rescue mission

10 years ago

I'm repotting this one (I don't know her name) again. The user wantonamara gave me instructions on what to do: "I remove old soil with a sharp but rounded chop stick and a gentle hose to get the stubborn stuff off. I sprinkle the roots with cinnamon for a fungicide. THEN , I let it dry for a couple of days to let the bruised roots callus. I plant it in soil and DO NOT WATER it for about 3 days." (thanks again)

But the roots did not look like this before, so I'm not sure they're normal (the reddish colored dusting isn't soil but cinnamon). The base is brownish too, and the roots look crazy minimal for three plants....

And when I took it out the pot, the soil looked like this:

A good percentage (the old soil I guess) is dry and sandy despite my over watering, and the rest (new soil, already mixed) is humid and dark.

(Yeah, I use small rocks instead of chicken grit, since the latter isn't available here, and my other succulents seem to like it enough)

Can I save her or is she already rotting?

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Comments (3)

rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
10 years ago
Possibly Crassula tetragona?

Tips from wantonamara are good; many of us avoid any sand in potting mixes. Many just purchased plants may have small root balls for various reasons. Not quite sure what you are concerned about - I would pot it up into very well draining mix and let it grow. It is impossible to tell from your photo if there is any rot at the bottom of the stems, at least for me.
R
Original Author
10 years ago
rina_, I'm concerned because it seems to have lost a lot of its roots plus the stems used to be green all the way down, and now they're brown.. and this will be its second repotting, which means I didn't do a great job the first time. Yeah, I don't use sand either but by the texture I can guess the original mix it was planted in had a percentage of sand.

Here's a (possibly..) better pic of its bases:

I'm mostly afraid for the stem on top of the picture (yellowy, wrinkly, sad). And the leaves are wrinkly (it's more visible in the pictures in another thread).
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rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
If any part of stem is soft/squishy and either yellowing or dark in color, it may be rotting. If so, I would cut it off until a healthy tissue remain, let the plant callus and then pot in well draining mix. Wrinkly leaves are possibly from plant being thirsty - how long after original repotting before you watered? Are you reusing the old mix?

If stems got little darker since first repotting, that may not be rot but just from being in the soil - but only you can answer that. Rotting is quite fast, stems darken quite a bit and are also soft. Gentle squeeze to check.
R thanked rina_Ontario,Canada 5a