Hey everyone! I'm looking for advice on getting my succulents to show more vibrant stress colors. I have over 20 of them, mostly Echeveria, and they're currently getting about 10 hours of sunlight daily here in North Africa. The temperatures are around 23°C during the day and 13°C at night. While I've noticed some red tips on the leaves, especially when they're thirsty, they just don't seem as sun-stressed as others I've seen. What are your tips or secrets for achieving that beautiful stressed look?
5 Answers
From my experience, the prettiest stressed succulents usually come from being grown indoors with specific grow light conditions. If you keep them outdoors like I do, they'll naturally have a less dramatic look. Even though I live in a sunny area, I love the natural vibe of my outdoor plants instead of going for that more extreme look.
You might not be getting enough strong sunlight! Sometimes the sun's intensity isn't quite right for them to really stress out. Consider moving them to a sunnier spot if you can.
It might be about getting even more sun and heat. My succulents started showing beautiful colors when I allowed them more intense sunlight during the summer. Just be careful; they can burn if it gets too hot! Like, I had to build a shelter for mine because they were getting yellow and red with black spots from too much direct sun. Also, different varieties react differently; I've found some of my Echeveria are way tougher and don’t turn as red compared to my more sensitive plants like the Burro's Tail or Zebra.
Also keep in mind that certain varieties of succulents just naturally react differently; some are more prone to stress colors than others. It’s all about what you’ve got!
Check out this link for more tips on how to stress your succulents effectively: https://www.succuland.ca/stresscolour/! It really helped me understand what conditions to create for stunning stress colors.
Yeah, increasing sunlight can definitely help! I've noticed my plants respond better when they get the maximum exposure to the sun.