Succulent leaves suddenly turning wilted? It could be a soil problem that needs to be dealt with promptly

As temperatures gradually rise, succulents often develop a softening condition, which makes succulent fans very anxious. In fact, there are many reasons for this situation. When flower lovers find their succulents' leaves turning soft, don't panic; check the cause clearly before treating them. Succulent leaves turning soft is a sign that the succulent is consuming its own nutrients and cannot replenish them in time. Generally, soft leaves mostly occur on newly planted succulents, though other situations can also cause succulent leaves to turn soft.

When the soil is too hard, succulent leaves may turn wilted, because hard, compacted soil does not let water through; even after watering, moisture cannot penetrate into the soil layer, so most of the roots cannot absorb water and nutrients, and the succulent naturally develops symptoms of water loss in its stem. Therefore, loosening measures should be taken to break up the hard soil. After loosening, you can also add a little gritty soil, which helps the soil become loose, breathable and free-draining, and supports the natural growth of the roots.

There is another phenomenon: newly potted succulents' leaves turning wilted. This is nothing to worry about at all. When people arrive in a new place, they still go through an adaptation process, let alone succulents. This is because the roots of a just-potted succulent are weak and cannot normally absorb nutrients and water, but the succulent itself must still ensure a normal nutrient supply, so it sends nutrients to the leaves in the center, and the old leaves naturally turn wilted. Although this is a normal situation, if it stays in this state for a long time, you should pay attention; it is best to check the succulent's roots, as there is a very good chance something is wrong.

When a succulent is in the seedling-recovery period, soft leaves are normal, because the water absorbed by the roots still cannot keep up with the water consumed by the plant, so softening is inevitable. Moreover, leaves turning soft (losing a bit of water) actually increases the concentration of plant growth hormones, which helps the plant grow roots, so soft leaves are not scary. What is scary is that during the seedling-recovery period, in summer, you dare to give it half-day sunlight or more. In summer, the seedling-recovery process of succulents is long; half a month or a month may not be enough to recover. If the plant is still in the seedling-recovery stage, that is, the plant is listless and shows no signs of growth, then unless it is one of those varieties with excessively tenacious vitality that especially loves to grow leggy, bright, ventilated conditions without direct light are a very good choice.

With some succulents, such as Graptopetalum paraguayense and 'First Love' (Echeveria 'First Love'), during the growing season the lower old leaves will slowly age, so soft, dried-up bottom leaves are normal and need not be worried about too much. But some succulents that originally grew in a high-humidity, low-light environment suddenly get more light and less water, such as succulents just bought from a greenhouse or flower market. Because their original growing environment had plenty of water, they do not yet know how to conserve water; perhaps after just a few days of less watering and a bit more sun, they will soften badly.

The dormant period causes leaves to wrap, soften and dry up. When succulents are in the dormant period, leaves turning soft, drying up, and dropping leaves are also normal phenomena. At this time, watering should be reduced or stopped; in summer, pay attention to ventilation, and in winter, maintain a certain temperature. Lack of water causes succulent leaves to turn soft and wrinkled. Not watering for a long time can also cause succulent leaves to turn soft and wrinkled. In this case, the succulent needs timely water replenishment; excessively dry soil may damage the succulent's roots. Once a succulent enters the dormant period, leaves turning wilted, drying up, dropping leaves, and so on are all normal phenomena. At this time, reducing watering or simply stopping watering is fine, but you must pay attention to ventilation.

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