One day I was driving to work and in the traffic, I saw 2 succulents in a nearby car. That keeps me wondering Can I keep a succulent in my car? If so what kind of succulents do I need? Because have various kinds of succulents in my garden. The idea of keeping a succulent in my car made me search for more detail about the process.
As it turned out I can keep a succulent in a car. But there is some limitation to it. You can not keep succulent in the car for a long time. You need to place the plant outside the car at least once a day. I will explain the reasons and what kind of succulents survive inside a car in this article. Let’s dig in.
Important things to remember when placing succulents in a car
Succulents generally require low maintenance. However, there are some important care tips that you need to consider when looking after them. Generally speaking, succulents need fresh air and low humidity levels to grow well. If you put succulents inside a car, you need to take the plants out of the car for a few hours daily for better aeration.
You might find it difficult to keep succulents in cars due to the high humidity levels and hot temperatures there. Yes, sometimes humidity and temperature are high inside a closed car. These conditions are not good for succulents. Furthermore, you need to be mindful to choose the right succulent type to keep in the cars.
Some general features of succulents
If someone wishes to have a live plant in their car, succulents would be the perfect choice for that. They can thrive with minimum care treatments. Furthermore, they can store water in their foliage as well. Generally, succulent leaves would be fleshy and thick and that is what helps for the water storage of the plants. Furthermore, they can conserve water in their stem and in the roots too. In addition to that, succulents can resist the hot dry drought conditions too.
What succulent can I put in my car?
If someone is wondering what kind of succulents are more appropriate for this purpose, I recommend you go ahead with small succulents. Here is a list of succulents that you could use to keep in the cars.
Sempervivum
Sempervivum genus consists of about 30 succulent plants and they are native to North Africa, the Middle East and Europe as well. You can easily grow these plants and they would perform to their best in neglect. These succulents would make great additions to small pots. Furthermore, you may also use them for micro gardens as well. They would usually attain a maximum height of 4 inches when they are fully mature.
In addition to that, Sempervivum may emerge with different colored blooms. For example, you could spot those flowers forming in white, yellow, pink and even reddish colors. Those flowers would usually form at the long peduncle edges. You could witness them flowering in summer. It is noteworthy, that Sempervivum is a monocarpic plant which means the plants would die once they complete flowering. Having said that you do not need to worry about that as they would compensate for that by developing new shoots. It would ensure that they are continuing to grow.
Haworthia
Haworthia plants are tiny plants that would attain a maximum height of 20 cm when they are mature. Further, they would be only 10 cm in diameter at maturity. They would continue to grow nicely and it would be so pleasing to watch them when they are flourishing. Many succulent fans tend to use them as decorative plants. Besides Haworthia leaves would form in dark colors or even in white.
Apart from that, bear in mind that Haworthia is a slow-growing plant. Their leaves would form rosettes. Furthermore, you can spot them carrying small white wars or tubers too. This gives a unique and spectacular look to Haworthia plants. Last but not least they would produce flowers from spring to fall. Those flowers would be small and tubular in shape. One might think that they tend to look like bluebells. Haworthia flowers would be either green or white. Occasionally you may spot them forming in pink as well.
Lithops
Lithops are renowned for carrying two coupled leaves. Further, those coupled leaves would be divided by a fissure. Lithops flowers would arise from the fissure. Needless to mention, lithops are also slow-growing plants. They would be about 8 cm wide at maturity. What is special about these plants is that lithops flowers carry a fragrance. Those flowers would be about 2-4 cm in diameter. Moreover, they would develop a fruit that further consists of seeds. You could spot the fruit forming in the rainy season.
Snake plants
Snake plants are yet another succulent species that would also perform well with minor care treatment. To elaborate further on this, snake plants are tolerant of a wide range of light. Additionally, keep in mind that they can thrive in neglect as well. Caring for snake plants is very straightforward. Further, their leaves would tend to take an architectural shape. Snake plants are not very fuzzy when it comes to light levels. Furthermore, it is said that snake plants can purify the air. To further elaborate, they would remove the toxins from the air. So, snake plants would be a great pick for your cars.
Hens and chick
Many people tend to use the Hens and chick to keep in the cars. They have earned the name called hens and chicks as they would produce so many baby plants as they grow. Hens and chick plants would survive irrespective of the place you grow them, be it colder temperatures or hot temperatures. Hens and chick plants are hardy plants and caring for them is also very straightforward and simple.
