5 Ways To Make Succulents Grow Bigger

The term Succulent applies to large group of plants. Some stay quite small and grow slow, some are medium sized and some grow large and fast. Many succulents like little water, some like to be watered more often, some like shade and some like sun.

Although the majority of succulents are exceptionally hardy and will spread, grow and multiply easily without much human input, some may need a bit of help and extra love to grow bigger.

How to make succulents grow bigger?

1. Get to know your succulent
2. Plant succulents in the garden
3. Upgrade the pot regularly
4. Find the best spot
5. Use succulent potting mix

Get To Know Your Succulents

It is best that you know what kind of succulents you are trying to grow bigger as some succulents such as Echeveria Vincent Catto, Sinocrassula yunnannensis or Echeveria derenbergii are naturally small and slow growing.

We also have an article on some of our favourite large growing succulents here.

If you know the name of your succulent search google for maximum size and growing tips. If you don’t know the name, there are facebook groups for succulent lovers that will help you identify your succulent if you post a photo.

To find a group in google/facebook to find the one you like the look of. Some groups can be too big and you may not always get an answer as your post can be drowned by thousands of other people trying to send their questions in. Sometimes smaller groups may be the way to go.

If you don’t know the name of your succulent and can’t be fussed with facebook, you can just try and search google for characteristics of your plant (blue succulent with pink edges or red spreading succulent etc.) You can then go to the image section of the search and try and find your plant.

Plant succulents in the garden

One of our best selling products at our online store are succulent cuttings. In order to grow enough to meet demand we have extensive succulent gardens and beds as this is where succulents grow the best, quickest and biggest.

In some parts of the world, where winters are cold with regular frosts, planting succulents in the ground is not an option as the majority are not frost hardy and would die. But don’t worry, we have a solution for you unlucky people in cold climates as well.

In moderate climates, however, succulents will take advantage of the space they have available when planted in the ground and will grow beautiful and big.

To successfully grow succulents in the ground the water needs to drain away as succulents can rot if planted in the part of the garden that holds stagnant water after a lot of rain.

Sun loving succulents need to be planted in a sunny spot, while shade-loving succulents under trees/in shade.

In the ground most succulents will grow big and healthy even in poorer soil, though we do recommend adding good quality potting mix for extra drainage and nutrients.

Upgrade the pot regularly

The more space for roots, the bigger succulents will grow. This applies to the majority of succulents, though as mentioned above, some varieties are naturally small and slow growing and so not much can be done to make them grow bigger.

Most of our succulents start of as cuttings planted in small pots or propagating trays. Once the pot is filled with roots we transplant to a pot that is twice or three times the size of the root ball.

The reason we don’t put them in the biggest pot available at the start is that they will be better of in fresh potting mix every time they are re-potted and also we get to see how the roots are doing, check for pests on roots (mealy bugs, grubs etc.) every time we repot a plant.

Potting mix can deteriorate in time, harbour pests and fungus and so to have healthy, big succulents it is best to gradually introduce them to bigger pots.

Technically, succulents will still grow in a small pot, once they’ve reached its limit and are root bound, but they will grow very slow.

On the plus side, if you’re doing it with the right succulent you may get better colour and plumper shape as many succulents will ‘bonsai’ if left in small pots for a long time, but this is a topic for whole new post.

For a more in-depth article on repotting succulents see here.

Find the best spot

If you give your succulent the ideal conditions it will grow bigger easier. Most succulents (but not all) love sun light and will need a few hours per day to grow well while maintaining the shape and often colour too.

As per the above, it would be useful to know the type of succulent you are trying to grow bigger. If you have, say, an Echeveria they will need to be in a spot where they get at least 4-5 hours of sun per day. In the ground Echeveria wmay happily grow in a full sun position.

In pots, a spot that gets morning sun and afternoon shade would be best as many succulents can burn if they are in pots placed in direct sunlight on hot summer afternoons. We would not recommend trying to grow sun loving succulents such as Echeveria indoors long term as they will almost certainly die after a few months. If you have a Haworthia, generally, they will grow well in a bright but shaded spot.

Another thing to keep in mind is that most succulents are not frost tolerant so if you live in cold climates and want your succulents to survive and grow bigger, it would be best to bring them in for winter, until the danger of frosts have passed.

Use succulent potting mix

Succulents will grow bigger and fast when they have the ideal growing medium to feed the growth. Succulent potting mix will give you happy, healthy and big succulents.

Although many succulents will grow in any old potting mix, they are unlikely to grow as big and as pretty.

The potting mix we use at the nursery has the perfect balance of minerals and nutrients and the way our plants look speaks volumes.

Another thing to remember is that some succulents grow all year round, some go dormant in winter and some in summer. If you’re trying to make Aeonium grow bigger in summer, chances are you will not have much luck as Aeonium is dormant over the warmest months. Again, it helps immensely if you know what your succulent is when attempting to grow them.

The best thing to do with dormant succulents is to leave them be. If you have a summer dormant plant, placing it in bright shade will help it survive the worst of summer.

In conclusion, it is best to know the name of your succulent to learn what type of growing conditions it likes and if it can indeed grow bigger.

If you found this article useful you may also like five fast growing Echeveria and the best tall succulents.