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Cacti & Succulents

Succulent drying out at bottom (but fine at top)? Help please

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

What should I do about this succulent. It's leaves have turned dry and purple on the bottom but is green on the top. The leaves do look a bit thin and not as plump. Please give me a name of the plant too :) I forgot.

Thanks!!

Featured Answer

raxidor

8 years ago

I agree, it needs more light. For next steps: try removing dead leaves, check roots and change the soil for something much more mineral. Damp organic soil supports fungal infections.

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Comments (6)

rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
8 years ago
It is very etiolated - not having sufficient light, it is growing too long and too thin.

I believe it is one of the echeverias.
ssunyoh thanked rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
ssunyoh
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks! Any suggestion? Should I trip it from the bottom, really repot it?
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You can cut those down to about an inch above the media, the tallest one leave a few inches 3 or 4 would be good. You will se them pushing new growth in no time, they will sprout new tips and branch. Take the cuttings lay them on top of soil til they start growing roots. Then water once a week when you see roots growing or you wiggle the plant and it feels securely attached to the soil. The tall one looks like a etiolated Crassula ovata (jade plant) you also have a kalanchoe (the fuzzy one) the purple one is a graptoveria. Also if you don't cut them they would benefit from a balanced fertilizer immediately.... If you cut them wait about a month. Mine get 14-14-14 the start of spring in a slow release formula. The one in front is looking a little yellow. I would also suggest slowly introducing them to more light... What is the soil like? Take a picture of it?
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The soil shrank because it is full of peat that became hydrophobic. It is very difficult to rewet again, and you most likely overwatered it. So from one extreme to another. It has been underwatered, overwatered and maybe even burned if exposed to too much sunlight suddenly. Unfortunately, it really doesn't make much difference what store you buy the plant from - they all most likely keep plants in soil it came in from the grower. Even if they repot plants, they use similar potting media. I wonder about that hanging pot - usually, they have some drainage hole but it is raised. That creates shallow 'moat' that will keep excess soil, probably mucky if overwatered. Or there is no drainage, or there is a saucer attached that also slows down drainage. So all these combined will create bad conditions for plants. Plant should be taken out, all old soil should be taken off the roots. You may have to rinse/blast it off with a hose. If any strings have roots, they should be planted in well draining mix. Any dead roots and parts of plant/stems should be cut off - they won't come back to life. Healthy pieces could be stuck in a well draining mix. They could also be laid over the mix, making sure part of stem is touching the mix - put a small rock on it or pin it down so it stays in contact. they will eventually root. Do not use very deep pot, it holds too much soil/mix and if it is water retaining, makes things bad again. Hanging pots are best for these plants, but make sure there is good drainage. I use many of those pots, but drill extra holes all over the bottom - it will drain and drip water, so either keep somewhere where it doesn't matter, or use some kind of tray to catch it. You could also take it to the sink, water, let all excess water to drain for a while and then put in its place. If using Cactus&Succulent soil, get a bag of perlite. Sift or rinse it, and mix at least 50/50 with C&S soil. And please, fill up the pot - as it is, I can't see any soil there...Mix should come up no lower than 1" or less from the top of container.
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Gabby I believe you already had a thread about these plants= here = and few ppl responded. I don't remember what soil mix you used, but Gasteria has some rot - at least leaves you are showing do. Last plant - looks like xGraptoveria 'Fred Ives' to me; but there are few very similar looking Echeverias - is one of the easiest plants to reroot. If roots were totally dry, cutting them all off shouldn't be problem. Just insert into dry mix and let it be. They root even without any soil- look at these: Plant that you think is jade is actually Portulacaria afra - not related to jade. From what you describe, it sounds like they were quite dry and now maybe some overwatering, visible on gasteria. I do not know what else to suggest except what was already said.
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Dry, shriveled bottom leaves is normal but if they look translucent or bloated, it's a sign of overwatering. Leaves falling off when bumped can be a sign of overwatering. The brown on the longer leaves could be sunburn, but since the new growth looks like it's doing very well, I don't know if we should worry too much, as long as nothing is turning black or looking translucent. Is it winter where you are? If so, I'd water less.
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rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Dried leaves come off very easily. It is natural for old leaves to dry out eventually.

The growth will not revert to more compact, so you could consider 'be-heading': cutting the top part off and starting new plant that way. Leaving the bottom part planted, it may sprout some babies too. There are many threads on the subject on this forum, one of them is here: -click me-

Before you do anything, consider how you solve the light problem - otherwise it will keep growing same way. Read some other posts on this forum regarding better draining mix. Do you have only one succulent?
ssunyoh thanked rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
ssunyoh
Original Author
8 years ago
@rina_ Actually this plant had one head, but then got "beheaded" (!) by my clumsy sister in an accident. Because of that it started to sprout two heads and that is why there are two growths from one stem. Thanks for your advice! I moved the plant to some where there is more light. I live in New England so the lighting can be spotty and definitely not bright. This is my first succulent but I'm eager to learn more and keep them healthy :)
rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
That is actually good, since now you have some experience in beheading :) As you can see, the plant survived accident and branched.

Looking at existing mix, it may contain some bark - that is good (unless it is all sapwood). You could start making better mix by sifting existing mix (use kitchen sieve) to get rid of very small particles. Buy small bag of perlite, sift it too to get rid of dust, and mix sifted ingredients (larger particulates that stayed inside of sieve) about 50/50. That should give you quite good mix for succulents. (Small gravel, scoria, pumice, turface are all excellent to use for succulent potting media should you decide to grow more of them and put some effort in making your own, well-draining mixes.)

Many of my succulents are overwintering in the basement that is dark, and I use lights that are on 14 hrs/day. Give your plant lot of light to grow more compact. If you use light, put it further away from a plant to begin with, moving closer every few days in order to avoid burn (using CFL, fluorescent or LED bulbs helps since they produce less heat, and likely brighter light).

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