When you hear the word "stress", it can sound like a bad thing. But stressing succulents is typically a good thing and is totally healthy if done correctly.
Through stressing, their colors can become more beautiful. By stressing succulents, you're allowing them to show the colors that they're able to show. Stressing can turn succulents from colors like green, blue, gray to red, orange, yellow, or purple.
Not only are the colors affected from stressing, the rate of flowering can be improved, they're less likely to get diseases and attract pests, and they can also grow faster.
Doing this indoors can be hard so it's best to do this outdoors in the sun. You can intentionally stress them, but it's important that you don't overstress them.
There are some succulents that won't change colors, but a lot of crassulas and aloes will and a couple echeverias, sedums, aeoniums, kalanchoes, euphorbias, and sempervivums will.
The important factors that go into changing colors from stress include: temperature, light, and water. The factor that usually affects their colors the most is light. Typically, the more sun the plants get, the more bright their colors will be. You will probably have to test this and see how much sun would be good for your plants because too much sun can also cause issues.
Additionally, the less water that they get can result in more bright colors. It's also important to remember not to overdo this because they can suffer from not getting enough water. For temperature, they usually show wonderful colors from being in cooler temperatures, particular during the winter season. Many succulents can deal with temperatures until it's freezing but not many can handle temperatures below that so it's essential to be careful about this.
To go about stressing succulents, you should make sure your plants are healthy, so their roots should be strong. If your succulents have been indoors, you should gradually place them in the sun during the mornings or put them in an area that's shaded. It's also important for there to be good air circulation.
Additionally, if they're new to your home, you should give them time to adjust before stressing them. If you stress them before they're ready, this can affect their growth, or cause them to wilt or die.
The best time to stress succulents is when it's cooler during the late summer time or beginning of fall, and you should try not to stress your plants when it's spring and early to mid summer.
