#succulent submit

[succygirl]

Hello! I have a question. I’m pretty sure these are California Sunsets (they came in a mixed package from amazon, as a present). I know air roots don’t necessarily mean something bad is going on, but… why are these guys so insistent on growing so many of them? I’ve beheaded a couple, and grown some babies from leaves, and all of them are growing air roots. Roots that started in the soil grew up and out and are now air roots. Do you know why they might be doing that? I water them whenever the burros’ tail gets fairly wrinkly bottom leaves, so I don’t think I’m overwatering them. Maybe every 2-4 weeks?

SuccyGirl:

The other reasons they throw out aerial roots is because they’re getting tall and are trying to grab onto something and balance themselves. They’ll also do this if they don’t have any more room in their pot for more roots. They look beautiful and nothing seems wrong so it’s up to you if you’d like to cut off those roots or behead them and plant those roots. Or just leave them be. :)

[succygirl]

Just wanted to show you my plants first flower! I'm so proud! I almost cried when I saw it, I've had it for over 3 years since it was teeny tiny and don't think I ever really expected actual flowers, but here we are!

Eeeeeek it’s so cute and dainty!!! Congratulations!!

[succygirl]

So I got this guy a few months ago(not sure what he is) and the lady just tossed him in a bag and he got very badly damaged... I managed to keep him alive, but recently he's been getting droopy and yellowish... Any clue what I can do? Also he grew like lightening when I brought him home but a little TOO fast I think...

Hi! Looking at him I’m feeling he’s a Graptopetalum paraguayense, also known as a ghost plant. The drooping is caused by the plant not getting enough light. Normally you’d see very little stem between the leaves and the leaves would be pointing upward or be at least horizontal instead of drooping. Seeming like he’s growing so fast is also because of the lack of enough light, he’s putting all his energy into looking for it.

I’m not seeing the yellowing you’re talking about from the photos but if the leaves are turning kind of yellow-y and translucent then it’s also being overwatered.

As for what you can do to help him... Repot and give him some more light and just let him grow. The damage already done is done for good, but he can grow out and be “reset” by beheading and re-rootting any new heads it grows. Besides that removing leaves and growing new plants from leaves is also an option but is a very slow one and not one that guarantees all the leaves you remove will grow, though ghost plants are very prolific through any means and has a good chance of growing no matter what you do to it.

I’d check out my succulent FAQ linked in my blog’s description and if you have any more questions or need advice I’ll still be here to answer them either through ask or via private messaging. :)

[succygirl]

Hello! I’m concerned one of my succulents might be rotting but I’m not sure so I wanted a second opinion.

A little while ago I moved it into a bigger pot as I thought it had outgrown the very small one it was in. since then I’ve had to adjust how often I water it as it takes longer for the soil to dry out. I’ve probably been watering it about once every 2 weeks but I don’t have an exact schedule, I check it every week to see if it looks thirsty.

a few weeks ago I noticed that it was dropping a lot of leaves. I wasn’t sure if the problem was too much water or not enough so I skipped watering it. The problem only got worse. I noticed that only two of its three stalks are affected - the central stalk looks & feels fine. The leaves on the affected stalk feel soft, like it’s very thirsty. the leaves on the central stalk are firm.

the other day one of its pups basically fell apart and I noticed that the stem had turned black. I took it off and disposed of it so I don’t have a photo. it didn’t occur to me at the time that it might be rot.

this week I tried watering it again and there’s been no change (better or worse) and today I noticed that there’s a dark patch on one of the affected stems. It’s not black, just darker than the rest of the stem and kind of withered looking? it doesn’t feel soft, it feels as hard as the rest of the stem.

Here are some photos:

The whole plant - I hope you can make out the difference between the leaves on the middle stem & the other stem.

One of the sickly stems w some of the lower leaves turning yellow.

Close up on the dark patch on the stem - it’s a bit hard to see because it’s in the shadow of the rest of the plant, but the stem itself is darker.

Since taking the pictures I’ve taken it out of the pot and removed as much soil as I can to see if drying it out helps. if the problem is rot I gather the thing to do would be to cut off the affected stems which I’m reluctant to do unnecessarily. can you offer any advice? sorry this got so long!

(the good news is I took off one of the pups a while ago and it’s been doing fine so I have a second jellybean plant)

Thanks so much for your help!

SuccyGirl:

Okay - so I don’t think this is rot, but i do think you need to cut above it and re-root the cuttings. I’ve had this happen to a number of my plants, it’s like the stem implodes on itself and shrivels up but it’s not mushy at all. Regardless of why it’s doing this the stem that does this can’t pass nutrients and water through it anymore, with more time I’m almost positive you’ll start seeing roots growing above that shriveled section because it realizes it doesn’t have access to it’s old ones anymore. This is why your plant is looking so thirsty, because it is! But watering it won’t help at this point because it doesn’t have any roots anymore technically. The stems that aren’t effected should be fine and not need to be cut unless the same thing happens to them. I suspect this is from a watering issue but I’m not positive, it could be some type of defense mechanism in which the plant kills it’s own cells to stop rot from encroaching too far (I know plants do do this I’m just unsure how extensive they get with it).

