There’s a lot of things to do to make sure your succulents are growing healthy and happy. Yes you have to give it proper sunlight, water, soil, but there’s also another thing that a lot of succulent growers especially beginners tend to miss.
When growing succulents you can also trim their roots, this helps the succulent continue to grow healthy and happy. A succulent's roots must be trimmed so they can grow healthier and also stay in shape and stay very strong.
By the end of this article, you will know everything about trimming succulent roots, all the benefits of it, and also how and when to trim succulent roots. If you follow all of this information then it will help you to continue to grow healthy and happy succulents.
Before we Begin...
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Let’s begin!
Some Benefits When You Trim Succulent Roots
Obviously, roots are what keeps any plant and succulent alive. Without roots then succulents will not be able to absorb water, nutrients, and air. So yes, without roots on a succulent or any plant, expect the succulent to die fairly soon because it’s not absorbing anything that will keep it alive! You must make sure your succulents have roots in the first place!
Now what are some benefits when you trim succulent roots? If your succulent has roots growing out of the pot then it would be a good idea to trim the roots. Also if the roots are growing out of the pot then that’s a sign that your succulent wants to grow larger, so maybe repot it in a bigger pot.
Also when you trim succulent roots, you are actually doing the roots a favor. Some of the roots on the succulent are dead or not active at all, which means they are useless. When you trim those dead/not active roots then new alive and healthy ones will grow and appear.
So basically when you trim succulent roots you are actually helping the succulent produce new and healthy roots. This will make the succulent grow bigger, healthier, and faster. New healthy roots for any plant is great for the plant and should definitely happen.
When Should You Trim Succulent Roots?
Trimming succulent roots isn’t required whatsoever, but there are certain times when you need to trim succulent roots. You don’t have to maintain the roots every single month or anything like that. You just need to trim when the roots really need it.
When Succulent Gets Root Rot
When your succulent gets root rot then it’s a very good idea to trim the roots of the succulent. This is because there’s nasty mold and bacteria on the succulent, making the succulent have mushy leaves, rotting, molding, and just look very unhealthy or dying.
Definitely trim the roots when this happens because you will need to trim the mold and bacteria on the roots. After you do this then your succulent will not have root and will start to grow happy and look normal again.
Roots Get Tangled
Sometimes roots do get tangled and when this happens it will mess up the growing process. Make sure to check and see if the roots are tangled before trimming. Just unpot the succulent and look at the root system, if they look tangled then you should trim the roots.
Roots Growing Slow
You should also trim succulent roots when the roots are growing really slow. Again, we mentioned that if you trim the roots then new healthy ones will grow. This is true and when roots are growing slow they must be unhealthy or dying, so trim the roots so they can grow faster!
Just make sure that your succulent roots are experiencing these signs. It’s very important that you don’t just trim the roots for no reason. Succulent roots are very delicate and if you mess with them too much then they will continue to grow unhealthy and unhappy.
For your own good just make sure that these signs are occurring. You could really mess up your succulent and its root system if you just trim the roots for fun and for no reason. There has to be a reason why to trim the roots of the succulent, and if there’s a good reason then do it! You will help your succulent out!
How To Trim Succulent Roots
Now let’s get to the fun part! Here’s how to trim succulent roots!
Remove Succulent From Pot
The first step would be to unpot the succulent and remove it from the pot. All you have to do is grab the bottom of the stem near the soil and also grab the middle of the pot. Gently squeeze the pot and pull the bottom of the stem. The succulent will come out, just make sure you do it very gently so you don’t break the stem of the succulent.
Brush Away Soil From The Roots
The next thing to do is to basically get all of the soil off of the roots so you can feel and see the roots. You must do this in order to trim the roots or the dirt will get in the way. The dirt will be a certain shape depending on the pot, you can just squeeze the roots and dirt gently and the soil will easily come off.
Trim The Roots
Now all you have to do is trim the roots! Don’t go all crazy and trim the whole root system, but just gently give them a nice clean trim! Don’t cut the whole root, just go half way and give it a nice trim. Just make sure you don’t trim the whole succulent and kill the succulents roots just like that. Half way is perfect for a trim!
Let Roots Dry Out/Repot
After you trim the succulent roots let the roots dry out for about 2-4 days. After the roots are dry then go ahead and repot the succulent in fresh succulent soil. After you do that then make sure you water the succulent immediately so it can stay hydrated.
That’s it!
You now know all about trimming and how to trim succulent roots! It’s very easy to just make sure that the roots do need trimming. Again, it’s very important to make sure the roots need actual trimming before you trim the roots. If you trim at the wrong time then something could go wrong and the succulent may experience health issues.
However, if your succulent does need its roots trimmed then trimming the roots will help the succulent a lot! It will bring in fresh, new, healthy roots that will help the succulent grow bigger and healthier!
So if your succulent needs its roots trimmed you now know what to do! Now take action and trim those roots so your succulent can grow healthier and happier! Best of luck trimming the roots! Just make sure you follow our steps and you will easily get it done!
Thank You!
Thank you for visiting our website and reading our article. We hope we brought value, and great information to you today. Our goal is to help fellow succulent lovers like you! Any questions or if you’d like more tips email us or comment below!
If you are interested in buying live succulents, soil, cuttings, etc. We have them available here on our website. Go to our homepage, or click the links in our articles for more information.
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