Small heart shaped thick leaves.

by Anne
(Columbus, OH)

Purchased a house plant and seem to be killing it. Looking to identify it so I can take better care of it. Has heart shaped thick leaves on single stems.


Drought Smart Plants reply:

Hi Anne, I'm not 100% sure of the identity of this plant, but it appears to be either an Echeveria or a Crassula. In either case, you probably won't kill it with whatever you're doing, but it won't look very good either. These plants are resilient and can take a lot of abuse, but they can't take too much kindness. They grow best under conditions of benign neglect.

Here's what I recommend: Cut off the tops of the plant that still are green and growing. Put these on the top of some cactus soil, or other well drained pasteurized potting soil mixed half and half with some sort of large sand / small gravel / pumice or other aggregate. Don't water. Believe it or not, in a couple of weeks, thread like pink roots will emerge, and find their way down into the soil. Then, you can water it.

See more about Succulent Care and Succulent Plant Propagation or just buy the Succulent Plant Propagation E-Book. Pay particular attention to the light requirements of these types of plants - it's very important.

Happy Succulent Growing!
Jacki


See these pages too:

Succulent Soil

Grow Lights

Pumice