Category: Succulent/Plants

Life, Succulent/Plants

Everlasting Echeverias

Everlasting Sirua

I did it! I made an instagram to start posting one succulent a day and seeing how long it takes me to finish going through them all! I swear I probably have more than 150 different ones. Mostly Echeverias if I’m honest. They’re my weakness especially pink ones.

Luckily, succulents don’t require much care to keep them happy. Especially smaller Echeverias that I’ve dealt with. I’ve been stressed a bit with my sea dragon and it’s leaves dropping. Seems like I can’t keep it happy unfortunately and that I might lose it. I recently planted it in better draining soil and giving it more light than all my others. It’s perking up but I’m wondering if the damage is done. Guess I’ll never know now.

It’s been hectic working, being a mother and wife. While trying to keep up with succulent care, blog, daily tasks and an almost non existent social life. Not that I’m upset about it. Personally I love how my friends and I are. Sometimes one night out is all we need to refresh and catch up on everything before going about our lives.

Anyway, that’s my update for now. Follow me and my succulents: @Everlasting_echeverias

Till next time my beloveds.

Succulent/Plants

Succulents during the Winter

Everlasting Sirua

The cold is getting near for us here in the city that never sleeps. It’s insane how quickly the weather can change. One day you’re out in a T-shirt and jeans. The next you’ll need a hoodie to help with the chilly winds. Pretty soon I’ll have to take out our coats for the winter even though fall started not too long ago.

I recently started a succulent collection that has exponentially grown since my past posts. I plan on sharing what I have perhaps in another post when I’ve received most or all. Most of them have been indoors and some outside. But that doesn’t come with its own hardships. You see I miscalculated how much I would actually need for all these beauties once the cold came around. Most of my collection consists of many different echeveria species. Those cannot handle any kind of frost or temperature below freezing. Some of course could handle even 20 degrees Fahrenheit but I rather not risk it. As of now some are outside until I can get them inside. To prepare I’ve started to make space mostly in my bedroom with the shelving and another spot where I have grow lights. That’s right. Grow lights! Even if it’s winter and most of my beauties are dormant or going dormant they still need adequate lighting to be happy. I ended up getting both red/blue lights and full spectrum lights. It has a timer that gives me the option to have it on 3, 6 or 12 hours. Shuts off and then turns on early the next day depending on the time I set it. Gladly because I don’t think I’ll remember every day to be turning it on and off constantly. If you ask me I truly prefer the full spectrum yellow/white lights. It captures some of the lovely colors of my succulents when I take photos. Meanwhile the red/blue is complicated to take photos with and see if anything is wrong sometimes. Also, I’m sure my neighbors who can see our window from a distance are probably wondering why there’s a weird purple light coming from our window. (Don’t get the wrong idea now the succulents are innocent). So if you’re looking to get some grow lights I would highly suggest these grow lights:

LED Grow Light for Indoor Plant 45W LED Auto ON/Off Timer Full Spectrum Plant Lights

Grow Light, WAKYME Plant Lights 10 Dimmable Levels 30W Full Spectrum LED Grow Lamp, Memory Auto ON and Off 3-9-12H Timer, 3 Spectrum Adjustable Gooseneck Plant Lamp for Indoor Plant

I also realized that I needed multiple for my growing collection. The more succulents I get. The more lights I need to fulfill their need for light. I swear this house is about be bright all day if I continue down this path. But I’ll do what it takes to make these beauties happy. Be aware that the change in atmosphere and weather can make some sensitive ones go into a little shock. Keep a close eye. Also it’s good to have a fan or open windows to help air circulate around. They love that. I try to always keep two windows cracked to create a draft for most of the day. Keep an eye on watering, temperature in your home or separate place you keep them. Sometimes winter make most of them dormant so water isn’t completely necessary unless you see signs of thirst.

*As an Amazon affiliate I do earn commission from qualifying purchases*

Thank you for reading. Honestly, this hobby has taken a good chunk of my time and I do love blogging about it. I hope everyone isn’t annoyed already. Much love and always feel free to comment and ask questions. Much love!

Life, Succulent/Plants

Why Succulents?

