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katelyn_morphew8a

Why does my succulent look so sad?

I bought several succulents a few weeks ago and some of them have started to look sad, especially this one (I'm not sure the variety). I have been watering once every 7-10 days and making sure the soil is dry before I do. I had them in a west facing window seal and added a grow light hoping they get enough light. What am I doing wrong?

Comments (15)

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Looks like it may be overwatered. Has this been repotted since purchased? Im no expert, but your soil mix is probably retaining too much water, and your plant just keeps soaking it up. Try repotting in a gritty mix 50% perlite or pumice and 50%cactus/succulent mix. Wait a week or so after repotting to water :)

    Other option may be he's thirsty. Some of my succulents get a like shrilvy looking when it needs to be water. What zone are you in? I'm no help with grow zones, but your humidity, temperature ect. will affect your plants, some of the other members may be able to give more detailed help.

  • 9 years ago
    Thanks for the input Shannon. The pot does have a drainage hole. I am using the miracle grow soil for cactus, should I still add addition perlite to that? I just watered this morning because I thought maybe it was too dry.
  • 9 years ago

    I have the same plant and it was doing the same thing.

    I replaced it's soil with a more gritty one (add more perlite to your soil), and took it out of direct sun/heat. It's very hot in my area, so I gave it water and crossed my fingers. Overnight it's began to perk up and look much better.

    I will keep it out of direct bright light for a few more days and slowly acclimate it. I water once every 10< days.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I would add 50% perlite, and most here will likely say the same. Added insurance in a sense. The more compact the soil is, the longer it will stay wet, gritty mediums help break up the soil (in a sense) and create tiny little spaces for the water to drain through.

    Also agree with Rina, water by skewer method not by days. temperature and humidity change daily, so you cannot ensure the growing conditions you are providing are the same week to week.

  • 9 years ago
    Thanks for all the advice! The chopstick trick sounds great! I moved it into a different pot with dry cactus mix, hopefully it will perk up.
  • 9 years ago
    Does anyone know the variety of succulent this is?
  • 9 years ago

    Perle von Nürnberg I believe

  • 9 years ago

    It's of the Echeveria Genus

  • 9 years ago

    Its the right colour for E. perle von nurnberg but the leaves look a tad narrow, Graptoveria Debbi could be possible?

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    IMO the leaves are way too thin to be G. Debbie. Here are two pictures to compare side by side. Graptoveria is a hybrid species (graptopetalum x Echeveria) and has thicker leaves than an Echeveria.

    Graptoveria Debbie

    Debbie again


    PVN

  • 9 years ago

    Hi Shannon, this is my small Graptoveria Debbi, which i thought resembled Katelyn's plant but looking again I think you're right about the thickness of the leaves, they're different plants. Still not sure it's a PVN though?


  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Beautiful plant you have! I have been wrong before lol. A picture after first purchase, when the plant was healthier may help. I do agree it does not have the exact leaf shape of a Pvn but this may be due to conditions.

  • 9 years ago

    Katelyn, so it sounds like you have recently watered this plant but the leaves are still shrivelled? Couple of other things may be worth considering: could be that the plant has lost it's roots to rot (or a pest), try giving the plant a gentle tug to see if it comes away from the soil. If the plant feels firmly rooted, another possibility is that the roots are situated in a clump of hydrophobic peat which the water is not penetrating. You may need to consider digging the plant up in order to find out exactly what is going on.

    Andrew

  • 9 years ago
    Andrew, I took the advice of an earlier comment and reported it in dry soil. At that time was I was able to examine the roots and there were still some nice healthy looking roots from what I can tell.
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