A sad, sad stem... Need advice, please..

10 years ago

I have a fuzzy Echeveria (E. pulvinata or E. 'Doris Taylor'? Not sure.. ) in a 10cm/4inch pot (measured at the top/rim) that used to look like this:

That photo was taken in early December, but then by early January it looked like this (the pic was taken after watering so it looked wet):

The leaves were yellowing, had brown tips, but not mushy, they just dried up from the lower leaves upwards and fell off. I stop watering after this (better under than over watering, right?). This week, all leaves have fallen off, only stem left:

I gave it a little tug and was met with some resistance. I took it out of the pot anyway, and the roots looked good to me, at least no rotting. I may have accidentally lost a little root when washing off the soil... ~_~

I'm leaving it unpotted and shaded in my windowsill for the time being. I'm planning to repot it in a smaller pot later on.

Does anyone has any idea of what's happening here? Will it survive and grow leaves again? I haven't had success with any Echeveria so far, don't know why (no chemistry?). This is my last one, the others regretfully didn't make it, lost their battles with rot and sneaky pests :(

Thank you in advance.

Featured Answer

kaktuskris

10 years ago

Looks like you had it in soil that was too water retentive, you gave it too much water, and not enough light. Predictable outcome. It may come back, with care, but why not just start over, with a new plant under better conditions?

Christopher

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Comments (6)

hellkitchenguy Manuel
10 years ago
Hi, I've never had any Echeverias, but those roots just don't look healthy to me. I would say your plant was drowning in a mix that is too water retentive. Going forward, I would get rid of all that dressing you had on top of the soil. It traps water inside the soil, prevents evaporation, and keeps oxygen out.

Truthfully, I would chuck it and start all over again. But, it seems that you are embracing the challenge of saving this one plant (I love doing that sometimes). If I were you and really wanted to save it, I would get a small bag of perlite, and plant that rooted stem in a small container with 100% perlite. Yes, perlite floats, and it's not perfect, but it will let oxygen get to the roots, and will give it a chance too come back to life. This would only be a temporary thing, until the roots have had a chance to bounce back to life. I have saved a couple of hopeless cases by doing that
chuckerfly thanked hellkitchenguy Manuel
rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
10 years ago
Looks like you are using rice husks? I don't have any experience with them and don't know how much water they retain, but know they are recommended for potting mixes. Are they mixed with anything else?

I use top-dressing on all succulents and many other plants I have - as long as the potting mix is well-draining, I believe the top-dressing doesn't cause any problems. What I don't know for sure is the more humid climate - we have some high humidity in summer, but not months and months of it.

Rina
chuckerfly thanked rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
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chuckerfly
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you all for the responses and advice. One question, would it be okay to leave it unpotted for the next 2 weeks or the sooner the better to pot in new mix? I'm leaving town the day after tomorrow for 2 weeks. I guess I'm just anxious that I won't be around if something happens to it during that time.. :/
Tamiya #1 (AU, SG, MY & ZZZzzzz...)
10 years ago
I have left barerooted E for over 2 mths (over summer here!) on a cardboard tray in shade... they start growing roots from several spots :) only just stuck them back into a pot of dirt last week

otoh mine had a few leaves on each 3-6" stem. Have doubts if your leafless stem has enough energy stored to do anything, I don't think it'll photosynthesise much via that stem :(

best get another cutting and don't water it until it screams for water by leaves wrinkling like a raisin... when it's humid or cold, that could be months!!
chuckerfly thanked Tamiya #1 (AU, SG, MY & ZZZzzzz...)
chuckerfly
Original Author
10 years ago
Well, I guess we'll see if my stem decided to do anything, hehe.. :p