Do I have a super power? I kill everything I look at… my BF just calls them my “next victim” when I get a new plant. So I told him I wouldn’t touch it but every month or so maybe giving it some water when he comes to visit me in my dorm… it still died… I give my old jade to him and he treats them like garbage (pouring bong water into it etc) and that girl is thriving. Do I just have a black thumb? Are plants doomed the moment I buy them? 😭
As for light, it’s next to this giant window in my dorm, no direct light but plenty coming in for the coffee table…
Also, I got them from Trader Joe’s, should I have reported? (This also happens when I buy plants from Home Depot, wlamart, target, nursery…)
My pets are thriving, but maybe I’m not a good plant mom 🙁
by MurlocGo_Murglergle
21 Comments
Not in my house
Sorry, clarification, I don’t mean autocorrect to say reported, but meant re-potted
Looks like you’ve cracked the code, well done you
That died by drowning
Always re-pot succulents asap. They need to be in a substrate that is at least 50% inorganic grit. Only water them when they show signs of thirst. This one died because it was in soil that stayed too wet for too long.
> no direct light.
It needed lots of direct light.
Yeah, looks like too much water really. Does that pot drain? Standing in water will make the roots rot, even if you water infrequently
Looks like root rot
I don’t have any advice, but I am terrible with succulents too! Don’t feel too bad. I put them directly under a grow light, only water when completely dry, they thrive for a few months, and then spontaneously die. I have been very successful with many other species of plants, but anything remotely succulent related is doomed with me. So when I hear succulents are hard to kill I have to disagree. I think some people just do better with certain types of plants. For me, tropical plants seem to thrive the most.
Not a super power, just a lack of knowledge. Like any hobby or skill, a lack of knowledge and experience wont take you very far. It’s like asking someone to cook you a tasty home made meal when they only know how to heat up frozen pizza and chicken nuggets.
Read up on r/succulents and you’ll figure it out. If not you will always kill your plants. Good luck 😄👍
Quite the opposite
lol they’re the easiest things to kill!! I have sooo many plants and succulents are ones I always seem to kill
Apparently not at Walmart! I just went there this evening and they had whole racks full of succulents that looked worse than these. Seriously.
If still green take one of the two remaining live leafs and start the plant from the leaf. A few ways to start the root check online for how and which soil to use .
Note that succulent is a costal succulent , prefers sprits of water and will grow to the size of a half volley ball
Oh honey no that’s just the lie Big Succulent perpetuates so we buy succulents
I’ve killed every single one. I think because I’m proficient in taking care of plants that like water, I have absolutely no skill with them. It’s like a different plant language. I don’t know how to chill with them.
No direct light is a problem. Most succulents need full, direct light. Some epiphytes would be happy enough without it, you should try a holiday cactus, or a ric rack, or any epyphillum.
Also I take it that’s a plastic pot inside a pot with no holes?
When you buy it, you need to repot into a well draining compost (the nursery composts are always peat, or peat like, what you can keep a succulent alive in in a commercial, carefully controlled nursery is not the same as at home). And it will be safest in a pot with holes in the bottom, sitting on a drip tray. Water when dry (not on a schedule) and water until the water comes out the bottom. Well draining means about 50% inorganic, ideally something like grit, but coarse sand or perlite can work if you already own them (if you are buying something buy grit or fine gravel).
You have to remove as much of the nursery compost as is practical.
If you leave it in a ceramic over pot you can’t see if you have overwatered, the water gets trapped by the roots, and the whole plant rots.
You can smash holes in the bottom using a nail (hit the nail with a hammer) if you find the over pot aesthetically pleasing, although there is a tiny risk of breaking the pot I’ve never actually broken one this way (safer to drill, easier to smash). Then plant straight into that pot, and use that pot on a drip tray.
As a bare bare bare minimum, even if you don’t get better compost and don’t smash holes in the bottom, you need to take the inner pot out of the outer pot when you water, and leave it sitting in the sink till it doesn’t drip anymore, before putting it back in the outer pot. Although if it’s too cold and dark even this can lead to rot, as the nursery compost retains too much water.
Oh yeah, water less when it’s colder/darker outside i.e. in winter.
Edit: two things I should have said, if it’s cooler then watering from above can also cause a problem if the water sits in the crown of the plant, and if you do get an epiphyte cactus they actually like a little orchid bark in the mix as much as they like grit, because they are tropical so like tropical things.
hmm… maybe my dying jade plant needs bong water to thrive! *thanks your bf while taking a fat rip*
I put mine in a zero soil mix of orchid bark, chicken grit which is usually crushed granite,pumice, perlite.
Not succulent mix
Not cacti mix
And then lots of light and supplemental light if you can’t get it full sunlight
I have over 50 happy, healthy plants. I have killed every succulent I have ever been given. They aren’t for everyone. I’m someone who likes to fuss with my plants. Apparently they like to be ignored. They are quite easy to kill.
People water succulents too often, that’s why they die
I have no idea how y’all have managed to kill so many succulents. I’m the most neglectful plant parent ever and I’ve never killed a single one 😂 They’re the only plant I can keep alive. Maybe neglect is the secret.
As for this one, it has rotted from being too wet. Having it inside that cover pot could be part of the reason it wasn’t able to fully dry out. You wait until the leaves start to wrinkle (then maybe an extra few days, or weeks, if you’re me) then water thoroughly and drain very well. Then leave again. You can try more optimal soil mixes but I’ve only ever used straight potting mix. Literally indestructible. I’m kind of impressed.