Some succulents may undergo changes or lose the vivid hues they had when they were first purchased. Some plants may gradually turn green in a few months, especially if they are planted in the shade or in locations with poor natural lighting. For succulents to “stress” and show off their vibrant hues, they require intense sunlight all day long or at least six hours every day. To ensure that your succulent plants receive adequate sunlight, thrive indoors, and keep their brilliant red/pink hue, you must have windows that face south. Make sure there are no obstructions to natural sunlight for your succulents, such as trees or structures.  
How can I make my succulents more colorful?
Succulents have attracted a lot of attention recently due to their resilience, seeming immortality, and ability to make almost any garden look more attractive. However, there is a way to vary the color of your succulents, so why limit yourself to having only green ones?
You must alter the environment that succulents are growing in and “stress” them in order to color them. They can alter their color in response to factors including fewer or more water, less or more sunlight, and hotter or colder temperatures. But you may also use food coloring if you want to create some wilder hues.
What’s causing my succulents to lose color?
Succulents that receive the ideal amount of water will nearly always lose their color and turn a dull green. Consider reducing the frequency of watering if you want more color. Try watering it every two weeks if you water once a week and the leaves and foliage are green. A succulent that you know has the potential to be colorful will typically develop a brilliant margin, tip, or foliage if you don’t water it.
How can I maintain the color of my succulent?
Succulents are typically green, but as they mature, they may also show shades of purple, crimson, or even blue. The entire leaf may turn purple or scarlet in some succulent species, but only the tips or inner corners in others.
For instance, it happens frequently to Sedum, Crassula, some Kalanchoe species, and other succulents for them to turn purple or scarlet. Be sure to seek for images of your particular species of succulent to determine whether it is normal.
Reason 2: Too much heat or light
Succulents enjoy direct sunlight, yet they are susceptible to sunburn just like any other plant. Discoloration, bleaching, or yellowing, as well as corking, are some of the primary symptoms of scorching in succulents.
If your succulent is placed in an area that receives excessive direct light, the plant’s cells will be harmed and it will no longer be able to grow. If your succulent is showing signs of discoloration on its sun-facing side, it has most likely been scorched.
However, a succulent that changes color may be a warning of too much light. It may begin to take on a purple, crimson, or bluish hue. Be cautious while placing plants because heat and light stress can be fatal to a plant.
Although different succulent species have different lighting needs, most of them favor a lot of bright indirect light. Some will require placing of partial shade.
During the growing season, a general requirement is 6 hours of light every day. You can utilize LED or fluorescent illumination (60 watts, for 10–14 hours a day) like this if you don’t get a lot of light, especially if you’re growing succulents indoors.
Reason 3: Sudden changes in temperature or lighting
Never make an abrupt alteration to the surroundings of your succulents because doing so could harm or even kill them. Sudden variations in temperature or light stress succulents.
Your succulents may begin to change color if there are abrupt changes in temperature or illumination. Because they are not acclimated to the new conditions, succulents might become suddenly red, purple, or bluish.
Always remember to gradually acclimate your succulents to more sunshine exposure following the winter. Right after winter, you should try to cover your succulents, including cacti, with a shade cloth like this. Once your succulents are accustomed to the light once more, gradually begin taking the shade away over the course of a few weeks.
But it can also occur in the winter. The majority of succulents cannot survive temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 Celsius). Keep your succulents indoors in a cool location if the temperature falls below those levels where you live. A succulent with discolored rings has suffered cold damage.
In the winter, keep them away from radiators, and water them less. Avoid planting succulents close to powerful air conditioners throughout the summer. Any abrupt change is undesirable.
Increase watering gradually as we emerge from winter. Similarly, when winter is on the horizon, gradually cut back on watering.
Succulents may, however, naturally change color and turn purple as the seasons change. After the winter, you should be cautious when exposing your succulents to more sunshine.
Reason 4: Underwatering
When succulents are submerged in water, they might turn red or purple. Your succulent may begin to slightly change color as a result of lack of water. You might start to detect the emergence of a purple, red, or even bluish coloring.
Curling leaves and dry, shriveled soil are some further signs that a succulent is underwater. The leaves will begin to lose their heft.
Even though you should let your plants go dormant in the winter and avoid giving them regular watering, some water is still necessary. Succulents are typically kept indoors, where it is warm, during the winter.
This implies that if kept indoors throughout the winter, you must water your succulents at least once a month. Otherwise, the soil in your succulent plants may dry out, harming the roots and the entire plant.
You should give your succulent plants regular watering from early spring to late October. Several variables, including the pots the plants are in, the temperature, the sunlight, and more, will affect how frequently to water. Make sure to wait a while before watering the soil.
Reason 5: Poor soil
It’s crucial to repot your succulents because the soil they are now growing in will soon become depleted of nutrients. Additionally, your plants will develop and may outgrow their existing containers. It’s time to repot your succulent if you see circular and tightly packed roots.
Your succulents won’t be content and live very long in bad soil. And that is despite fertilizing the soil during the growing season. Your succulents may begin to change color and possibly become purple or red due to bad soil.
