Need water

Also, it seems like there is a little discoloration. Is this kept outside? Could it be sunburn? Odd time of the year to be asking I know, but still possible depending on where you are.

So really just water? I was so concerned that I overwatered the other day. As for discoloration... It's kept on the windowsill, but the sunlight isn't very direct. I'm in New Orleans, if that makes any difference.

The pot doesn't have holes or good drainage, so I stopped by the hardware store to get a terra cotta pot with a hole in bottom. It's a little big, should that be an issue? The soil I used is a cactus potting mix, which I read should be fine. I plan on repotting him this evening.

Because the plant is left in the windowsill, it gets sunlight for normal daytime hours (7am - 5pm ish). Not super direct light, but definitely decent amount I think. The roots looked fine to me when I checked the other day, but then again I don't know a whole bunch about spotting rot.

Cactus potting mix should be banned! Or sold with a proviso that it needs cutting with 33%perlite and 33% hort grit. Pot is how much bigger?

Gill UK

Oh gosh, so then what should I do for the soil? Here's a pic of the new pot (left), old pot for size comparison, and the plant. Please help, I'm so worried about keeping him alive and well!

Alana, depending on the root size, if your plant has little to no roots, there is no point potting it in a really huge pot because all of the soil that isn't covered by roots are going to just remain wet and have any benefit for your plant. Then again, a terra cotta pot is very breathable, you just need to becareful with your watering.

Please do yourself and your plant a favor and get also get a bag of coarse perlite.. Cactus Potting Mix is too dense and rich for normal succulent roots, and they don't dry quickly enough for these xerophytic roots to be happy. Make sure you also sift your perlite and use the chunky ones to mix into your soil. I would say 50% Perlite and 50% Cactus soil is a good amount. Ideally, if you know you water on the heavier side, you can even go up to 60% perlite and 40% soil. It's very easy to measure out, you can start by filling up your empty bag with whatever scoop you have - that's how I do it. Each scoop is 1 part. So you should do like 6 even scoops of perlite, 4 even scoops of soil.

Rot is very easy to spot, if your roots are white and stiff - they are healthy. Rot is mushy and soft parts of your plant.

Unfortunately, that's the smallest pot size I could find. The roots are small, especially since I cut back what I thought may be rot.

If I am able to find a smaller plastic pot, would that be preferred to a larger terra cotta pot? Headed to hardware store now for perlite!

I think the pot you purchased is way too big. Honestly, I was going to comment earlier how nice your original pot looked.

If you have a drill, you can use a tile or diamond core bit to simply add a hole. There is a very good thread here: http://www.houzz.com/r/5/3450362/Y2NmMzUx/e/v1/enascbc//u/B37uc_K46XzqEIatoH3Djyt-L9YAzao-6gKkEbma97pL7qQQ01Gch6mEPbkaiaXlI0ATEd_pWn26N7KkK4wyqlb7OovNHIrJ#16108682

Otherwise, I recommend doing a little hunting for a 2.5" or 3.5" pot. Can try local greenhouses, garden centers, or plant nurseries.

It is really surprising how much more volume a slightly bigger pot has. For example:

3.5" = 324mL

4.5" = 648mL

6" = 1630mL!!!

If you choose perlite, make sure to sift it (kitchen sieve works). Wear a mask / don't breathe in the dust. Helps make a much better soil mix.

Carefully wash off all the old soil too. =)

We posted at the same time. Roots look good to me.

Small plastic works too. You can increase the amount of perlite a little to compensate for the lower water loss with plastic indoors.

I like shallower pots whenever possible, so try not to get anything super deep for this plant because the extra depth is not required.

That's very very little roots.. Your pot might be fine, but you definitely need another component like perlite in your soil to ensure it dries faster. Don't worry about the plant. Succulents and be left out of the pot from days to weeks without much harm, you just need to make sure it's a room temp environment away from the sun.

And also, use some skewers or your fingers to remove the old soil from the roots. Then pot it into the new mix and soil.

The plastic is slightly smaller but I mean, not by much at all. I'm thinking I should repot in the terra cotta for a day or so, until I'm able to get some holes drilled into the original pot. Because I do think the size is ideal (not that I know anything here).

