Hi! I was in the process of repotting one of my succulents and was shocked to find it severely rotten at the stem. I’m not too worried if the main plant is beyond saving, but I’d like to salvage the offshoot. The offshoot has been growing really well the past few weeks, so I was surprised to see the rest of the poor guy doing so badly. When should I cut off the offshoot and how far down should I make the cut? Also will I be able to use any of the main plant for propagating still? And finally are you able to ID the plant? The closest I could find to it is the echeveria black prince, but it’s lacking the rosette shape. Completely stumped on this one! Thank you for your help! :>
Pictures: https://imgur.com/a/pVxvL
Believe it or not, this is an echeveria black. The elongation is called etiolation, and it’s caused by poor lighting. When a plant is not receiving enough sun it’ll try to stretch towards its light source, giving it a lanky appearance. You can help it by moving it to a spot where it can get more sunlight. The best indoor light comes from an unblocked south-facing window (or north-facing in the southern hemisphere). Ease your plant into brighter and brighter conditions and it’ll start growing normally again.
The long stem coming off your plant is not an offshoot, it’s a flower stalk. Echeverias produce a long stem that blooms on the end. When they’re done flowering the stem will shrivel up and fall off.
So our concern should be saving the main plant.
Rot is often caused by overwatering or poor drainage, but can also be caused by bacteria infecting a small wound in the plant. I think that must be what happened here. There is no cure for areas that are already rotting, so you need to cut away the infected tissue before it spreads further.
Get a sharp, clean knife and cut off the discolored area. The sharper and cleaner the knife, the less stress and bacteria for the plant. Be thorough, as any hint of rot left on the plant will continue to spread. Throw out the infected bits.
Set the healthy leftovers on the window ledge for a week. Once the wound is calloused over you can set it on top of some dry soil. Make sure to prop it up so only the base of the stem is touching the soil, since it’ll sprout roots wherever it has contact with soil.
Do not water it until it’s regrown its roots. Roots are the organ that absorb water, so watering a rootless plant doesn’t help it and is just an invitation for more rot.
When it’s regrown its roots you can start watering again.
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
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