Can succulents survive in low light is a worry; if you love succulents, these plants do well in bright, indirect light. If you don’t have access to sunlight throughout the day, or you simply want to take your succulents indoors, you might be concerned about the health of your plants.
This plant care guide will help you know whether succulents can survive in low light and how best to take care of them when growing indoors.
Contents
Can Succulents Survive in Low Light for a Prolonged Time?
Yes, succulents can survive in low light for a prolonged time, and this is because they actually thrive when the condition of the light is indirectly coming to them. However, this is not always the case for every succulent type because some prefer growing in brighter light.
In fact, some of these plants prefer growing in medium-light conditions. However, it’s important to understand that low light doesn’t mean a complete lack of light, meaning it doesn’t stay in the dark because all succulents require light to thrive. So, if your home doesn’t receive a lot of light, you should make a few adjustments to ensure your succulents get even the minimal light required for survival.
What Do Succulents Growing in Low Light Need?
Succulents growing in low light need to be placed in the right location; they require misting around them and proper watering requirements. In addition, they also need to be placed in a well-draining soil to avoid excessive water content in the soil.
– The Proper Location
Look around your home or any indoor space to establish the best place where your indoor succulents will get light. If there are windows, place your succulents here since they can get indirect sunlight as the sun is not fully upon them. Consider rotating your succulents in the corners of your indoor spaces so that the plants can get light on all sides.
While moving your plant around, check for signs indicating you might not be providing them with ample light. Leggy succulents are an indication your plants need more light. The reason behind this is that the plant would start to be in search of light, so they would stretch so find the proper source when it is very dim.
If your room has no windows, opt to grow low-light succulents. You can also grow your indoor plants under artificial light. Ensure the succulents get about six hours of light daily – this should be okay if you’re using fluorescent tubes, but filtered is preferred.
Moving your succulents outdoors can greatly affect your plant’s health. While most low-light succulents do well under part shade, they can also thrive outdoors. You only need to ensure that you move your succulents around to ensure they don’t get direct sunlight. Knowing where to position your succulents is vital, especially when looking for low light succulents for sale.
– Misting Around Them
Another key point when growing these plants is that they like the moisture content to be high. This is because they are the types that would grow when the range is between 40 and 50 percent of humidity. What you can do, if you live in an area where the humidity range is low, is you can mist around the plant, and the air would become moist enough to let it properly develop.
– Water Requirements
How you water succulents under low-light conditions matters greatly. Succulents dislike wet feet, meaning you should strive to keep the soil dry. The plants are getting less sunlight and should do well, even without much watering.
Check the soil to determine whether you need to water your plants. If the soil is moist, give it a few days before watering the plants. Only water your plants when the potting soil is dry. In summer, you would water it more than you should in winter because the soil is not going to dry as fast.
– Use Well-Draining Soil
Your succulent soil should be a well-draining potting mix. Soggy feet can easily lead to root rot, which often occurs due to overwatering the succulents, and it will weaken the condition or the health of the plant. As a result, you can go ahead an choose well-draining soils to ensure the roots don’t sit on water for that long.
Which Succulents Do Well in Low Light Conditions?
The succulents that will do well in low light conditions are the aloe vera, the bear paws, the burro’s tail succulents, and the Christmas cactus. Moreover, the jade plant is also part of these succulents, along with the ponytail palm, the snake plant, and the zebra plant.
– Aloe Vera
Aloe vera is one of the best indoor succulents low light that belongs to the genus Aloe is a common indoor plant. It’s a perennial succulent that performs well under different light conditions, as it will thrive in low or even medium light.
This is why you can grow this plant happily when you wish to have a plant to grow indoors, as it doesn’t require excessive attention like water requirements or fertilizers either.
– Bear Paws
Also known as Cotyledon tomentosa, these plants come with thick leaves with reddish edges that look like bear claws. While the plant prefers indirect light, it can thrive when grown under partial shade, where the light will pass in a bright manner, but it will not come to the succulent and harm it. When you grow it indoors, you will also see that this succulent is one that adds beauty and vibrancy to the location it is set as well.
– Burro’s Tail
Burro’s Tail is the plant that is also known as Sedum morganianum or the Donkey’s tail features bright-green thick leaves. The plant enjoys sitting on sunny windows but can tolerate partial shade, but make sure that the shades that it is receiving are bright.
– Christmas Cactus
Christmas Cactus is also a beautiful indoor succulent that can beautify your indoor spaces. It’s a hardy plant that will do well in low light. In these conditions, it will still bloom and grow and thrive; however, if the condition is brighter, yet still filtered, it will grow to its potential.
– Jade Plant
Jade plants, also known as the Crassula ovata, are found in most homes as people love them for their fleshy leaves.
Jade plants are easy to grow, making them a great choice to grow indoors, and this is because when you grow these plants indoors they will not have too much sun or even blazing light coming to them.
– Ponytail Palm
Ponytail Palm is also known as the Beaucarnea Recurvata, and it requires little watering and minimal maintenance. They require bright light but will tolerate low light for the better part of the year, which means that for prolonged growth, you must keep the sun requirements in one condition. These are one of the most beautiful indoor plants if you have proper space for them to grow because they will show their beautiful foliage.
– Snake Plant
Snake plants or the Sansevieria, as known in botany, is a plant that is also identified as Mother-in-Law’s Tongue. They are great indoor varieties that add some greenery to your indoor spaces.
These plants can tolerate neglect, meaning they are perfect for new gardeners. They do well in low-medium light, especially when they are placed indoors; they grow in such a great matter that they are ones responsible to purify the air quality.
– Zebra Plant
Zebra cactus stands out due to their sharp and spiky leaves with green and white stripes, hence their name. These plants prefer indirect sun. They can tolerate very low light but won’t produce many blooms, which means that if the light requirement is low, but bright at the same time, this is a great condition for them.
Conclusion
There are ways to keep your succulent growing, even when they don’t like to receive direct lighting, and to ensure your indoor succulents thrive; here’s what you need to remember:
- Provide your succulents with ample lighting.
- Look for areas around your home or office where the plants can get some light. You may be required to move your succulents around to get light from time to time.
- Water indoor succulents infrequently to avoid soggy feet.
- Succulents like snake plants, jades, ox tongue, Burro’s tail, and more, will tolerate low light conditions.
- Use well-draining soil for succulents that grow in low light conditions.
It’s important to confirm that you’re moving the right succulent species indoors if your light indoors isn’t bright enough.
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