by Charlotte
(Dallas, NC, USA)
Plant2
I purchased these at a local walmart on the clearance. I thought I could give it some love and bring back to life.
When I purchased these the tag did not identify them but supplied care instructions. These said it could be grown outside during the summer.
I thought they may like some good ole sun.
Well, after a day of full sun, I become very worried for my babies.
I hope that if I can get a full identification of my succulents that I may be able to help them. I purchased three/container and purchased two containers. One of the six appears to be gone although I am holding on to it hoping to save it.
I think it may have root rot from too much water (black mush at roots) I cut the leaves and put back in soil (I will update if I get these to live). The others have good roots but the leaves are dry, the soil was very moist.
I have repotted and washed the roots and put in dry soil. Hoping this will help. I hope this doesn’t harm them more.
When I put them in the sun it was like they burnt the leave and/or they dried out. Not sure if this is normal but they didn’t look good. Wish I had picks of before and after sun but only have pics after sun.
Any help is greatly appreciated. I have become a succulent fanatic! One of the plants has two spikes of flowers growing from them.
Drought Smart Plants reply:
Hi Charlotte, your plants illustrate perfectly why you should never buy plants that are on clearance, especially from large box stores. The staff are helpful, but generally, they know nothing about plants or how to take care of them, and treat them all the same – ie: too much water, and not enough light.
Unfortunately, it will be an uphill battle trying to retrieve these from the grave. I’ve done this myself, with the best of intentions, but sometimes you just have to use it as a learning experience, toss the dead/dying ones in the garbage, and start fresh with good healthy, named varieties from a reputable grower.
Having said that, you did exactly the right thing by repotting into DRY soil. Don’t water them until you see new growth starting, as the roots will be struggling to overcome root rot, and so the plant won’t be able to take up any water anyway, and further damage will occur.
Putting plants straight from even a greenhouse situation right into full sun, well, what can I say? That was a mistake. Not the end of the world as if the roots are okay, new growth will emerge and the plant will be fine. In normal conditions these plants thrive in full sun, but they need to adapt to it gradually.
Flower spikes indicate extreme stress, so I would go ahead and prune them off to help the plant recover.
As to identification, these look like some type of either Echeveria, or Graptoveria, which is a generic hybrid of Echeveria and Graptopetalum, and require the same care. See the pages on how to grow Echeveria and succulent care for more information.
Good luck resuscitating your plants!
Jacki
Comments for My baby needs HELP!
| Jul 24, 2011 |
Thank you by: Charlotte Wow! That was a quick response. Thank you Jacki, I will keep you posted on what happens with the plants. I will wait and see if I see any improvements. I do know that I should buy from nursery but I just could not resist as these 6 plants were only $4. I was willing to give them a try. I know that one of the plants in the purchase is the crassula falcata ? propeller plant (not pictured) will survive. Little harm was done to it. The 1st picture posted is shown with most of the leaves gone and doesn’t portray the actual shape of plant. I think three of them are Echeveria (pictures 2 & 3..maybe Echeveria difractens, picture 4 I am still searching.) Then the sixth plant I don’t think will make it at all. This is the one that had very bad root rot. I did cut the leaves and lay in the pot as the leaves looked good and were plump. I hope something comes from them. Thanks for your help! |
