Current Events > Any succulent experts here?

(+) Yeah! (+)

This jade plant I've been propagating took a very sudden turn for the worst and I'm not sure why.

It's in succulent mix, gets 4-5 hours of good sunlight from the window and I water it every 3 weeks or so. It had been thriving until the last couple of weeks.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/7/3/AANrk6AAExm9.jpg

I thought you meant something else

I hear those and cacti can be hard to keep alive. Seems like it would be easier to get a plastic one.

Maybe water it less. My lady waters hers, at most, once a month. I usually have to remind her.
Typically when a part of hers died, it would look bad, but then like two sprouts would replace it.

It could be sunburned if it's not acclimated to the sun. Usually happens when newer plants with unestablished roots. It also looks like it has rot which will prevent those leaves to recover.

You can perhaps use a window screen when putting out in the sun. Make sure the soil is well draining and doesn't compact. Cut off and discard the bad leaves. Water only when the soil is completely dry.

How much water are you giving it at a time? Does the pot have drainage holes? Is the soil completely dry between waterings?

A_Good_Boy posted...

How much water are you giving it at a time? Does the pot have drainage holes? Is the soil completely dry between waterings?

I fully soak the soil via bottom watering, let it drain until nothing drips out through the holes and then wait for the soil to completely dry before doing it again.

Overwatering and/or not enough sun. People underestimate just how much sun succulents need. It's a desert plant, it needs sun all day, not just a few hours.

Has it been getting really tall, really fast? Dropping leaves from the bottom first, towards the top? It's called getting "leggy", and it's a clear indicator that it isn't getting enough light.

pretzelcoatl posted...

Overwatering and not enough sun. People underestimate just how much sun succulents need. It's a desert plant, it needs sun all day, not just a few hours.

Has it been getting really tall, really fast? It's called getting "leggy", and it's a clear indicator that it isn't getting enough light.

The window it's in means it's getting light all day, it just isn't going to get direct light all day because sun moves.

Compsognathus posted...

The window it's in means it's getting light all day, it just isn't going to get direct light all day because sun moves.

Do you have the ability to move it outside for a few days and see how it fares? I usually need a grow light for succulents, I live in the Midwest. I have an adenium I've had for years and always wondered what I was doing wrong. Once I gave it the light it needed, it thrived.

I'm kinda afraid that putting it outside in Kansas City's current 100+ degree, insane humidity heat wave will just nuke it.

Even my mom who gardens as a hobby wouldn't touch succulents.

Looks like to me it's not getting enough sun. I don't know much about cactus, but I grow a lot of vegetables and when the stalk stretches out like that and the leaves are spread out, it's trying to get closer to the sun and get more light dispersal on it's leaves. I've had it happen to pepper plants when we had overcast weather for nearly two weeks, they grew very tall but didn't produce much for leaves or peppers.

St0rmFury posted...

Even my mom who gardens as a hobby wouldn't touch succulents.

Their label as a "beginner" plant is sort of a misnomer. Low watering requirements is not the same as easy to care for, I find them harder than most normal plants.

If you really consider what you're trying to accomplish, you're attempting to take a desert plant and grow it in conditions wildly different than it's native environment.

Compsognathus posted...

I'm kinda afraid that putting it outside in Kansas City's current 100+ degree, insane humidity heat wave will just nuke it.

It probably will. Wait until the temp stabilizes, and then give it a try.

It will probably have to be an outdoor plant in the summer, grow light in the winter.

pretzelcoatl posted...

Their label as a "beginner" plant is sort of a misnomer. Low watering requirements is not the same as easy to care for, I find them harder than most normal plants.

If you really consider what you're trying to accomplish, you're attempting to take a desert plant and grow it in conditions wildly different than it's native environment.

Yeah, their plump looking leaves can fool a lot of people into thinking they need a lot of water to maintain that plumpness.

pretzelcoatl posted...

Their label as a "beginner" plant is sort of a misnomer. Low watering requirements is not the same as easy to care for, I find them harder than most normal plants.

If you really consider what you're trying to accomplish, you're attempting to take a desert plant and grow it in conditions wildly different than it's native environment.

This is the only one of my many succulents that's currently struggling at the moment. It's why it's throwing me a bit.

a succulent Chinese meal?!

I think its the soil its in. You should buy some from the store and ask what's best for it. The Alkaline level of the soil is probably it.

thronedfire2 posted...

a succulent Chinese meal?!

I see you know your judo well.

If we're talking about succulents in this topic, here's one I was able to grow on my own.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/0/8/AAPVm4AAExpE.jpg