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Cacti & Succulents

Please help! my succulents are wilting in front of my eyes!

15 years ago

Hi!

I am a new gardener to arizona. I recently planted an outside container (deep- it is built against the foundation of my home.) of succulents- including multiple echeveria. they are starting to grow limp and flaccid. I don't think I am overwatering them- I watered the soil well before they were transplanted, transplanted them and haven't added water since- approx 5 days ago. I added some slow releasing fertilizer to the soil while I was working it in. It is part potting soil, part native earth. I dug deep and mixeed it up well, but I didn't add any perlite or broken dishes etc to increase drainage.

the ground received basically full sun in the afternoons. Did I mention I live in phoenix yet? so it is hot and with minimal humidity.

I just feel helpless when they are losing more leaves I wish I knew all of their full names. Some are the giant ones- with rosettes approx the size of a melon, and other's are the size of a walnut.

I am a somewhat new gardener, and absolutely new to phoenix, so I am sure I am messing up somewhere.

any help/pointers you can give is much appreciated!

thanks,

Mindy

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Comments (2)

Laura thegardenpages
15 years ago
Don't feel bad. You should see my aeonium! It's crispy brown! I'm in So Cal and we just got done with a 100+ degree heat wave.

Give them SHADE. It is really too hot to be transplanting anything right now. You are smart not to flood them with water. Stick with the every 4-5 day schedule, if it's over 100 and the soil is dry, water 2-3 days only for the duration of the heat. Your soil sounds good too. No more fertilizer tho. Just rig up some shade cloth, umbrella or something for the next few weeks.

A crispy, brown leaf will not get better, but protect the stems which should resprout. Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: my fried plants on my blog
pasimachus
15 years ago
I live in the great white north now, but got the cactus bug when I lived in Phoenix for two years. I found that I couldn't keep any Crassulaceae outside in the peak of summer, as they all died. It might have something to do with overnight lows being too high for CAM plants to initiate gas exchange ??? Purportedly some people can keep some of these non-cacti outside in the shade, but I couldn't.

If you live in Phoenix, go to the Desert Botanical Garden, which is in between Tempe and Scottsdale. Look around for your plants. If you don't see it growing there, it probably can't be done. I didn't develop a good way to deal with this in my little house, but probably the best thing would be to have it inside but in a sunny spot, and set your plant outside again in late September. They should be deliriously happy from then until May.
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