Giant Lettuce Succulent

by Marie

Mine has many leaves, a shiny surface, and these string-like fibers that connect the leaves' tips together.

A few days ago it started to look a bit dry - I gave it some water since I hadn't done so in a long time.

Turns out, it all just collapsed. I spotted a few leaves that were completely dried out - some had black spots on them. Oh, it stinks too :D In the end, I cut up some stems for propagation and plucked out the dead/dying leaves.

I'd like to know more about this plant, so I can successfully 'revive' it. Thank you~

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Giant Lettuce Succulent

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Mar 13, 2011

Sempervivum
by: Jacki

Hi Marie, it looks to me that your plant is a Sempervivum, so should actually be kept outside all year round, even in cold climates.

I say this based on the 'cobweb', so if you get more than one piece successfully propagated, this might be something to try and might be more successful.

The issue with trying to keep Sempervivum and other hardy succulents indoors as houseplants is that they miss out on the dormancy that they require for good health, so become susceptible to rot, disease, pests and other issues, as you've found.

Luckily, you did the right thing by not watering it much. In time, hopefully you will successfully root some of the pieces - I have heard of these being propagated by a piece of the root system, division and also a single leaf so you may get lucky with it yet.

Don't give up, patience is key when trying to revive a plant that is struggling.

See the page on Sempervivum for more information on how to grow them, and Sempervivum Picture Gallery for images (there are four pages, click on the links at the bottom of the page for the next page).

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