Trying to Identify my son's succulents

John Varan

8 years ago

If anyone could help, I'd greatly appreciate it! :)

Featured Answer

Neil

8 years ago

When you water your plants, water them thoroughly. let the water drain out of the bottom and then drench it again. This will assure that the water has saturated the soil. Succulents love water. What they don't love is sitting in it for days on end. It will rot. Make certain you're using a well-draining soil/medium.

The last time I was in Austin it reached 120 degrees in our back yard. So, it's good you have it indoors. If you're like me, I ran the air conditioner all the time. This causes more dryness. You have to compensate for that. A couple tablespoons of water every 2 weeks for your plant is not going to cut it.

Your last 2 pictures appear to be the same plant I have which is called "Sedeveria harry butterfield." Yours is etiolated. There is no curing etiolation. What you can do is snip off the top portion a few inches and propagate the cutting. Allow the cutting to heal over in a shaded area. Because these are small cuttings I heal them off in about 2 or 3 days. Do not discard what is left as you can propagate that as well. Usually the stem will start to bud and form tiny rosettes where previous leaves have detached. When the rosettes are large enough you can also pinch those off and start your own nursery soon enough. They're pretty hardy plants. Provide more light to them if you can.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (12)

MsGreenFinger GW
8 years ago
The first looks like a Crassula arborescens undulatifolia.
rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
8 years ago
Hello John;

The first plant looks OK, but the second and third have some visible issues: etoliation (not enough light), and I would double check for soil that is too wet.

You can see in the photo that leaves are far apart - they should be closer. If the plant gets more sunlight, it will start growing more compact but previous 'stretching' will not repair. That could be helped later on by 'beheading' the plant - but first it should be certain that plants are not over-watered. The soil doesn't look really wet in your photos and maybe it isn't right now - do you know how often and how much water are they given? There is water on the leaves - are they being sprayed regularly? or perhaps just for 'photo-op'?

If you need some tips about better potting mix and care, let us know and pls. indicate your general location/growing zone.

Rina
Related Discussions
Trying to identify the types of succulents I have
Q
Comments (6)
The Kalanchoe tomentosa, to my understanding, can benefit from a bit of indirect light. Not saying throw it in a shady corner as it still loves bright light, but it does tend to do better when not baking in direct sun all day.
...See More
Trying to identify my succulent
Q
Comments (4)
Thank you all for the help. Echeveria pulvinata looks like the correct answer after comparing google results. Thank you all a bunch and happy gardening.
...See More
Can someone help me identify this cutie my son brought home?
Q
Comments (6)
Hello, I have a similar question, I hope it´s ok to post on the same thread. I go this succulent today and I need to identify it, it says on it "Kalanchoe Succulent" but I can not seem to find it anywhere. If anyone can help me I would really appreciate it.
...See More
I need help identifying my succulents
Q
Comments (12)
Sempervivums are very difficult to ID, there are more than 50 species and thousands cultivars, with many looking very similar. Exact name of the cultivar really doesn't matter that much as far as their needs: they are really same. When plant is not healthy, or grown under not-so-good conditions, they may, and often do, different than they should and that's another problem to ID it correctly. Kirby I don't see you mentioning your general location or growing zone? Sempervivums are very hardy plants, most of them will overwinter outdoors, under the snow, in z4 and many even lower. So unless you are in colder location, they could and should be grown outdoors. Proper pots are much more important than one may think. I would encourage you to repot plants that are in containers that do not have drainage holes. You don't even need to buy pots - plastic containers from cottage cheese or yogurt will work as long as you poke holes in it - a thin nail or straight pin works very well. Many small holes around bottom are great. Use opaque containers, as see-through will encourage growth of algae (more of a aesthetic problem, it will not kill your plants). I hope you do not think that we are preaching to you - all members here are quite enthusiastic about succulents; everyone that posted wanted to offer some helpful tips. We do get carried away - as soon as any of us see a problem, we comment even if you didn't ask about it (potting mix and drainage holes in this case...). It is all meant well and to help - otherwise none of us would waste time on reading and replaying :)
...See More
John Varan
Original Author
8 years ago
It gets about 3 tablespoons of water every 2 weeks. The droplets of water on the leaves in the picture were due to a mistake where my son misted them, instead of a different plant he was supposed to mist. But that was a one-time thing and doesn't normally happen. They are kept indoors, by a window that face SE. We live in Austin, TX.
rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
8 years ago
Neil

I thought sedeveria Harry butterfield has more pointy leaves? and rather tubular than flat? Could you post photo of your plant?

Thnx. Rina
Neil
8 years ago
Rina- It's dark now and the photo would come out blindingly stark with the flash but I will do it because it's you.
It looks a lot better in the daytime, honest, lol.
rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
8 years ago
Neil

Thank you for trying :) I am sure it looks bit different in proper light, but - description says 'mint green trailing' -

Sedeveria 'Harry Butterfield' - Super Donkey Tail, Giant Burro's Tail: Mint green trailing succulent. Similar to Burrito but larger and stronger. Cross between Sedum morganianum and Echeveria derenbergii.

Here is plant ID-ed as sedum morganianum/sedeveria Harry Butterfield:
Neil
8 years ago
the shape of yours reminds me of the pachyphytum hookeri. both of our plants (John Varan's Post above) and mine have a farinous coating; mine even more, do yours ever get that way? When I first got mine they looked like yours. I have two more somewhere, I will double check. One is being nursed back from the brink but doing well.
Neil
8 years ago
Rina- I am in love with e. derenbergii..that's why I scooped this up. Now after seeing yours i'm wondering if it's the same plant at all. I was given the same x hybrid info when I got it as well. Do you think it could have something to do with the difference between our climates? Or is it another case of mis-labeling plants at the nursery again!
rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
8 years ago
Neil

my plant has little farina on new growth, nothing like yours. Here is photo when I bought it:
It trails, just about every fallen leave grows into new plant - just like Burro Tail. The arms are between 11-12" long now, it is in hanging basket and in full sun. Here it is today, all the new plantlets are from fallen leaves (leaves fall of easily just like burrito's):
Your plant looks more compact (that could be the SD sun).

John

I hope you don't mind this discussion - we are trying to ID your plant accurately...Rina
Neil
8 years ago
Rina, John- I took this photo with my finger to show you the scale of the plant. maybe this would help in determining an ID.
below is the one I am currently propagating which it seems as I have no choice. If you look at these hard enough I swear the leaves fall right off and before you know it you have tons of them. I can't even count how many I've given away.
rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
8 years ago
Neil

I see second plant (one you are propagating) as very similar to my plant. The leaves in first photo look wider and little 'flatter' to me, but that could be just the angle. In my close-up you can see the leaves being almost tubular. But we are in very different climate...Rina