Here's the new soil mix: 50-60% perlite, 40-50% cactus potting mix.

Yeah, the roots were a little longer but I was worried it may be rot, and I'd rather cut it off just in case instead of let it spread. I'm thinking still salvageable, right...?

It's very salvageable, I'm not sure what you think is so wrong w/ it, nothing is. Pls try to calm down, nothing is dying nor is it in any danger of doing so. These aren't delicate or fragile plants, it'll be fine.

Just so you know, rotting roots are either soft & mushy (active rot), may not smell good either. Dry & brittle roots are dead & can just be broken off w/ fingers. Roots that don't fit either description I've just given are fine.

The new mix is a vast improvement, your plant will be much happier, enjoy!

Lena

Your new mix does look good. Try potting it a little higher, as the plant will eventually stretch for light covered by the 1 inch depth of the pot's rim. Once you finish potting, don't disturb the roots again - no need to worry about the pot being too big, but just be cautious of overwatering, eventually roots will take over the whole pot in time. Give it a day to rest and water it deeply until you see water coming out from the drainage hole. Make sure you give it sufficient bright light, not direct for the next few weeks as your plant is stressed. Provide alot of ventilation if you can, it'll thoroughly benefit the roots. Your plant will look pretty thirsty for the next few weeks, but in time and careful culture, it should pick back up very quickly..

Can you take another pic of the crown? If there is new growth, if it does it means it's still healthy.

Bernard

Okay Bernard, I'll do that tonight after work. Water deeply this evening, or give a day of rest first? I'll post another pic later, as well. How should I go about providing ventilation?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm inexperienced and worried!!

Water it tomorrow. Give the damaged root tips time to rest and heal up. If you have a mini fan, that would be good or at least a room with some moving air.

No worries, your plant is on its way to recovering.

Alright, just watered. He's sitting in indirect sunlight now. I'll update with pics later. Anything else I should be doing in the meantime?

i doubt pix will make any difference in 24 hrs. Pls know that part of gardening is patience & developing the ability to wait. We've offered what help we could, you did as suggested, we've told you things look better, all is well. What's next is for you to pls. sit back & wait at 3-4 days at least to give the plant time to react & adjust to new mix, etc.

Later =/= 24 hours, I understand it's going to take a while. Thanks.

So I obviously didn't think I would be updating so soon, but I'm really shocked at how much worse it looks with only watering and indirect sunlight, as advised. Again, maybe I'm overreacting, but I wasn't expecting it to look so much worse before improving. Could the discoloration be from the sun or even overwatering (I would be amazed at this one)?

huh. well... I don't know but this looks a whole lot like rot to me..... And its condition seems to be worsening fast. I wonder if any of the stem is brown/black or the roots are rotting...
i would have given this plant more light.
if i had to guess, it seems like it might've been poorly taken care of before it was gifted to you. the poor thing didn't even have a drainage hole... Perhaps too much water too, that lead it to this. Also, the decorative stones it had on top just traps moisture.
I hope I'm wrong and it's not rot... Its course of development just looks too much like the rotting process of one of my most favorite succulents.... ):

are those browned leaves mushy/soft and wrinkly?

I think the damage had already been done when the op originally posted the first pic....whatever it was. The only remedy now is to detatch the offset that was shown in one of the pics and pot that up into a small pot, water once and set aside, the original crown is doomed, sadly. If the offset has a soft leaf, just remove it carefully. Keep us informed as to what you do :)

Gill UK

Even the smaller offset has dark spots on more than one leaf. I'm so upset... In the pics posted before, it looked like the roots were fine. I even cut them back just in case. Can rot set in from an area other than the root? Is this a completely lost cause?

Rot doesn't necessarily come from the roots. I'd wait a day or two, or even three to let the plant heal before potting it if I cut anything on it as well.

I'm sorry Alana, but it does seem to be the end of the plant.... ): but please don't be discouraged. This doesnt mean you dont have the capabilities to care for another one. (: can't improve without failure!