Everlasting Sirua

Sometimes it’s weird how we discover hobbies that we never thought we would be into. At first, I started off with a small terrarium plant. I realized it wasn’t happy at all in it and I researched how to take care of these new succulents of mine. One thing led to another and suddenly I was finding beautiful succulents all over online. Purchased some and I never turned back since then. It was therapeutic to wake up and go through my morning routine. Let my son unwind a bit and check on these beauties from time to time. I eventually started purchasing more and joined some Facebook groups to share the love about succulents. It’s amazing who you meet and talk to. Sharing tips and advice when needed. Sharing photos of the different types there are. I’ve met some amazing people through all this and I couldn’t be happier tending to my plants. I get to admire their beauty. Watch them grow and change in color from time to time. Recently I’ve been into pinks and peach colors lately. Sometimes purples, greens and blues (reminds me of mermaids). It’s nice to be kept busy. It’s weird to think I was/still a gamer. I use to play a lot before my son. I miss it sometimes but it’s nice to find something new and exciting to do. I have low and high days emotionally and get easily overwhelmed by things at times so having a hobby does help deal with a lot of the anxiety, stress and depression I tend to deal with. Although it’s not a cure. It’s something to help through those tough days. The days where I feel like I’m not enough as a mother or wife. Those days where I feel like my grief is lingering longer than usual. So why succulents? Well, cause they make me happy and appreciate the beauty of nature. Sharing that love with other people. You start to find yourself again. A little help sometimes goes a long way.

Thanks for reading if you reached this far. It’s hard to put into words how one hobby and a bunch of plants can help. It’s the strangest thing. Anyone else have a hobby they love? Comment below and share your passion.

Life, Succulent/Plants

Growing Succulent Collection

Everlasting Sirua

I started off with about 14 plants back in the beginning of October. I didn’t think much of it cause since I was never a “plant” person. Well…I was wrong. Since then, which only a month has passed, I’ve gotten over 100 succulents in over 80 varieties. Crazy right? They weren’t kidding when they said you’ll get addicted and still more pending to come. I have everything from common varieties to rare Korean imports in my collection. I eventually am looking to sell some of them in the future if they happen to have offsprings or if I run out of room and have to cut down. My top favorites at the moment are many but I’ll name three in the order of my favorites with photos down below and where/who I got them from. If you’re looking for anything different or similar I recommend joining Succulent Market Place on Facebook. There’s so many beautiful and different kinds of succulents sold. Thank you for reading and comment below if you’re a fellow succulent addict like myself! I’ll post more of my collection soon if anyone’s interested. Much love everyone!

Echeveria Sea Dragon from The Sacred Succulent

Echeveria Monroe from The Sacred Succulent

Echeveria Lingxue from Lynn Zou in Succulent Market Place

Succulent/Plants

Getting Started with Succulents: Beginner Tools and Essentials Guide

Everlasting Sirua

As an Amazon associate I do earn commission from qualifying purchases from the links I provide below

I promise you that you’ll be obsessed the moment you start. There’s so many kinds of succulents it’s hard to choose rom all the beautiful kinds that there are! From tiny to large ones. Common to unique there’s a succulent (or succulents) for anyone! You’d think that would be easy. Then there’s the pots you choose. You can choose from terra-cotta, cement, ceramic and even wood types! The soil types, tools, etc. It can be a bit overwhelming. I cannot begin to tell you all the amount of information there is out there. As an amateur myself (started August of this year) just wanted to share some things that got me started.

Of course you’ll need succulents! My favorite place to order from so far have been from Mountain Crest Gardens. They have a large variety of succulents to get you started and has in depth information about the type you’re getting, lighting and watering needs. How big it’ll grow (both height and length wise). They come packaged so well! There are some delicate succulents that no matter what it’s almost impossible to avoid bruising. Be aware. I can warn you though that you’ll love what you see. Once I was done scrolling through and adding different succulents into my cart. I had over 20 in there and no signs of finishing. Of course I settled for the ones I felt I could NOT leave behind. If you decide to check them out you can use my referral link and you’ll receive 10 percent off your order: Mountain Crest 10 percent off!

Succulents ordered? Check. Now what?

Where to put them? There’s so many pots to choose from it’s insane. It’s important that they have drainage holes to let the water drain out. If you’re looking for something affordable I recommend terra-cotta pots. They let your plants breathe, come in all kinds of sizes and you can get them almost anywhere (Home depot, Lowe’s, Amazon). Here are some that I’ve found to get you started:

Set of 16 terra-cotta clay pots 3x3inches

Set of 9 terra-cotta clay pot 3.5 inch

If ceramic are more of your thing I would definitely recommend these:

Set of 6 geometric white ceramic succulent pots with Bamboo tray

Set of 6 white ceramic plant pots with bamboo tray

There’s also cement pots:

Set of 2 Cement Pot With Tray

Set of 3 different size cement plant pot

Or maybe you want something out of the ordinary, cute, and overall different:

Set of 4 Blue Seashell Plant Pots

Set of 4 Groot Plant Pots

Set of 6 ceramic wood pattern pots

These are just a few out of the many that Amazon offers. Always make sure to check sizes and measure how big they are beforehand by reading the measurements. Sometimes pots are tinier than expected or bigger.

