She keeps losing her bottom leaves. And most her leaves curl downwards, what do I need to do? I only water it once a month around the root ball. I have other baby succulents around it propagating
I never do, either! I fail EVERYTIME. And I’ve read and read and read. Hard to deal with in hot, humid tropical zone!🫤
Al115
Much much smaller pot, for starters. The rootball should take up between 1/2 to 2/3 fo the pot’s volume. Too large of a pot = excess soil = takes longer for soil to completely dry = increased risk of overwatering and rot. Too large of a pot can also result in the plant focusing all of its time and energy on filling that extra space in roots, which can result in little to no growth above the soil.
You also need to rework your watering habits. Succulents like deep but infrequent waterings. This means that you should only water when the plant shows signs of thirst (such as deflated-looking, wrinkled leaves), and when those signs appear, you need to thoroughly saturate the soil. If you top water, the water should be running out of the drainage hole. If you bottom water, you should leave the pot in the water until the top of the soil is wet.
I’d also recommend repotting into a grittier substrate. A good starting mix is a 1:1 mix of succulent soil to inorganic grit, such as perlite or pumice.
It seems to be getting relatively decent lighting, as the newest growth looks decently compact, which can admittedly be a bit difficult to achieve indoors with these types of succulents since they are such high-light plants.
Christys-succulents
I have heard leaves curling down is due to overwatering, so having in such a big pot takes dirt longer to dry out. All succulents lose bottom leaves, natural course of life. I usually plant in smaller pot and water once a week since dries out quicker. I also swear by Bonsai Jack Gritty Mix. Expensive, but can be reused, as long as no bugs. I
grebilrancher
She needs freakin light
IJustWantWaffles_87
More light. Less pot space. Most succs do better in pots that are just slightly larger than their root ball. Will lessen your risk of overwatering and root rot.
7 Comments
Smaller pot. More light.
I never do, either! I fail EVERYTIME. And I’ve read and read and read. Hard to deal with in hot, humid tropical zone!🫤
Much much smaller pot, for starters. The rootball should take up between 1/2 to 2/3 fo the pot’s volume. Too large of a pot = excess soil = takes longer for soil to completely dry = increased risk of overwatering and rot. Too large of a pot can also result in the plant focusing all of its time and energy on filling that extra space in roots, which can result in little to no growth above the soil.
You also need to rework your watering habits. Succulents like deep but infrequent waterings. This means that you should only water when the plant shows signs of thirst (such as deflated-looking, wrinkled leaves), and when those signs appear, you need to thoroughly saturate the soil. If you top water, the water should be running out of the drainage hole. If you bottom water, you should leave the pot in the water until the top of the soil is wet.
I’d also recommend repotting into a grittier substrate. A good starting mix is a 1:1 mix of succulent soil to inorganic grit, such as perlite or pumice.
It seems to be getting relatively decent lighting, as the newest growth looks decently compact, which can admittedly be a bit difficult to achieve indoors with these types of succulents since they are such high-light plants.
I have heard leaves curling down is due to overwatering, so having in such a big pot takes dirt longer to dry out. All succulents lose bottom leaves, natural course of life. I usually plant in smaller pot and water once a week since dries out quicker. I also swear by Bonsai Jack Gritty Mix. Expensive, but can be reused, as long as no bugs. I
She needs freakin light
More light. Less pot space. Most succs do better in pots that are just slightly larger than their root ball. Will lessen your risk of overwatering and root rot.
The pot is too big