve probably watched a few of your own succulents die and you’re tired of it.

Why they need a south-facing window

Here’s the thing nobody tells you upfront. Succulents need a lot of light. Not just bright light. Direct sun for several hours a day. That cute little corner of your living room with indirect light? Your succulent hates it there.

I learned this the hard way with an Echeveria I bought at the grocery store. It started out compact and colorful, but within a month it looked completely different. The leaves turned pale green and started reaching upward in this weird, stretched-out way. I thought maybe it needed more water or fertilizer. Nope. It was etiolating, which is what happens when succulents don’t get enough light. They literally stretch toward any light source they can find, and they end up looking leggy and weak.

Most succulents come from places like deserts and rocky hillsides where they get blasted with sun all day. According to research from the University of Minnesota Extension, most common indoor succulents need at least four to six hours of direct sunlight daily to maintain their compact growth and vibrant colors. That means a south-facing window in the Northern Hemisphere, or a north-facing one if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere.

I moved all my succulents to my south-facing bedroom window, and the difference was dramatic. New growth came in tight and compact. The colors deepened. One of my Graptoveria plants that had been pale and stretched actually started growing properly again.

If you don’t have a south-facing window, you have two options. You can get a grow light, or you can accept that succulents might not work in your space and try different plants instead. I know that sounds harsh, but I wasted money on plants that never stood a chance because my apartment didn’t have the right light. Save yourself the frustration.

One warning though. If your succulent has been living in low light for a while, don’t just throw it into full sun immediately. It’ll get sunburned. Yes, plants can sunburn. Gradually move it closer to the window over a week or two so it can adjust.

The ‘Soak and Dry’ watering method

This is where most people mess up, including past me. We water succulents the same way we water other houseplants. A little bit every few days, keeping the soil somewhat moist. This kills them.

Succulents are designed to survive drought. In their natural habitat, they might go weeks without rain, then get a huge downpour, then more weeks of nothing. Their leaves store water for the dry periods. When you keep their soil constantly damp, their roots rot. It’s that simple.

The soak and dry method mimics their natural cycle. You water thoroughly, soaking the entire root ball until water runs out the drainage holes. Then you wait. You wait until the soil is completely dry before you water again. Not just dry on top. Dry all the way through.

How do you know when it’s dry? Stick your finger down into the soil about two inches. If it feels even slightly damp, wait. I also look at the leaves. Most succulents will show slight wrinkling or the leaves will feel a bit softer when they actually need water. On my Haworthia, the leaves lose some of their plumpness. That’s when I water.

For me, this usually means watering every two to three weeks in winter and maybe once a week in summer when it’s hot and the plant is actively growing. But your schedule will be different depending on your pot size, soil mix, humidity, and temperature. Don’t water on a schedule. Water when the plant needs it.

The Succulent Source, a grower and retailer that works with horticulturists, recommends waiting until you see signs of thirst before watering rather than following a calendar. I know it feels weird to let plants get that dry, but trust me on this. Underwatering is way easier to fix than overwatering.

Above: A close up look at the symptoms.

Why glass jars are death traps

I see succulents planted in glass jars and terrariums all over Instagram. They look beautiful in photos. They’re also slowly dying.

Glass containers usually don’t have drainage holes. Even if you’re careful with watering, there’s nowhere for excess water to go. It just sits at the bottom, and those roots are in contact with standing water. Add in the fact that you can’t really tell how wet the soil is in the middle and bottom of the jar, and you’ve created perfect conditions for root rot.

I tried this once with a terrarium kit I got as a gift. It had a glass jar, some decorative sand, and three tiny succulents. It looked great for about a month. Then I noticed one plant turning brown and mushy at the base. I pulled it out and the roots were black and slimy. The other two followed within weeks.

Terrariums are even worse because they trap humidity. Succulents come from dry environments. They don’t want to live in a humid little greenhouse. That setup is perfect for ferns or mosses, but it’s terrible for succulents.

