sometimes it is okay to loose the bottom leaves.

The first thing people on this forum are going to talk about is your soil and how much you are watering it. I am a novice and can only share my personal experiences with you. If I had that plant I would get it in some fast draining soil. The bag stuff from the store is not fast draining enough and will quickly lead to root rot. I cut mine with perlite and lava rock. I water them when I plant them then don't water again for a few weeks.

I hope this helps and that more experiences and knowledgeable members provide their advise.

Thank you Deva33 :)

I am using a mix of soil and stones to put my succulent above... I just was alarmed to find so many leaves at the bottom suddenly dry up like that in just a few days!

If anyone else has advice, please do share :) im all ears! :D

what kind of stones? Most people will suggest to cut the soil with 50% or more perlite.

bottom leaves drying and wilting is normal for echeveria, could you post a picture of the plant from above? Your plant looks rather healthy, I wouldn't worry too much but definitely find a suitable soil and pot for it and make sure you research on watering.

Hello friends... I have been told that the bottom leaves drying are normal... but here are some photos from the top today.... as you can see... leaves are STILL drying out.... and they are starting to droop downwards and look flat now :(

Any advice? The pot I've put it in, is 3/4 stones and Ive just filled the in betweens with a bit of soil.

Here is another photo in addition to the one above... as you can see.. its not as green as it used to be from the very first photo I put up.

last photo.. hope this offers some clues...

(apologies for the orientation.. it was photographed properly in my camera, but it cant seem to be adjusted in the fourm here)

To me you're soil looks to be still VERY water retentive. Please go to the search bar and type Al's gritty mix. I switched all my succulents to it and they are doing SOOO MUCH BETTER!! Two of them are even flowering now. Something that's NEVER happened for me. I hope this helps :)

@ LilBit7765 i dont have access to a nursery or garden center for another few weeks unfortunately :( This is the best I can do for now... only the top layer is soil... the rest is stone with a tiny bit of soil in between.

To everyone else... any of you can tell me why my succulent's leaves are now drooping and flat looking? it was alot more perky and curled up when i first got it...

I've heard some will open up to obtain more light...... Maybe that's what it's doing?

Not enough light for sure, where are you leaving your plants? And that soil is still quite dangerous for succulents. Semps are usually quite hardy but still can't take water-retaining soil. It could die in the matter of weeks if too much moisture is in the soil for too long. You can't even find perlite in your area? 50/50 mix of perlite and cactus soil is a good bet for now.

Best of luck!

I've had a horrible time trying to grow semps in SW Florida, so I've decided to stop torturing them and turned to different plants.

Mine, too, continually lost bottom leaves. They curled down over the stem. They were always crispy even with plenty of water (like summer rains). I tried watering, not watering, full sun, partial sun and bright shade. I planted in C&S soil, then cut it with perlite, and finally gritty mix. I had no better luck in pots of PIG.

Here is my last plant and one of his departed friends. I think my area is just too wet.

I hope you find the answer. They are beautiful plants.

Heat and humidity is hard on semps. They don't like the sun and heat in Texas. I finally have gotten them through 1 1/2 summers here. They are in the ground outside raised up between rocks in a very sharp soil with lots of pumice and gravel in it. Very little humus. It gets water once o week. It does not see much sun, but bright shade with morning sun. I have killed many semps I have one in a group pot. Again , it is raised up by rocks and it gets drainage. NO lip of a pot to hold in liquid.

I imagine aloes would be easier in Malaysia

Wow... thank you SO much for all this advice!

And thank you for identifying my plant as a semp...

To answer your questions, my plant has been put in bright shade...But since you have mentioned my plant may need more light, Ive have moved it to a spot that has has small amounts of direct sunlight during the day time and is windy(ish) so its not very very hot...warm but not very hot.

Its strange... Im reading conflicting advice...Some say semps don't like heat and sun....others say this plant of mine needs more sun...

Can anyone clarify? I live in Malaysia in an apartment and this plant is currently on my balcony.

It is all about the conditions of the environment where the plant is living. People who live where it is cool and dry put the semps out in the sun. People who live where it is hot and humid need to put it in the bright shade with bits of sun. It is all about the heat and the humidity. It was 103F (39C) today and a bit muggy, not too bad, but it would fry a semp. I would imagine the humidity was horrid in in Maylasia but the heat less, more like Florida with lots of rain. Can you keep it outside with bright light but out of the rain? I would grow it in almost all pumice or course lava sand.

I can't offer any advice, just comment...maybe it's the humidity as wantonamara and/or Crenda mentioned.
I have few semps but they all grow outside. I don't give them any special treatment, and they are in sun just about whole day. Some in ground, few in pots. But it's definitely not so hot here as in Texas (wantonamara) or SW Florida (Crenda) - I am in zone 5a in Ontario, Canada.

The small rocks you see in pots are top-dressing only, they are not mixed in with the soil. These containers were planted few years ago, and most of them are still the same.
In spring, there are many dried bottom leaves, even in summer-this is normal as old leaves die and are replaced by new ones.
Containers get occasional watering - if I water the garden/plants planted close-by. Otherwise, just the rain. I don't fuss around them, consider them easy to grow, hardy plants.

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Rina

This post was edited by rina_ on Mon, Aug 11, 14 at 0:42

Wow... Rina! Your plants look AMAZING! :D Im in awe at how much they have grown... i can't even keep this one little succulent alive...

@wontonamara my conditions are regularly about 90F (31/32 degrees celcius) every day... and my plant is sitting on our balcony outside which doenst get direct sunlight, but it is very bright.

Im still trying to figure out ways to help this little plant grow better... as it seems to be really stressed since I took it back from Germany a week ago.

Your pot might also be a little big for just the one this can hold more water than what the plant uses. Just a thought........which also means you could add more lol.

jenny, I agree with LilBit, pot is too large so when repotting change that too. I think I would use unglazed pot, it will dry up faster. I would also mound-up the soil so it sits higher. Just use easy draining mix. Is it coir in your pot?

wantonamara gave you excellent advice, so consider that.

Mine grow very well, multiply, flower all the time. But the conditions are just little more favourable (closer to Germany than Malaysia).
Remember, these may be little more difficult for you to grow, but there is so many other plants you can keep easier in your area that are much more challenging for us in colder zones...so don't give up, it could work with some effort.

(Not to lecture you so pls. don't get upset, but you brought it from Germany? I know, it is very tempting, but plant material is not supposed to be taken from other countries to prevent spread of possible diseases etc...Where was it growing there - in ground or in container?)

Rina

Semps are alpine plants and like/need a break from the heat.

I personally, have never had luck growing them in pots, therefore, they all go in the ground at my house; but I live in Wisconsin, which has very similar weather conditions as Germany.

Nancy

Here is a link that might be useful: Semp info

Nancy

Just to clarify, any semps I have in pots stay outside year-round. They don't overwinter indoors.
As long as they have well draining soil, they have no problem with cold & snow.
They are in pots simply to display where -for whatever reason - the can't be planted.

Rina