If there are any healthy leaves on the plant, or perhaps even the ones with a little brown on them- you can pluck those off and just lay them on the dirt. They may propagate new plants later on!

Alana, repotting a plant during one of the coldest times of the year will no doubt take a toll on a plant. Having said that, no plants will look great instantly after repotting because most of the fine feeder roots are damaged through the move and the plant is set into panic mood to adapt into a new environment, foliage will be the plant least priorities until the roots can establish itself again.

Judging solely on the pic you posted on the stem and roots, the plant looks healthy.

Could you provide more details on your light condition? And I'm assuming you only watered it once since you repotted, right? Is it placed near a heat source? Those black tips looks like burnt marks to me. Rotted leaves are soft, mushy and usually ooze out water, yours seems dry.

Rot usually sets in when water/moisture can accumulated. such as the crevices or wet soil surrounding the roots.. leading to soft rotting stems/then the leaves.

Bernard

The plant sits on a windowsill of an south-facing window for the early morning hours. I move it back 1--2 feet during the hot midday sun. No heat source nearby.

I don't have any experience with identifying rot, but the leaves really don't seem much softer than usual.

And no, you are correct-- I haven't watered since a day after repotting, which was 4 days ago. The leaves are looking increasingly wrinkled, especially at the tips. Should I water again...?

http://avantgardensne.com/pachyveria-glauca-little-jewel

Alana, does it get very cold by the windowsills? Do you have a thermal stat in your room to measure the temp? Your plant does looks like a Pachyveria Glauca, and pachyverias are not friendly to cold, they usually become dormant when it hits a certain temperature.

I don't think it's rot, the plant is probably very stressed and is dying back all its leaves to conserve enough energy for all the lost roots. So long as the meristem is still dry and thick, even if all the leaves are gone. It will put out new growth once the conditions are ideal again during Spring.

My biggest concern for your plant now is the amount of roots, it's very little for such a big plant to sustain. And since it's in the process of dying back to conserve energy, it just means it's not taking up water properly until it has grown more new roots.

I advise you to go against your visual judgement and wait it out. If you are really concerned about dry roots, stick your finger into the soil to make sure it's completely dry before you water again.

For most dormant plants, they don't need water for weeks to months, moisture won't help if the plant refuse to take any, eventually increasing the potential to rot.

Your best bet now is try to keep the roots warm, slowly establish itself again.

A couple of points about succulents, since you mentioned you're new to this. Those fat, fleshy leaves hold water in reserve, so even now that you see some wrinkling in the leaves, don't worry, the fat part of the plant still has PLENTY of water in there.

When it comes to succulents & the question of watering, we often say:

when in doubt, don't.

That's because succulent plants can recover from underwatering far more than they can from overwatering. Watering combined w/ cooler weather can be the Kiss of Death for some succulents.

So in agreeing w/ Bernard, even tho' you see that wrinkling, pls. do not water now as it may do more harm than good. We know it sounds wrong, but we know these plants & we've gone thru this ourselves. (I don't agree w/ whoever thinks the plant is a goner, I think it's still very salvageable.)

So I'll wish you more luck.

Lena

My succulent looked like this before it died that's why I said it looks like its a goner.

The tips of the leaves began getting black and the black spread rapidly, making the leaves wrinkly. Eventually, it spread to the trunk/stem. The leaves on my plant weren't mushy either.

So what I said wasn't uneducated guessing...

If the leaves begin to fall off by themselves or with a light touch, that's definitely a bad sign. Good luck with your plant. I hope it fairs hetter than mine did.

Yeah, it gets pretty chilly near the window but keep in mind never freezing- I live in New Orleans. I also don't have the plant close enough to the window that I think it would be seriously affected by the cold.

and yes, the soil is completely dry. It sounds like I should hold out on watering though... Right?

Christina, I'm sorry to hear about you losing your plant to dry rot. Do you mind if I ask when did it happen? Was it during a period of high heat and humidity? I had lost some plants through that too, when moisture from humidity attracted rot to grow on the leaves of my plants, eventually spreading to the stem and death ensued. The symptoms though are when the leaves tips or part of turns black and the leaves become sort of translucent - not dry and wrinkly like Alana's.