These plants are endemic to Europe and to Africa as well. They would usually develop fleshy pointed shaped leaves. Those leaves would arrange in rosettes. Succulent lovers are fans of the interesting shapes of the hens and chick plants. You could spot their leaves forming in a red, green blur and even in copper as well. They would emerge with light pink to reddish-purple flowers during summer.
How to take care of succulents in a car?
Succulents are low-maintenance plants where you do not need to care for them a lot. They can grow waterless as they have conserved water in their foliage. However, when you keep them in cars, you need to adhere to the following care tips.
Watering
Watering the succulents is the most delicate factor when taking care of the succulents. So, when you water the plants, ideally you should water the plants thoroughly and allow them to dry after that. This is an important thing you need to keep in mind when watering succulents. On another note, you should always water the plants if you ascertain their soil is dry only. That way you could avoid overwatering the plants. On the other hand, it would avoid any probability of taking place under watering conditions too. When you water the plants, you need to take the plants out of the cars so that you would not spill water in the cars accidentally.
Sunlight
Succulents are sunlight lovers. This literally means they would wish to have bright indirect sunlight. Don’t expose the plants to direct sunlight or to hot temperatures. So, when you park the cars, make sure that they get partial shade throughout the day and not direct sunlight. Exposure to ample sunlight is crucial as that will have a greater impact on the healthy vigorous growths of the plants. I recommend growing the succulents exposed to 2-4 hours of partial sunlight daily.
Humidity
During summer, there will be high humidity levels in the cars. So, if there are items such as unfinished drinks, wet clothes, or towels it would literally create an atmosphere of a sauna in the car. Succulents do not prefer to grow exposed to high humidity levels. So, if you leave the unfinished drinks, and wet clothes, it would enhance the humidity levels around the plants during summer.
Consequently, it would make the plants more vulnerable to fungal growths, rot and fungus gnats too. It is vital that there is good airflow in the car for the healthy growth of the succulents. That way it will help the plants to avoid any potential of the aforesaid pests’ infestations and diseases. I recommend keeping the window shutters half open as it would be beneficial for the succulents.
Pot size soil
It is mandatory that you grow the succulents in a fast-draining soil mix. It would ensure that all the excess water is moving out from the soil mix without retaining them in the pot. Do not use a regular soil mix as it would retain excess water within the potting medium. In addition to that ensure that you use pots that have ample drainage too.
To sum up, you need to always try to reduce the humidity levels in the car. Furthermore, I recommend you water the soil only if the soil is dry too. More importantly, you need to select the right succulents which can survive in the conditions they usually get in the car. Do not place the plants right in front of the car air conditioner. Bear in mind that drastic changes in the temperatures may impact the succulents in an unhealthy manner. Lastly, I recommend bringing the plants outside of the car for some time and letting them gain some fresh air.
Precautions during winter
I suppose the best you could do is to bring the plants indoors during winter especially when it is freezing cold. Having said that, if you have a super hardy succulent, you can keep them in the car outdoors. Water them in minimal amounts during winter and refrain from fertilizing as well.
Fertilizer
Succulents don’t have a major demand when it comes to fertilizing. Having said that, if you wish you may consider feeding the plants lightly when they are actively growing.
Can I keep a big succulent in my car?
No, you can not keep big succulents in your car. That will cause distractions and cause damage to the passengers. If you are going to keep succulents in the car they should be small and around 5-10 cm.
The benefits of having succulents in cars
There are succulents such as snake plants that can purify the air. Succulents would further bring a sense of freshness to the cars as well. Anybody would love to experience the freshness of these plants. Succulents would adore the entire setup in the car and add a sense of tranquility and calmness too. It would further release a pleasant vibe too. if you go for a scented succulent, it will bring a natural scent to the cars and every passenger would love that.
Conclusion on Can I Keep A Succulent In My Car
To recap, succulents can certainly survive in a car. You may keep the succulents in your car and it would be beneficial in many ways. For example, you can keep succulents in your to decorate the car and to purify the air. However, it is important that you follow the right care tips as aforesaid. It would help them to survive and grow to their best potential. Succulents are low-maintenance plants and not that fuzzy when it comes to caring treatments. As such succulents would perfectly fit in cars.
Read Next : Best Cactus Soil Mix For A Perfect Cactus
