What to Do When Succulents Grow Leggy? Causes and Solutions Explained

Qing Tian (Sunny Day)

 Ye Huimei

Jay Chou 

00:00/04:29

BGM: Jay Chou - Qing Tian (Sunny Day)

When growing succulents, a leggy plant is really not good, and it is truly frustrating. So today let's talk about the causes of succulents growing leggy and how to fix it.

What Is Leggy Growth

Leggy growth means the stem of the succulent stretches out wildly, losing its original short and stocky shape.

A perfect example of good growth, and a messy one

Causes of Leggy Growth

1. Insufficient sunlight (the main cause)

2. Too much water

3. Too much fertilizer

4? Too much fertilizer (mainly nitrogen-based fertilizer)

Especially when too many succulents are planted in a small pot, they easily grow leggy.

A wrong example, stuffed too full with no room to grow

The Harm of Leggy Growth

If a succulent grows leggy, it just does not look that good.

The leggy stem is thin and weak, so it easily suffers from pests and diseases.

Of course, a compact one still looks better, Echeveria 'Moon Goddess'

When Leggy Growth Easily Happens

Succulents easily grow leggy during their growing season,

and the growing season for most succulents is spring and autumn, so at these times either insufficient sunlight or too much fertilizer will also cause leggy growth.

Also, many people grow succulents indoors and put them in places with seriously insufficient sunlight, which also easily causes leggy growth in a short time~

Indoor leggy growth looks like this

Although leggy growth will not cause the succulent to wither, staying leggy all the time is a bit unattractive, so if possible, it is better to deal with it.

How to Prevent Leggy Growth

Preventing succulents from growing leggy is very difficult, and there are many reasons: not only insufficient sunlight, but also too much water or too much fertilizer, and these are all hard to tell apart. So even when you are clearly careful, the succulent still grows leggy. The prevention methods are as follows:

1. Put the succulent in a place with sufficient light

2、Water only after the soil has dried out completely

3. Fertilize only during the spring and autumn growing seasons（Mainly phosphorus and potassium fertilizer)

PS:When you first get a succulent, if you use the internet and illustrated guides to look up how to care for it, you can also grasp its growth pattern and how much water to give, thereby controlling its leggy growth.

How to Deal with Leggy Growth

1. Beheading

How do you straighten out a succulent that has already grown crooked and leggy?

Just behead it directly, and beheading has another benefit - after beheading a leggy stem, it will grow N heads.

The steps are as follows:

1. Take about 1cm or more of stem from the mother plant

2. Move the mother plant to a cool, ventilated place and wait for the wound to dry

3. Wait, wait, wait, and the spot where the mother plant was beheaded successfully sprouts heads~

4. Let the wound on the stem section cut off by beheading dry, and wait for it to re-root

5. After rooting two weeks later, repot it

2. Repotting

In the case of a mixed planting, as the succulents grow, the pot's growing space becomes less and less sufficient.

And because poor ventilation may also cause leggy growth, if the succulents in the mixed planting have already filled the pot, then at this point you should consider repotting.

Repotting is best done in spring and autumn, and the steps are as follows:

1. Shake off the soil on the roots and check whether the roots are in good condition

2. If there are rotten parts, cut them off and repot, and be sure to use succulent soil; using vegetable garden soil will not do

This pot of Sempervivum definitely needs repotting

A mixed planting like this has good ventilation and does not need repotting~

3. Pulling Off Leaves

A succulent that has grown leggy no longer has compact leaves, and the layers are uneven, so at this point you have to harden your heart and decisively pull off the leaves.

The pulled-off leaves can be used for leaf propagation, and can also quickly turn the succulent into an old stem.

Steps:

1. Pull off healthy leaves, being careful not to damage the growth point

2. Leaf propagation demonstration:

The one on the left had its growth point damaged

3. Wait quietly for the leaf propagation to take root, and be sure to place it in a cool, ventilated place

4. Once rooted, transplant it, and give water one week later

For details on how to water, see - Do You Know How to Water Succulents? [Part 1]

- Summary of Frequently Asked Questions About Succulent Leggy Growth -

Q. Do all varieties of succulents grow leggy?

A. Yes, and even in the Cactaceae family, quite a few grow leggy.

Q. If there is enough sunlight, is it hard for them to grow leggy?

A. Of course, but if direct sunlight lasts too long, it can also sunburn the succulent. So you have to control the sunlight duration well..

Q. Can a succulent root if only the stem is used for cuttings?

A. No, because the succulent must carry out photosynthesis, so it must have leaves; even just 1 leaf can let the cut succulent root.

- Review of the Previous Issue -