Okay, now to the important part of potting them. The soil and/or fertilizer. Succulents needs well draining soil. Personally I mix cactus soil with gritty mix to achieve better drainage. They only need to be fertilized once a month during their growing months (there’s winter dormant and summer dormant succulents).

Here’s some soil and gritty mix that I’ve used so far:

Hoffman Organic cactus succulent soil 2 pack

Organic succulent and cactus soil mix

Next Gardner succulent Gritty Mix

These can also be added to the soil or used as a top dressing:

Next Gardner Red Lava rocks

Next Gardner White Onyx Top dressing

Another place I like to order grit mix from is Bonsai Jack. I order their grit by the gallons (used 5 gallons myself and ordered some for others) since surprisingly it goes quickly every time!

Fertilizer I’m currently using once a month: Cute Farms Succulent, Cacti, Aloe Monthly Fertilizer Formula

Last but not least: Tools! For the most part the tools are mostly to help make potting and getting your succulent well put together easier. If you prefer to use your hands or things you have around the house. Feel free to do so! These are just some tools to get you started in case you don’t have any. Especially if it’s your first time getting succulents or cactuses (like me!)

Tools I’ve gotten and used so far:

13 piece Mini garden tools set

There’s many more with more pieces. Definitely check them out and see if it’s something you’ll need to get your succulent addiction started!

I’ll be posting more about succulents with tips or tricks and the things I add to my collection, where I get it from as time goes. Let me know below if this helped you or if there’s anything else I should add. This is what worked for me so far. I love sharing these beauties and giving advice. Feel free to comment below anything else that I missed. Much love and happy planting!

Some pics of my beauties *cover photo is part of my setup*

*Some links provided I do earn commission on qualifying purchases as an Amazon affiliate*

Succulent/Plants

The Succulent Life

Everlasting Sirua

Recently started a new hobby. It’s crazy how things start from something as simple as an idea. I’ve always wanted plants in my home. I feel like they brighten a room. Add flair to the home. But, I never fully looked into it. Every plant I would see whether it be at Aldi’s, Bjs, or a supermarket we’re usually toxic for the cats. I didn’t want to take the chance of something happening. You never know with these critters.

As most may know I purchased some succulents in a terrarium at aldis after looking up if they were toxic to my fur babies. Apparently, they’re not! I was excited. Now that went from that to purchasing more succulents, learning their names, their individual care, joining Facebook groups. The whole mile. I find that it’s more enjoyable than I thought. I went from one container of plants to 11 soon to be 14! I’m telling you all. It’s addicting. Hopefully I have a green thumb. I shall lost the ones I have so far both scientific and given name/type:

-Echeveria “Morning Beauty”

-Cryptanthus “Pink Earth Star”

-Aloe Albiflora (not sure but closest ID)

-Graptopetalum paraguayense “Ghost plant aka Mother of Pearl”

-Echeveria Perle Von Nurnberg

*Plants on the way*

-Sempervivum “Black Lotus”

-Sempervivum “Bronze Pastel”

-Graptoveria “Debbie”

-Green rosette looking plant (not sure)

That’s my collection so far! I’ll share some before and after pictures of what I did with the space in my bedroom. These shelves have been a life saver!

BEFORE

AFTER

Can’t wait for the others to come in. The shelves make it look so organized and lovely. I totally recommend them. Hopefully I have a green thumb. I’ll be sharing my trial and errors with my succulents. Good or bad. Hobbies are learned through trial and error. Wish me luck!

*As an Amazon Associate I do earn commission on qualifying purchases* Succulents are excellent beginner plants for those who would like to start gardening or simply adding life to their home. There’s different ones to fit any lifestyle from bright light to low light areas. They hardly need to be watered. But, they’re also easy to kill if they’re overwatered or under watered. They susceptible to things like mealy bugs, root rot, sunburn etc. Always do your research when getting these beauties.