How to Winterize Succulent Plants

Inspect your succulents for insects like aphids, mites, mealy bugs or flies and apply a surface and/or systemic insecticide to get rid of anything that you find. The plants defenses are down during the winter so you want to remove any threats during its dormancy, especially for the stapeliads species. Additionally, if you bring your plant(s) indoors, wait at least three weeks for the solution to work so that you do not bring the bugs inside too.

Weed the soil and if you find that it is too infested, change it out to fully get rid of these intruders. This ensures that the weeds do not have a chance to spread during the winter and that your succulent is not congested when it grows again.

Pay special attention to succulents like leafy caudiciforms, such as Adenium and Pachypodium, because the watering schedule must lessen to help the plant become inactive and drop leaves. Further, stapeliads need to receive a fungicide treatment, such as Ortho Funginex, once every two weeks. Finally, flowering species, such as Adenium, should receive a low dose of blossom builder rated at 0-10-10 during its last watering cycles to build up roots and help with dormancy.

Bring succulents indoors or use outdoor plant covers for larger plants to protect against the upcoming frost and rain. Be sure that your botanical's location is in a safe place where they will not receive injury to their stem or body.