Baby toes succulents, otherwise known by their botanical scientific name of Fenestraria Rhopalophylla, are a charming, dainty-if-quirky-looking but extremely tough plant. They are so-called because of their unique small and club or toe-like packed-in leaves.
Although like many succulents, they are fairly easy to look after because they can thrive even if they are neglected, you still need to be cautious and understand what is involved in caring for them to get the best out of them. With that in mind, in the following post, we are going to give you the lowdown on what you need to know to have baby toes succulents that really thrive. This is just a brief introduction, but you can read the guide at SublimeSucculents.com for more information.
Watering Baby Toes Succulents
It is very easy knowing when to water your baby toes succulents. There are two checks you can do – either feel the soil and if it is completely dry or if you see the tips of the plant’s leaves are starting to look shrunken or wrinkled, then it requires a good bit of water. Do this until water drips off the pot’s bottom.
As we noted at the outset, these will thrive even when neglected because they can store water inside their leaves, like other succulents. It is still important to give them a good watering whenever possible to ensure they have a good back storage of fluid.
On the other side of things, you can easily spot when a succulent has been overwatered, as this particular type, the baby toes variety, are prone to split and cracked leaves when they drink too much.
The Best Soil
As is the case with other plants that make up the succulents’ group, you should avoid using normal potting soil or soil that has a substantial volume of peat moss, loam, or humus mixed into it. That type of soil holds onto moisture too much and it will result in your succulent developing root rot from sitting in a puddle of water for far too long. You should always use a special cactus/succulent soil mix.
A DIY option would be to mix in equal parts of coarse sand, perlite, and pumice with potting soil.
The Right Amount of Light
As baby toes succulents and other succulents are developed to survive in subtropical desert climates, they always require a lot of bright sun. Therefore, if you intend on growing them outdoors, you need to make sure that wherever you plant them will allow them to benefit from a minimum of 6 hours of light every day. You also need to make sure they are protected against heavy rainfall and high-temperature sun on afternoons during the summer, as it could cause them sunburn.
Growing baby toes succulents indoors, on the other hand, though, requires that you place their pots in a position where they will receive a lot of indirect, but bright sunlight, such as a window that faces south. You want to make sure they don’t have too much shade because baby toes succulents grow too leggy and their leaves may start to fall too much to one side.
Blooming
Baby toes succulents, when provided with the right conditions, can grow well, and produce a perfect-looking flower with narrow petals during summer, which usually has white or yellow shades. You need to just make sure that they have good and healthy roots to provide them with sufficient water and at least 6 hours of sunlight every day.
Also, when you make them bloom it allows you to have the enjoyable experience of enjoying watching the flowers react to the light, when the petals open and close, and move through the day.
