Do Succulents Need a Lot of Sunlight?

Succulents

• Succulents are plants that have adapted for life in dry or rocky environments. They have juicy stems and leaves in which they store moisture. These plants are native to all the continents and are often confused with cacti, which are part of the succulent family. Cacti are native to the Western Hemisphere and, although cacti and succulents grow in the same conditions, cacti have spines and not leaves.

Sunlight

• Succulents need both light and heat, and they should spend part of the day in the hot sun. Succulents thrive outdoors in the summer if they are in direct sunlight, sheltered and away from heavy rain. If succulents are indoors in the summer, they need to receive less than five hours of direct sunlight, preferably from a south- or west-facing window, and often two to three hours is enough. Succulents can be sunburned if you place them directly into full sunlight without gradually exposing them to it. While succulents prefer sunlight, some grow well under incandescent or fluorescent lights.

Examples

• The agave species of succulents is a common houseplant that grows best in a south-facing window. It needs direct sunlight for five hours daily and a place where the temperature will cool in the evening. Grow aloe plants in bright light in east- or south-facing windows, but move them into the light gradually as they become sunburned easily. Hen and chicks is a succulent that thrives in the garden and indoors. Its symmetrical rosettes of leaves need bright light year round and some direct sun in the summer. Haworthia, growing only to 3 inches tall, is the smallest of the succulents. It is an extremely tolerant plant and requires indirect sunlight at all times as it is easily sunburned.

Problems

• Conditions with too much and too little sunlight create problems for succulents. Brownish patches on leaves and a yellowish tinge to body color indicate that succulents have become sunburned. Move the plant to a shaded spot and remember to gradually expose it to increasing hours of sunlight. Too little sun in summer is one of the reasons for a succulent to not bloom. If new growth on your plant is uneven, then it is not receiving enough sunlight. Move it slowly into the light and remove the misshapen pieces of the plant.