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bryanthegrower

Succulent w/ black tips dying

6 years ago

Hello - I have this succulent which was doing well but now a lot of it’s leaves are turning black on the tip and then falling off. I just pulled about 10-15 dead leaves off this one. Any idea what is causing this?


I water once a week and it’s getting tons of light on a windowsill. Am I watering too much? Other possible causes?




Comments (9)

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Does your pot have a drainage hole?

    What is the potting mix? Should be a fast draining mix. If it’s still in the mix from when you bought it, repot in fresh fast draining mix.

  • 6 years ago

    Yes it has a drainage hole and a soil that is a mix of succulent soil with perlite added for extra drainage. So I don’t think soil is the problem. I have two of these plants and they are both slowly dying after growing well for a while.


    i am wondering if it is over watering? I only water once a week. Also I began using a succulent fertilizer this summer could that be the problem?

  • 6 years ago

    This is an example of how the tips look before they fall off.



  • 6 years ago

    Thank you! Do you think it could possibly be salt build up? I never water them all the way through and I know this can cause salt build up. But they are both clippings less than a year old so maybe that’s too soon for salt?

  • 6 years ago

    JMO, but it may be oedema, and that is also result of incorrect water uptake. Plant is probably not getting enough light either. Bleached-out color is visible, leaves are very light green toward the end (where attached to the stem). Stems seems to be quite weak, I believe they should start getting woodier by now. 10-15 dead leaves are too many at once. While oldest leaves shrivel and dry, it is usually 1-2 at the time, here and there. They dry up crisp.

    If you are fertilizing too much and/or using hard water, salts can build up quite fast. And, depending on what the pot is made of, it could be leaching some minerals too. How much perlite is there in your potting mix? Plant is 'telling' you it is not too happy, and very often it is poor drainage. When I water my succulents, it is thoroughly, until water start running out of drainage hole(s). What is the window exposure and is it unobstructed? How long ago did you repot and how did the roots looked? Did you get all old soil off them?


    bryanthegrower thanked rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
  • 6 years ago

    The plant is on a west facing windowsill so it gets lots of light in my opinion including direct light during the second half of the day. There’s nothing obstructing it. As for perlite I think I did a rough 50/50 perlite and succulent soil mix.


    maybe it is over fertilizing or salt build up. What would you recommend? Should I water very thoroughly next time to flush, will that be enough if it is salt?

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    You should always water that way. Move your plants to a sink or outside, water until it comes out the holes each time you water.

  • 6 years ago

    As socks said..if you fertilize with every watering, flush at least every 3rd time. And use 1/2 recommended strength - weakly weekly is the mantra to remember. I fertilize quite seldom, since my plants are outside and get watered when it rains. And now, since winter is coming, the fertilizing should stop. There is no point to force feed the plants when days are short (and therefore light is usually much less). Growth of most succulents slows down during dormant period, even if they will slowly grow inside because they do not go completely dormant.

    Light/sunlight coming thru the windows is much weaker than direct light/sunlight. It gets lowered by the glass, and even more so in case windows are protected. What we think is a lot, may not be. Plant will tell you. If it start etiolating and/or lighter in color, there isn't enough sunlight. 50/50 mix should work well. I asked few more questions about repotting should you care to talk more :)