baby toe succulents; matter of life or death

by Meredith C
(Virginia beach, Va)

Hello, I bought baby toes for my succulent window box about a month ago and they died after about a week. I adored them so I promptly went and bought a new plant being sure to transplant it properly and take care of it. It has been doing great but two days ago the toes started dying off one by one and I only have three toes left. They get average direct sunlight and I water the box about once every two weeks. The soil I am using is a moisture control mix from miracle grow. Please help my babies !

Drought Smart Plants reply: So, when you’re repotting them, how much room do they have??

I’ve noticed that a lot of the time, succulents get way over potted, when they actually prefer being a bit cramped and root bound.

I use terracotta clay pots, because they’re heavy enough to stay upright even when the soil is quite dry, so this might be something to try. What I do sometimes if I’m displaying them in a larger container, like a window box for instance, I leave them in the terracotta pot, and sink it right into the window box. It’s best if you use just some kind of pebbles instead of soil around the pot, so no moisture will soak into it.

I’m not familiar with the soil mix you’re using, but if it’s meant for regular house plants, this could be the issue.

What does moisture control mean? Does it have some type of water holding polymer in it so it’s easy to re-wet? Sometimes they hold too much moisture, so even when you think the soil is quite dry, there is still lots in it.

Succulents don’t like wet soil.

So, here’s what I suggest; hold off on watering for a bit, like, completely. Give it a couple of weeks, and see what happens.

In most cases, these plants really do not like being fussed over. They thrive on neglect, so if you’re one of those types of gardeners that have to fiddle with their plants, maybe succulents aren’t your gig.

They have a ‘bloom’ or waxy coating on them, and if this is disturbed too much, they can end up getting damaged, which, in addition, if you live in an area that is humid at all, this can cause rot to set in.

Hope this helps revive your ‘baby toes’!

Jacki

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