Can a succulent that has lost its looks still regain its beauty?

Text

Text and images: Curator

When your succulents become dry and shriveled, rot, or get sunburned or grow leggy, do you notice it in time and take steps to fix it?

Generally, the ailments of succulents show up through their leaves and are very easy to spot, which means you need to be a bit more attentive. But if you notice the problem and still ignore it, they will probably die very soon.

If you succulent lovers want to promptly "diagnose and prescribe treatment" for your succulents, you need to have some basic home care knowledge.

Whenever succulents show these unhealthy conditions, how should succulent lovers handle them so the plants can become beautiful again?

Sunburn

Symptoms: A succulent that has been sunburned will not show it on its leaves the same day; various scars may appear over the following week or so. In severe cases, rotting and turning to mush can even occur.

Causes: Because of water evaporation, when moist soil is exposed to strong direct sunlight, the temperature inside the pot rises, water begins to evaporate, and the plant's roots get suffocated.

Solutions:

1. A sunburned succulent needs to be moved to a spot with relatively weaker sunlight and left to recover on its own, but it still needs normal care and ventilation.

2. If you like growing them outdoors, a mildly sunburned plant can also be left where it is; keep the current environment, and the plant will gradually toughen itself up to adapt to the sunlight intensity.

3. Reduce watering, preferably at night or on a cloudy, overcast day. Be sure to avoid watering under a blazing sunny sky, to prevent evaporation from causing rot.

PS: Besides summer, outdoor succulents are also easily scorched during the spring-autumn transition. When spring arrives, never move indoor succulents straight outdoors into direct sunlight.

Rot

Symptoms: Stems and leaves become soft, mushy, or black.

Causes: In most cases it is a fungal infection caused by overwatering or an environment that is too humid; but some insects, such as mealybugs, can also cause rot, because the wounds these pests create while sucking plant sap invite fungal infection. (PS: Rot has many forms, and by the time you notice it, it is often already too late. Always stay alert for discolored areas on the plant, as well as soft, mushy stems and leaves.)

Solutions:

1. Once a plant has discolored, soft, mushy parts, it has rotted and must be cut off promptly. Sterilize the knife and your hands before and after to avoid infecting other plants. For fungal infections, spray the plant with a fungicide.

2. After cutting the roots, be sure to let them dry for 3-7 days, and only replant once the wounds have healed. Do not water during the first week after planting.

3. Between two waterings, let the soil dry out completely first. You can use a drainage medium to ensure that when you do water, it soaks through completely.

Dead leaves, transparent mush

Symptoms: The lowest leaves often become dry and fall off, or turn transparent and mushy.

Causes: Dead leaves are normal metabolism; transparent mush is mostly because the succulent has just been brought home and is not adapting to a sudden change in growing environment.

Solutions:

1. Once a leaf has completely dried out, remove it and throw it away. Dead leaves that accumulate over time easily invite pests and diseases, so they must be cleaned up.

2. During later growth, transparent leaves will also gradually dry out or turn to mush; simply clean them off, but keep them as a key object of observation, because the stem of the succulent may develop a fungal infection and turn black due to leaves turning to mush.

Leggy growth from lack of light

Symptoms: Stem nodes stretch out, and leaves become thinner, elongated, and larger in surface area.

Causes: Unsuitable light intensity and light duration, sometimes combined with overwatering.

Solutions: When a succulent has already grown leggy, consider appropriately reducing water and returning it to a suitable care environment (increased light). The parts that have already grown leggy cannot be changed, but the new leaves growing from the top growing point can still return to being compact and plump. At this point, you can consider continuing to grow it; as time passes, it will develop its own distinctive shape, its own beauty. Under weak light with long light duration, plant stem nodes are the longest; under weak light with short light duration, plant leaves are the thinnest with the largest surface area; under strong light with long light duration, plant leaves are the thickest; under strong light with short light duration, plants are the shortest. You can adjust according to this principle combined with your own plant's condition.

Wrinkling from lack of water

Symptoms: Leaves lose their luster, wrinkle, and become soft.

Causes: Watering is not timely or does not soak through, so the roots cannot get water; second, the roots were already unhealthy, so watering does no good.

Solutions:

1. You can pinch two opposite leaves with your thumb and index or middle finger to check their firmness and tightness. Pinch when the leaves are normal, before watering, and when water is lacking, to feel the leaves in different states. After trying a few times, you will be able to tell from leaf tightness when it is time to water.

2. Generally, they will recover 1-2 days after watering, at most 3 days. If they still have not recovered 3 days after watering, you need to consider whether the root system has a problem. Generally, if the roots are good, the soil dries out relatively quickly after a thorough watering.

Mold

Symptoms: Mostly occurs at the roots of succulents.

Causes: First, after planting the succulent, no layer of gravel was spread on the surface; second, overwatering, temperatures that are too low, and poor ventilation mean water cannot evaporate in time, making mold extremely likely in both winter and summer.

Solutions: First, change the soil. If the roots have moldy spots, cut away the affected parts and replant in sandy soil, which helps with drainage and moisture permeability. Second, pull off diseased leaves to block the spread of mold. If there are too many diseased leaves, pick off the good leaves and stick them in soil to replant. Third, use medication to sterilize.

Fellow succulent lovers, as long as everyone persists and does not abandon or give up, succulents that have lost their looks will still become beautiful again

. May your succulents stay beautiful forever!

This article was compiled by the Succulent Boutique House. Copyright belongs to the original author. For some articles the source cannot be identified and they are marked as from the internet. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately and we will handle it promptly.