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vrl206

succulent help, please...

8 years ago

hi,


i'm a bit embarrassed to post this here considering the sad current state of my plants. the first picture is how the arrangement i bought looked in march of 2016, and the second and third is how it looks today. i water it normally about every 3-4 weeks, and every week or two during the summer. a few questions:


1) the haworthia's bottom leaves have been turning yellow. i picked one off and now the plant is wobbly--have i destroyed it? i read that the reason the plant has reddened is because i have given it too much sun. i'm wondering how i can give that plant less sun while not giving the other (gollum jade?) plant not enough sun. thoughts? anything i can do to help the haworthia?

2) are the plants just too big for this pot? should i move one, or both of them? with plants like these, can they be trimmed to stay small in their original pot?

3) the third long budded plant looks like it is stretching for more sun--again, i tried to provide more sun but stopped when i noticed the negative effects on the other plants. is this just what happens when you have multiple succulents in one pot?


thank you once again for answering my never ending questions--you all are the real pros!






Comments (4)

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    It's just that even though they're all succulents they do all have different light tolerances and needs. I would take that arrangement apart and find plants with similar light requirements and group 2-3 together that way.


    Also, you know we have to ask - does the pot have a drainage hole? :) I can't really tell from the photos but is the Haworthia's bottom leaves are yellowing it may be getting too much water. What is your soil mix like?


    When changing the lighting for your succulents be sure to acclimate a little at a time - a big change in sun light can burn or shock even a plant that enjoys full sun if it hasn't been slowly introduced.

    vrl206 thanked elucas101
  • 8 years ago

    @elucas101 yes indeed, there is a drainage hole :) i've never really investigated the soil mix, but the very top is a layer of rocks. the soil would be whatever it was sold with. i've been moving around a lot so i think the change in lighting has taken its toll on the haworthia. is there a brand of soil you recommend? i think i will have to take each little guy out and give each their own pot. would it be ok to re-pot the haworthia back in this pot with new soil, or do you think he needs something bigger? thank you!!

  • 8 years ago

    Awesome news on the drainage hole!


    Yes, I would definitely take everything out and check the roots & the mix it's in - chances are it's a very water retentive mix, that's mostly what plants come in from the growers. I would just get a bag of perlite & heavily mix that in regular potting soil or cactus / succulent mix. You don't need anything fancy, you just want to make it so the mix drains well and dries a lot faster. I mix in like 60% perlite, sometimes more.


    Hard to tell proportions from the photo but you want the pot to be just a bit bigger than the plant, not a ton of extra room in the root area because that will also just hold excess moisture.


    I think your Haworthia still looks good!! Don't count him out yet! If the roots are good then just repot in that well draining mix & let it grow for a while in the right light & all, I bet you it will start recovering.


    The other little guys might be harder to recuperate but you could always try. If you're really patient you could try and salvage leaves to start new plants.


    Good luck, let us know how you progress.

    vrl206 thanked elucas101
  • 8 years ago

    thank you! as soon as i can get to the garden store i will do all of the above and promise to update! have a great one :)