a small green snails on the soils of echeveria (small as the rice grain)

by Samuel Joseph B. Patalinghug
(Philippines)

i have repotted my echeveria today and was shocked that the soil on t he root of this beautiful rosette succulents have snails maybe a number of 10 or more with a slimy green on inside and as small as rice grain. i dont know if this is causing harm or good to my echeveria since my plants also have some mealy bugs thats causing its wilting. i just want to know what are this green snails and are these bad to my plant or they do good! thank you!


Drought Smart Plants reply:
Hi Samuel, did you notice by any chance a white moldy looking substance on and around the roots?

If so, then what your plant most likely has is root mealy bugs - they appear as small (grain of rice sized) and pale yellow to green - they don't look at all like the other kind of mealy bug that infests the top growth.

I would take all the soil off your plant completely, and even rinse the soil away with warm water. Don't re-pot the plant. It will be so stressed by now with both the mealy bugs and the root mealy bugs that this might just be the end of it.

This is what you have to do to try and save it:

Leave the plant to dry out, stand it up in a paper cup, or a clean terracotta pot (discard the soil, and wash the pot thoroughly if you want to re-use it).

Wait until you see some fresh pink hair like roots emerging, and then pot it up into fresh soil. This could take two weeks, sometimes longer.

As the plant already has mealy bugs, take a couple of leaves to propagate - wash these also, in warm running water.

Leave them to dry on the surface of some clean potting soil, and they too will form roots.

They probably will start to make a small baby plant (or clump) along with the roots.

It takes a while for the tiny plant to grow into a good size, but eventually you can get rid of the infested plant, with your new plants to take over.

The root mealy bug are extremely hard to control, so whenever you see a plant that is struggling, lift it out of the pot to check, and this is many times what the problem is.

Behead the plant, and re-root it, or take cuttings, and discard the infested one.

Best of luck,
Jacki


See also these pages for more:

How to Grow Echeveria

Succulent Care

Succulent Plant Propagation

Plant Pests E-Book