Alana - Cool temps 60-70 (but not freezing) are actually good periods of rest for winter dormant succulents. Our best judgement is give the plant some time to recuperate and observe the plant closely over the next few days. If you detected the blackness spreading closer and closer to the stem, or leaves turning translucent, let us know or remove them completely.

Root growth can take up to months before the plant can completely take in water normally, so I wouldn't rush into providing more water the plant doesn't need.

Bernard,

It happened around November or October of last year. I had put it outside for it to get some sunlight, but while I was out there was unexpected downpour of rain and I didn't remember that I had left it out until I got back late at night. It was soaked cold. I knew I had screwed up but I had hope for it since the soil dried quickly... until the leaves started falling off and darkening several days later.
I'm using a different computer today, and I can now see what you mean by dry and wrinkly on Alana's plant. The pictures looked a bit different on my laptop.
Looking forward to seeing this plant recover!

Prolonged moisture can lead rot to attack the leaves from any parts, not just the roots/crown. Especially so for climate regions like yours with high humidity, sometimes it best to keep plants shaded from rain. But thanks for sharing your experience with us though.

I don't live in an area with high humidity... In fact it rarely rains. I'm not really sure what you're trying to convey to me here. I know rain is not good for succulents and I know why my plant died. I shared what happened because I thought you were just curious. I am feeling like I'm being slightly attacked, but I hope that's not what's being done here. I am not uneducated. You're welcome?

Christina,

About your comment "So what I said wasn't uneducated guessing...".

I neither suggested or even thought that; I'm sorry if it came across as if I did; I was simply going by appearance from the pix.

Lena

Christina, it puzzles me that you felt that way, my comments are never personal. I'm just being factual to your incident, and to my understanding zone 9 is typically more warm and humid in terms of weather. For well established succulents, getting rain on for a couple of times a week won't kill plants if they are aired properly. In fact, I believed Rina had shared experiences of allowing her plants to be rain upon on naturally, and her plants all do really well.

I shall now refrain from additional comments, I don't enjoy arguing with people over nothing.

Okay, it's been a week and two days since watering. Should I water again? Leaves continue to darken and shrivel.

If there's any leaves that haven't gone mushy... suggest you rescue those by tearing them off the stem then place them on an absorbent surface to dry for a fortnight. Paper towel is ok, bed of sand even better... it'll grow roots from the torn edge in time.

Fwiw for repots from overly damp C&S I usually don't replant straightaway... often let them lie without soil in a shallow cardboard box in sheltered shade for at least a week or 3... before plonking them into fresh gritty mix.

Reroots don't get watered for least a week or 2 after going into new pot either, they recuperate in the shade.

C&S don't need water during winter.

Unfortunately, and likely due to the small roots, this poor plant is a goner. I'm upset but not entirely discouraged. Thank you all for your help, and hopefully I will be ore successful in the future.

Alana, I'm sorry that your plant didn't make it.

It's not easy repotting plants during the heart of winter (though we had a pretty mild one in the east this year), but having said that could you share more on the state of your plant that leads you to declare its death? I hope you didn't uproot your plant, as that instantly ensues death especially at such a stressed state for your plant.

I have some struggling plants that I had repotted during the summer (peak of summer/winter are the worse time to disturbs roots) that had drops all its leaves and wither to a point where it looked like a stump. I didn't toss them, make a small scrap on the stem and surprise to find the stem is still green.

I left them alone, and when the weather cools, I witnessed new sprouts. Which leads me to believe sometimes, plants can wither to go into dormancy. They will emerge again when it slowly regrow its roots when the conditions are ideal once more.

Looking at the first picture, and then later as the damage progressed, it looks as if the plant had frozen, either before you received it, or maybe during a particularly cold night on a windowsill? The core of the plant and the roots seemed okay, it was the outside parts of the leaves that were showing damage, which leads me to think there were external issues affecting it (a freeze or sunburn); leaf damage that wasn't too obvious right away, but in the end too extensive to recover from. :(