So all in all I think your plant will be fine it just needs a chop and to be given the chance to re-root. :)

[succygirl]

Is my cactus suffering from root rot? I haven’t given it water in a while since it’s cold where I live...

SuccyGirl:

If it’s mushy or squishy at all then I’d say yes it’s rot, but if it’s firm and woody then it’s just corking. Corking is something cactus do naturally with age to help support themselves, it’s not super attractive but it’s inevitable.

[succygirl]

Hi, looking for some plant care advice! I moved states and now I’m having issues with my indoor succulents dying. When I water them, they do not take in the water. Normally whenever the leaves where looking wrinkly/thin/dimpled/squishy, I’d give them water to fully soak the container. They all have drainage holes and I don’t water in very regular intervals, but some plants in very small containers get watered every week or so, others every two/three weeks. Now no matter how much water I give them the leaves don’t really plump back up. Giving even more water will just make them rot. I’ve checked, and none of these plants are rotting (just losing leaves from the bottom much faster than new growth appears). I thought it might be a problem with air circulation so I bought a fan but that didn’t change anything. I noticed there was a lot more mineral buildup than before I moved so I’ve been trying to use rain water but it hasn’t made a difference yet, other than that my succulents/soil aren’t covered in those minerals. I don’t think it’s a problem with soil, since I’ve used the same soil before moving and it was fine (I’ve used normal cactus soil with added perlite/pumice, and less organic mixes like bonsai jack). My haworthia are doing fine though - I use bonsai jack for those, put them in at tray, and bottom water. Maybe I should switch everything to very quick drying mixes and let them sit in water until they’re plump 🙃

Lighting isn’t an issue, since it’s indoor I have LED light fixtures. They get enough light that plant growth is compact and they have some stress coloring. The difference in placement of my plant shelf compared to my old place is that it’s in a very large open room that stays room temperature. Old place happened to have an air vent blowing hot air in the winter underneath it.

Pots all have drainage holes, but some are mini clay pots, others plastic nursery or larger glazed ceramic ones.

Like imagine you have a cactus you’ve never watered before, it looks deflated so you water it, but it’s still deflated and you’re too cautious to want to water it more :-( Any idea what’s going on? Thanks!

SuccyGirl:

The change in micro climate is probably what’s causing issues. It might be drier so they’re drying out faster than usual. It will certainly take you some time to figure out what works best for your plants in this new place. I’d suggest un-potting them and giving their roots some time in water, its up to you if you want to switch to bonsai jack/soil-less media permanently or try your soil mix again once they’ve plumped back up. And don’t worry, putting their roots into water won’t cause any rot as long as you’ve removed the soil first. Rot is caused by a soil bacteria that grows really well once most of the air is removed from overwatering, just be sure to change the water they’re sitting in every few days so no mold can start growing.

[succygirl]

My aunt surprise-gifted me a new plant bundle! They’re so tiny, the biggest one is half the size of my thumb ^^! I don’t know what type they are though, any idea? They’re fuzzy at the edges of their leaves.

(Will be repotting them in a draining pot with lots more perlite as soon as the soil dries. I’ve never cared for a fuzzy plant though, are they much different care-wise from echeveria perle von nurnberg?)

SuccyGirl:

They’re a type of Sempervivum! The hairs are white to help reflect the sun so they can conserve water. Care isn’t all that different from an Echeveria PVN at all honestly! Just know that these are much hardier when it comes to the cold depending on species. Most do very well outside even where it snows in the winter. They’re very light hungry just like a PVN is. Unfortunately because there’s so many different types of Sempervivum I can’t tell you what species they are. Sounds like you have a good plan in place for caring for them and know what you’re doing! :)

[succygirl]

Hello! Do you know if this is a flower stalk, or just a weird-looking baby? None of my succulents have ever flowered for me yet, so I’m not sure what to look out for exactly, but I’ve never had a baby look quite like this before - the cylindrical-looking leaf is mainly what’s throwing me off.

I’m not sure on the exact ID of this guy either - It’s most definitely some sort of graptosedum, maybe graptosedum ‘ghosty’ if that’s any help?

SuccyGirl:

Looks like you just have a mutant leaf! Not a pup or a flower, just a leaf growing funny. :)

It’s most likely a Graptopetalum paraguayense, but ‘Ghosty’ looks exactly the same except for a different flower so who knows!