So you’ve adopted your very own succulent plant. Congratulations! These little desert cuties are a lovely addition to any home, and they are notoriously easy to keep alive. Succulents are great plants for beginners and green thumb gurus alike.

Now that you’ve brought your succulent home, you might be curious about the special care it needs to thrive. If you are a newer plant mom or dad, you might not have the first clue about how much to water it, how much sunlight it needs, and what kind of container it should grow in. But don’t worry — our plant experts at Lakeside Florist in Rockwall are here to help!

Here are our top tips for how to care for succulents (and keep them alive)!

1. Give your succulent plenty of light.

Succulents thrive in sunlight because it reminds them of their desert origins. They need about 6 hours of sun per day to stay happy and healthy. However, newly planted succulents can actually scorch in too much direct sunlight. Expose them gradually or place them beside a window with sheer curtains for the best results.

2. Water your succulent seasonally.

We don’t mean you should only water your plant during certain seasons—all plants need a little bit of water to live! But you should let the climate dictate how much water your succulent needs. The sunlight in the spring and summer provides a period of growth for succulents, so they will need lots of water. During the fall and winter they are “resting,” so they won’t need a drink quite so often.

3. Water your soil directly.

A common misconception is that you can simply spritz your succulent with a nozzle and it will still get the water intake it needs. Actually, you need to soak the soil in your pot through until water trickles out from the drainage holes. For free-standing succulents that aren’t growing in soil, soak the plant itself for about 20 minutes and then leave it on a paper towel to dry.

4. Pot your succulent correctly.

Since succulents need soil with plenty of drainage, regular potting soil doesn’t work well for them. Use cactus soil instead, and be very careful when repotting the fragile roots.

5. Fertilize your succulent occasionally.

A little plant food during your succulent’s busy growth season of spring and summer can help it grow stronger. Don’t overdo it, but sprinkle some fertilizer on the soil every once in a while.