It is in a glass dish i need to get one with drainage holes and will try to get it as soon as possible. About the soil, i dont even know. My mom in law gave me some that she had. I know i must sound horrible right now, but am a newbie and here in hopes of learning lol

Thanks for replying

Adi

Np, asking question is good way to learn.

That soil looks like it contains sand - can you tell if there is any? Sand is not suitable for succulents, it will clog up drainage, and also makes soil/mix harder to drain. If it is garden soil, that isn't very good, and you should consider buying Cactus&Succulent mix. Try to also buy a small bag of perlite. Mixed at 50/50 ratio with soil will make reasonably draining potting mix.

The plant looks unhappy. I would depot the plant now. Check out the roots if there are any and how much. For the size there should be a lot of roots that are nice and white and healthy looking. If not then do not repot back into that worthless soil mix. Though you may use some of that mix and make up something new with what you got now in your home. Do you buy eggs at the store in styrafoam containers? Or have any packing peanuts that you have saved. If so then you can crush up the egg cartons into little pieces or break or chop up the packing peanuts into small pieces. If you have any of the old soil mix that is still dry then mix 2 handfuls of the crushed or chopped up styrafoam with one handful of the dry soil mix. Mix real well. No pots in the house?

Then how about an ice pick and a large plastic container that you buy macaroni salad in? If so then punch holes at the bottom on the container along the sides but not on the bottom working from the inside pushing out. Take it easy so you do not crack the container.

Then pack in some of the "mix" you made about half way up the side of the "pot" and then place the plant on top and add the new "mix" to cover the roots packing in the mix around the roots.

Lightly spray the surface of the soil but do not get it wet just slightly damp.Set in a cool dry and partly sunny spot but not in full sun behind a window pane. Too much heat will stress out the plant even worse, so be sure it is kept in a cool spot.

Guess that does it. The sooner it is done the happier your plant will be Provided it survives!!! ??

It appears to be an Echeveria, but I'm not sure what kind. It is very etiolated (stretched) from trying to reach light in Walmart. As you already know, it has suffered from soggy soil. That's what caused most of the leaf drop. It likely lost much of the healthy root ball to rot also. It looks like it was there a long time, but you have rescued it, and I think you can get it back on its feet. Here's what if suggest:

Pot size & type:

3"-4" plastic pot. Maybe the pot it came in. It'll be small enough, and it'll have drain holes. A larger pot will contain too much soil, and too much soil means it'll stay wet too long, and desert plants don't handle wet soil well.

Planting medium:

If you're going to add your own perlite, Cactus and Succulent mix isn't neccessary. It's usually the same as regular potting soil with a little extra perlite in it- not enough to matter. Mix it with an equal amount of perlite, which you can find right next to it on the shelf at Home Depot.

Water:

Water only when the top 1/3 to 1/2 of the soil is dry. You have to stick your finger in it every time because it won't always dry at the same rate depending on humidity, sunshine, sir movement, and whether it's actively growing or it's dormant.

Sun:

It desperately needs sun, but it's been shaded so long that it can burn if it's out too long. Start with about an hour or two of direct sun daily, and over the next few weeks increase it by an hour or two weekly. In the meantime, get it into a window with as much bright, indirect light as possible. Don't worry about the windowsill being cold just yet. Desert plants handle cold better than tropical plants. When the glass gets very cold, the leaves that touch it will get dead spots, so be careful. If you can set it outside, it'll be okay until the first frost.

Temperature:

Sunshine and correct moisture are much more important to Echeveria than temperature. Newbies often think desert plants must be warm all the time, but they don't. Deserts are dry and sunny, and often quite cold.

Fertilizer:

Never (soil usually has enough in it already for succulents), or twice a year with 1/4 strength, but if you repot it often enough (to keep the pot barely big enough for it) it'll get what it needs from the new soil each time.

Right now- it will need some water. Be conservative since you have a poor mix and no drain hole, but you must water it. If you don't, the existing roots will die back and it'll have no way to absorb water when you do water it, and then it will rot. I'd recommend a spray bottle set to "stream" and squirt some streams of water right down into the mix near the roots. Hopefully that mix isn't too hydrophobic to absorb and disperse the little water you give it.

This plant will do most of its growing in the fall and spring. It'll be dormant in tje hottest part of the summer and coldest part of the winter. It'll need more water when it's growing, and it will be less tolerant of too much water when it's dormant. If it isn't growing, don't be fooled into thinking water is the key.

I don't know why Houzz put your last comment above mine...weird. Anyway, those roots don't look terrible. Tjeure small for a plant that size, but they appear to be growing back from some previous abuse. That's excellent. Go ahead and pot it up as described above. You'll probably have to use damp mix to get things to settle. Sometimes it helps to squeeze out the excess water, then place the medium on newspaper or paper towels to draw out more.

Adi

I would suggest amending the soil a lot. Many ppl that use Cactus & succulent soil, mix it 50/50 with the perlite. I do not use the soil, but would definitely do the same if I was.

Not sure if I understood correctly, but I don't think you got all soil off the roots ..." i took out as much dirt as i could i did not want to hurt any of the roots"...

It is better to do that for the health of the plant; if the soil is compacted around the roots - they will not be able to breath and take in necessary moisture. Some roots will fall off while you do it, but if the plant is in better conditions, new roots will grow in. If not, the roots will slowly die off or rot. I believe you had quite unhappy plant to begin with, so it is difficult to be sure what exactly killed it (there could have been some rot there already). You also mentioned you watered it occasionally - that may have been too much, since there is only couple of weeks since that post and this one. In that length of time, I would water it likely just 1x.

The little plantlets look good at this point. Occasional leaf will grow roots and no plantlet and eventually wither; some will grow just a plantlet and no roots. Just make sure you don't overwater them, be patient, try not to check every day :) - if you do, it will seem that nothing is happening forever (ask me how I know :).

I do not bother new plantlets until they are bigger and the mother leaf dried up and shrivelled (see few photos toward end of this thread - click me- )

If the leaf grows lots of roots, sometimes I sprinkle just a tiny bit of mix over the roots. Most often it is not needed, and they grow into it on their own.

I would definitely add lots of perlite (and some grit if possible) to the soil seen in your last photo if using same for potting succulents. It does have perlite when out of bag, but there is not enough of it. It looks like it still has lots of peat, and much more grainy, better draining mix would suit succulents better.

edited to correct wording...

I agree with Rina, but I'd put off amending the soil until the plantlets are much bigger. They might not root fast enough in the new medium to survive the move. When Theyre about the size of a quarter, there shouldn't be any danger in moving them and amending the soil. Meanwhile, they look pretty healthy, so keep doing what you're doing, but watch for etiolation, which would indicate too little light, or yellow leaves which normally means too much water.

Just to make it clear - I am not suggesting amending the soil where the leaves are; but for potting up any succulents. Sorry if that's how it came across. (I changed wording in my last post).

kwie, thank you for sort-of pointing it out :)

Rina, yes, i did not take all the soil out because of fear of breaking any roots, i believe that and the fact that i probably still over watered (i used a 1 ml syringe to water it near its roots) made it worse. lesson learned.

Kwie, will follow your advice. once they are bigger i will amend the soil. i will also be on the lookout for etiolation and yellow leaves. once they are bigger, should i repot them individually?