If you already have succulents in glass containers, move them. If someone gives you a succulent arrangement in a glass jar, enjoy it knowing it’s temporary or replant it immediately. And if you’re buying your own containers, pick something with drainage holes every single time.

Making your own gritty soil mix

Regular potting soil is too dense for succulents. It holds moisture for too long. You need a mix that drains fast and dries out quickly.

You can buy succulent soil at garden centers, and some brands are decent. But I make my own because it’s cheaper and I can control exactly what goes into it. My mix is about 50% regular potting soil and 50% perlite. That’s it. Simple.

Perlite is those little white chunks you see in potting mixes. It’s volcanic glass that’s been heated until it pops like popcorn, and it doesn’t hold water. It creates air pockets in the soil and helps everything drain faster. You can buy a big bag at any garden center for under ten dollars, and it lasts forever.

Some people use pumice instead of perlite, or they add coarse sand. The University of Nevada Cooperative Extension recommends a mix that’s at least 50% inorganic material like perlite, pumice, or coarse sand for most succulents. The exact ratio doesn’t matter as much as making sure the mix drains quickly.

I mix mine in a big plastic bin. I dump in some potting soil, add an equal amount of perlite, and mix it thoroughly with my hands. Then I use it for all my succulents and cacti. When I water, the water runs right through instead of sitting in the pot. The soil dries out in days instead of weeks.

If you want to get fancier, you can add other ingredients like coarse sand or small pieces of bark. But honestly, the potting soil and perlite mix works great for me, and I haven’t felt the need to complicate it.

Above: The tools you need to fix this.

Pots with drainage are mandatory

I know I mentioned this in the glass jar section, but it’s important enough to say again. Drainage holes are not optional. They’re the difference between a living succulent and a dead one.

Without drainage, you’re playing a guessing game every time you water. Did you add too much? Is there water sitting at the bottom? You won’t know until the plant shows signs of stress, and by then the roots might already be rotting.

I use terracotta pots for most of my succulents. Terracotta is porous, so it actually wicks moisture away from the soil and lets it evaporate through the sides of the pot. This helps the soil dry out even faster, which is perfect for succulents. Plus terracotta pots are cheap and they look good.

Plastic pots work fine too. They don’t dry out as quickly as terracotta, so you’ll water less often, but as long as they have drainage holes you’re good. Ceramic pots are pretty but make sure they have a drainage hole and aren’t glazed on the inside, which can trap moisture.

The pot should also be the right size. A lot of people put small succulents in huge pots thinking they’ll grow into them. The problem is that all that extra soil holds water the roots can’t access, and it stays wet for too long. Your pot should be just a bit bigger than the root ball. When the plant outgrows it, size up to the next pot.

I put saucers under my pots to catch water, but I always dump out the saucer after watering. Never let the pot sit in standing water.

If you find a container you absolutely love but it doesn’t have drainage, you have two options. You can drill a hole if it’s ceramic or terracotta (I’ve done this with a masonry bit). Or you can use it as a decorative outer pot and put your succulent in a smaller plastic nursery pot inside it. Just make sure to take the plant out when you water so it can drain completely before going back in the decorative pot.

Keeping succulents alive really comes down to these five things. Bright direct light, infrequent deep watering, good drainage in both soil and pots. Once you get these right, succulents actually are as easy as everyone says they are. Mine are some of the lowest maintenance plants I own now. I barely think about them except when they start looking a bit thirsty or when I move them outside for the summer.

You don’t need a green thumb. You just need to stop treating them like they want what other houseplants want. Give them sun, let them dry out, and don’t trap them in containers that hold water. That’s it. That’s the whole secret.

References

University of Minnesota Extension. “Growing Succulents Indoors.” Extension.umn.edu.

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. “Cactus and Succulent Care and Identification.”

The Succulent Source. “How Often to Water Succulents.” TheSucculentSource.com.