I created a Plant Profile form to help you gather useful information when asking others to help you troubleshoot an issue with your plants. It’s not just for succulents! Access it at: sucsforyou.com/plant-profile
The most important factor in getting or giving accurate plant care advice comes down to your growing location. Your climate, and whether you grow indoors or outside, will determine everything from light needs to soil ingredients.
For instance, let’s say two people ask the same question: “Why are my Echeverias dropping their leaves?” One person is in Portland and the other is in Peshawar. Both keep their plants outdoors.
Portland is humid, overcast, gets a ton of rain, and even in June the temperatures are barely reaching 80F/26C. Over in Pakistan however, Peshawar is dry, very sunny, with little to no rain in the next 10 days, and the highs are already reaching 110F/43C.
To answer their question with the same advice for both people could make matters worse. To our Portland friend we might say, “They need more light, less water, and perhaps faster draining soil.” But if we suggested the same to our friend in Peshawar, the plants would be cooked by the sun, the soil would dry out too quickly, and they’d lose more than just a few leaves.
Over the last several years, I’ve helped others from every corner of the planet troubleshoot problems with their plants and it always comes down to that key question: Where are you located? That’s why I really honed in on location when I wrote ‘The Succulent Manual: A guide to care and repair for all climates.’ Understanding how regional variations in temperature, precipitation, humidity, and available sunlight influence your plant care regimen will increase your success exponentially – I promise!
So please use the form, or make it a habit to include your climate in your quests to resolve a problem with your plants, and ask the same from others who reach out for help. Now get out there and save your sucs!