Succulents are plants with thick, fleshy parts that are designed to retain moisture. An example of a succulent would be a cactus, which has a fleshy trunk with large, fleshy paddles to retain water. Some people place succulents in their homes, both to provide a visual relief and balance their feng shui.
Succulents are best when placed so as to subtly enhance the overall look of a room, but not front and center. They are more of a supporting mechanism that improves the overall mood, out of sight. Places such as the back corner of your living room work well for succulent placement.
Accurately placing succulents to ensure good feng shui is difficult, but not impossible. Read on to find out what succulents work best for ensuring good feng shui, and where to place them in your house to ensure maximum effect.
Where to Place Your Succulents to Improve Feng Shui
In order to ensure good feng shui and maximum effectiveness, the placement of your succulents is crucial. They should subtly enhance the energy of the room overall, rather than being front and center of all the objects in the immediate space. You also need to consider the room where you are placing the succulents.
The feng shui is different for every room in your house. The bedroom, for instance, is a place for intimacy. You wouldn’t want a spiky cactus on your nightstand, as that can project negative energy and kill the mood. Likewise, the kitchen is a balanced place for creativity and love; the wrong succulent can change the feng shui in a negative manner.
Small cacti in a pot are popular choices when it comes to succulents for the home. However, you do need to be careful when putting one in your home, as the spiky needles can project negative energy into the surrounding room and unbalance the feng shui. A small potted cactus works well on objects like a side table in the living room.
Overall, the best place to put a succulent is the place in your house known as the fame and reputation quadrant, which is the room from which you project your personality to the world. Your fame and reputation quadrant can be your living room, or it can be your kitchen, but that is where a succulent should be placed to ensure proper feng shui.
What Succulents are Best for Ensuring Good Feng Shui?
When considering which succulent/s to bring into your home, you also need to consider how much time and care you want to devote to them. Having a succulent to balance the feng shui does nothing if you are not willing to take care of it and will simply add clutter.
If gardening is not your strong suit, here are 3 feng-shui enhancing plants that are easy to keep alive:
- Snake Plant
- Jade Plant
- Lucky Bamboo
The Snake plant is a very easy plant to take care of. It requires little water, is extremely resilient, and as for feng shui, a Snake plant projects protective energy. It is a good plant to place near the main entrance to your home for a feeling of safety.
The Jade plant is associated with friendship, money, health and fame. Like the Snake plant, it is very easy to take care of, requires little water and will work in almost any area of the home, as health energy benefits every room. A note: the Jade plant does best in bright light conditions.
Lucky Bamboo is a symbol of good fortune, and is often placed in the wealth area of a building, such as the payroll office. It will actually grow in water, with a little gravel mixed in for minerals. Lucky Bamboo does best in medium light conditions; low light will result in unhealthy leaves and high light will burn them.
What Succulents are Best for Me?
Feng shui also goes beyond simply getting a plant that projects the right energy; you want a plant that is also matched to your geographical area. Having a bamboo plant in the middle of the desert both wastes water and will look out of place, as they are much better suited to wet areas: Seattle, for example.
Save bamboo, succulents are excellent at surviving in conditions with low rainfall and high temperatures. Cacti in particular are very good at eking out a living in desert conditions, and they use very little water. Additionally, cacti will not seem out of place in areas with high temperatures and low rainfall and will not destabilize the feng shui.
Additionally, you do not need to have one type of succulent and one type only; you can put different succulents in different rooms of your house according to the energy you want to project. Having a Snake plant by the front door will project protective energy, as will a cactus.
Having a Jade plant in any room will serve the twin purpose of putting you and your guests in a good mood and projecting health energy. The same goes for a Lucky Bamboo, but remember to place it in a medium-natural light area.
Where to Place Outdoor Succulents for Good Feng Shui
Managing good feng shui is not limited to just your house; it can be extended to your yard and entire property if you so choose. Doing this requires a little more knowledge of gardening and the climate of your area, but it can be done.
While most succulents do well in hot, dry climates, keep in mind even the hardiest plant will be affected by two feet of snow. If you live in an area that gets plenty of snowfall along with a cold winter, be prepared to redo your outdoor succulent arrangement every spring. Nonetheless, you should absolutely extend your feng shui outdoors if possible.
Follow the Energy Map
Feng Shui is the art of reaching balance in one’s life. It believes that if one can achieve harmony in one’s home, office or chosen place, then it will remain peaceful, prosperous and harmonious.
If you’re serious about feng shui and your succulents, the feng shui garden is made of 9 zones. A feng shui garden also represents the five main elements: Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal. The 9 zones are these: Wealth, Fame/Reputation, Love, Health/Family, Center, Creativity/Children, Wisdom/Self Cultivation, Career, Helpful People & Travel.
Depending on the size of your property, you may be able to make a garden that accommodates each of these zones. However, if you do not have the space, you can also compensate by hanging plants and having small examples of succulents in pots around your residence.
The zones could also be combined in a pinch. Wealth, Fame/Reputation and Career could all come together in your home office or workspace, as the three do go together. Love, Health/Family, and Creativity/Children will work well in your living room, garden or basement.
Conclusion
Feng shui is a fascinating subject and one that you could spend a very long time studying. Finding balance and harmony in one’s home is important, and the right succulents can help you achieve that more easily.
With regard to succulents, feng shui boils down to this. You must have the plant in the right room, it should also be near a good light source, and you need to be willing to take care of the plant, otherwise your efforts are wasted.
Use the right succulents, however, and while the effect will not be dramatic, your home or workspace will seem much more pleasant to be in. Your mood will be improved, and your space will be better overall.
Last update on 2023-12-11 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API