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oblitus_angeli

Help Id Some Succulents?

Hello! I'm new to the world of succulents (plants in general) and I was wondering if someone might be able to id a couple of mine? I've tried id'ing them by myself using the a few of succulent galleries, but haven't had much luck.


Plant A

[ Description is of the succulent on the left. The stem (or is it stalk?) is about 1 inch tall, with rounded, textured leaves that have reddish-brown edges ]


Plant B

[ Three of the same type of plant, plus the afore mentioned succulent. The stems are about 2-3 inches in height, with short, rounded "leaves" with a dull "point" on each "leaf". The stems fade from a vibrant purplish-red down to a green. Roughly half of the stems are a cracked-looking tan. The "leaves" have a reddish-brown tinge around the edges. ]


They're both a bit battered and not in the best condition at the moment (I hope to improve that in a few days though). I believe they might be in the same family, but I'm not 100% sure.


- I can try and take pictures in better lighting if needed, but this is the best I can do right now -

Comments (8)

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Stems grow longer in insufficient light, so length isn't best way to ID. But your pics helped and you have ID from Garrett.

    Are they rootless cuttings or plants with roots? What kind of soil did you use?

  • 9 years ago

    Thanks for the ID, Garrett!


    @Rina, as far as I'm aware of, they all have roots. I don't know what type of soil is being used though. I got them from Lowes & there was no information tag on the pot, (or on any of the cacti and succulents) so I've been floundering around, trying to figure out how to correctly care for these guys. I recently ordered some pots that a roughly the same size as the one pictured (if a bit deeper) and plan on getting succulent soil for them some time this week.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    For many succulents, you may not need much deeper pots. Are you planning on potting them separately? If so, get smaller pots. Or keep sedums together in existing pot (it is big enough for lots of new growth) and get a separate pot for crassula.

    I do not use bagged soil but make mix of grit, perlite and some turface that I keep succulents in. Many ppl use it but mix in minimum 50% (of the volume) sifted perlite or pumice if available.

    When repotting, it is advised to get all old soil off the roots as it is usually peat (or very peaty mix). Check the roots; get rid of all broken, dry or otherwise damaged. Pot into well draining soil, give it day or 2 and then water. If there are no roots, pot them up same way but do not water until new growth start to appear.

    The will need lots of light, but acclimatize slowly to avoid sunburn.

    What is your general location or growing zone?

    Oblitus Angeli (6b) thanked rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
  • 9 years ago

    I plan on separating the crassula from the sedums, yes. I've got two crassulas but the leaves kind of fell off and I'm attempting to propagate them (I recently moved & don't know exactly what happend to them. One minute they were fine & the next they fell off). The new pots are only a little deeper than the current one, but they've got better drainage.

    I'll look into making my own soil mix & see how much it'll cost. I'm on a bit of a budget right now, but it shouldn't be too pricey, yeah? And thanks for the advise on repotting!

    I generally try to get them as much sunlight as I can and I set them outside when the weather is between 65 and 80 degrees and isn't humid. My growing zone is 6b and I've got horribly inconsistent weather.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The least expensive way to make better mix is to get bag of perlite and mix as I suggested above.

    Making your own gritty mix using substrates like grit, turface and many more could be less $, but only if you buy ingredients in bulk. If you have space to store extra and enough plants, that would be most economical way. Buying grit and turface in 50lb bags is considerably less $ than buying small bags. I buy perlite in huge bags too - they are big since it is very light. But if you have only few plants, bag of perlite is under $10 and could be enough. But there is no point of adding only a bit of it - unless you mix it 1:1 with soil, it won't help that much.

    My plants are still indoors (colder zone) and will go and stay outdoors as soon as nighttime temps are staying reliably around 50F. I do not take them out on nice days only - too many t carry back and forth :)

    I am just speculating but if the leaves of your crassula just fall off easily, you may have watering problem...even more important to use very well draining mix.

    Btw, thank you for posting your zone - it would help if you just add it to your name...

  • 9 years ago

    I've only got the succulents pictured, plus a couple kalanchoe tomentosa, which are the only ones I was able to correctly identify on my own. I hope to get a few more succulents this month (gonna check the local plant nursery & see if they've got a better selection than Lowes)

    I'll be going to Lowes in a few days to look at the stuff I'll need to make a good soil mix and will hopefully be able to get everything I need.

    As far as watering goes, I have no idea if I'm watering them too much or too little. I water them about once a week, but I've read that of their leaves are wrinkly, they need to be watered more often? & my crassula has a couple wrinkly leaves.

    I'm still pretty new to this site, so I'm still learning the ropes. I've added my zone to my name tho

  • 9 years ago

    Thank you for adding the zone. It is easier just to look up to your name than reading thru old posts :)

    If you are not sure about watering, a bamboo skewer or chopstick may help: insert deep into the pot trying to avoid the roots. Pull it out after few minutes. If it come out dry, time to water. If it comes out damp/cold feeling and it may have some small particles sticking to it, the potting mix is still wet and wait.

    Wrinkly leaves are usually from overwatering. Thirsty plant could have wrinkly leaves too - so it may be more difficult to know what the problem is. If your plant is in very peaty soil and the peat dried up at some point, it could have become hydrophobic. When that happens, water is repelled, it will 'slide' around it and run out making you think that you watered enough. Yet, the roots are not getting any moisture. They have also difficult time to breathe properly, since the hydrophobic peat could be as hard as a brick. So repotting into well draining mix that retains some water but drains excess out should be first aid :)

    Any mix will dry up faster in warm or hot temps, so that is another reason why exact schedule for watering is not as precise - unless everything is controlled as they usually can in greenhouses. So checking wits wooden stick will help. Eventually, you'll be able to tell by heft of the pot: dry is much lighter than moist. In hot months, you may need to water every 3-5 days. As it gets colder, less often. Some succulents should be left completely without water for months during certain times of the year.

    Plants you have now are quite easy to take care of, excellent for someone just starting out.

    Oblitus Angeli (6b) thanked rina_Ontario,Canada 5a