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Xeria e-Zine Q&A
June 01, 2022

This question is again on starting a business selling succulents, which is one of my favorite topics.

June 1 2022

Lonnie asked;

Hey there! I am growing a lot of succulents from seed. I have thousands of seedlings but I’ve never grown them in the summer time so I’m worried about watering schedule.
I lost both of my parents recently and decided to make a business selling my babies. I live in NJ and have them under grow lights but I’m not sure how often to water them when it’s hot and humid. Even with the air conditioner on it can be in the 80’s + in the grow room because of all the grow lights. I know with adult succulents you can see the “soft” leaves but how do u tell with seedlings? I hope u can help me !
In addition, I have Albuca concordiana grown from seeds and they all started drooping soft the other day. I’m not sure if it’s overwatering or high temps? I have them inside under grow lights for now but know I need to move them outside for them to curl. I’ve grown succies from seeds many times but never grew Albuca before. I would really appreciate your help. I’m all alone in this as I don’t have a family of my own just my cats :) and my future is depending upon this working out! So it’s really stressing me out. Thank you

So first of all, Lonnie, so sorry for your losses. Losing one family member is hard enough, but for two in quick succession, that's extra difficult.

For your questions about seedlings, it kind of depends on several factors. Such as, what exact genus and species? Are they tender, or hardy? What is the humidity like in the growing area? And so on.

The leaves of seedling succulents can be tiny, and hard to see. I recommend using a magnifying glass to get a better view.

See more about how-to-take-care-of-succulent-seedlings.html .

Some of your questions will be answered in the succulent-plant-business-e-book.html . I recommend purchasing that, as I already went through this entire learning curve, and using the e-book helps you avoid this.

For the Albuca, that is one plant I haven't grown, so I can't give you any hints for it. If it's similar to other tender succulents, it could be that at some time in the past they were over watered, which kills off the delicate roots, making it hard for them to recover if they are then stressed too much by drying out.

I like to seed my succulents in a flat, in rows, rather than in a pot where it's harder to manage the water level. They seem to prefer shallow soil, where they can be allowed to dry out a bit, then rewet.

They also prefer a bit of shade, if you're growing them outdoors, until they are bigger.

Find out more about tender-succulent-plants.html here.

If you still need answers, or you just want to chat, you know what to do - simply reply to this email and ask me, or contact me (there's a link at the bottom of every page, in the footer, to the contact page.

Visit The Hot Stuff Blog for all the latest in newly published (or re-published) pages.

I hope you've enjoyed this issue of Xeria e-Zine! Any questions or suggestions are welcome. Don't forget, the Horticulturist is always in.

Happy Gardening,

Jacki Cammidge, Certified Horticulturist, Webmaster and Artisan

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