Every year or so, give your budding succulents a new pot and larger pot. You can repot succulents that are more established and mature every 3 to 4 years on average.
Reason 6: Lack of nutrition
Even though they are more resilient to adverse environments than other plants, succulents still require nutrients. Your succulents may start changing color and turning purple if the soil lacks nutrients. Succulents that are severely malnourished can also become yellow.
Use this or a comparable succulent fertilizer to feed your succulents solely during the growing season (often mid March-mid October). When succulents remain dormant in the winter, never fertilize them. The ideal feed contains less nitrogen and has balanced potassium and phosphorus ratios (such as 2-8-8).
Reason 7: Protection
Strong sunshine can cause cacti and succulents to turn purple. This further shields them from damaging UV radiation exposure, which in extreme circumstances can kill the plant.
However, it could also indicate that your succulent is stressed or unaccustomed to the current environment. Most succulents lose their purple color when sunlight is restricted or naturally diminishes (seasons).
Reason 8: Issues with the root system and root rot
Your succulents may become purple if there are problems with their root systems. As a succulent keeper, you should get in the habit of removing your plants from their pots every few weeks or so to check on their roots.
You need to take care of your succulent’s root system if you find any white clumps (root mealybugs), little flies (fungus gnats), or generally black roots when inspecting the roots.
Additionally, avoid repotting or moving your succulents around too frequently. Stress can result from repotting succulents too frequently, especially mature ones. Make sure your succulents are firmly rooted in the ground; otherwise, they won’t be able to absorb the soil’s nutrients and water.
Reason 9: Rot rot
Your succulent is experiencing root rot if it is turning dark purple or even black. You must immediately trim any soft black leaves and black roots using sanitized shears or scissors. After pruning, repotted your plant into a clean pot with new soil.
Overwatering and prolonged exposure of roots to standing water are common causes of root rot. Ensure that the pots you use for succulents have drainage holes, and always discard any water that accumulates in a saucer.
Any leaves that are still green can be removed if your plant as a whole has been harmed. Once you notice roots, you can then keep them apart and grow them. By using leaf cuttings, you can develop new succulent plants.
Sun stressing succulents?
Some succulent growers think that subjecting succulents to solar stress is a good way to help them “realize their full potential.” Succulents’ attractive coloring can be stimulated by positive sun stress.
Succulents will turn red, purple, or even yellow under any type of stress, not just sun stress. Underwatering or subjecting succulents to excessive cold or heat are two more types of stress that can cause succulents to become purple.
For novices, it’s not a good idea to overstress succulents because you risk killing the plant. Succulents, however, are accustomed to severe settings and can be saved if you spot symptoms of suffering at an early stage.
Succulents experience both positive and bad stress, therefore you should take care not to add to the harmful stress. You can determine whether stress is positive (or neutral) or negative by studying your succulents and searching for cues.
Your sun-damaged succulent is probably not in pain if it has maintained its original shape but changed colors. However, if you notice any bugs or reddish scarring, your plant may have pests.
Additionally, if your plant’s leaves become floppy, crispy, or brown, something is wrong. The presence of any white patches, raised lumps, or corking indicates excessive light.
Succulent turning purple and falling off
Your succulent is under extreme stress if its leaves are turning purple and dropping off. Stress of any kind, such as intense heat, light, cold, or a lack of water, can cause succulents to become purple.
Your succulents may start falling off the main plant and die if you keep them in very harsh circumstances, especially if changes are quick.
Conclusionsucculents turning purple
In conclusion, when a succulent is stressed, it may start to become purple. Succulent stress isn’t always negative, as more light exposure may cause purple and red colors. Low temperatures and inadequate hydration are two additional sources of stress.
If your cactus is becoming purple, it either receives excessive sunlight or is under stress from poor soil, flow temperatures, a lack of water, or both. Green coloring will return once conditions are normal.
Your plant should be alright until it starts to get mushy and squishy (possible rot), dry and crispy (underwatering), white, or yellow (scorching). Most succulents regain their green color after stressors are removed.
Succulents can tolerate extreme conditions, but you should constantly adjust the environment gradually to prevent your plants from dying.
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How do you make succulents variegate?
Any plant, including a succulent, may become entirely green for a variety of causes, including excessively high or low light, insufficient water, or extremely high or low temperatures. Therefore, remove any of your plant’s solid green growth in order to maintain the variegation of your plant. This is because if one branch or offset changes back to green, it will outperform the other leaves that are missing in pigment, causing the entire plant to finally turn a simple green tint.
Additionally, you should pay closer attention to how much light your plant receives each day, maintain the proper temperature, and manage your watering schedule.
How come my succulents are so drab?
If the leaves on your succulent plant appear pale and washed out, your plant isn’t getting enough sunshine. Lack of light can also cause succulents to start growing abnormally tall and leggy or sideways in the direction of the closest light source.
Why is the green in my succulent light?
Too much sunlight has a bleaching effect on succulents, which frequently results in a loss of color. If a succulent was once brilliant pink, purple, or yellow, it can change to a lighter shade of green, or it might become white or pale green.
Fast Fix If your plant was in the afternoon sun, move it to a location that receives more reflected light or less direct morning sun. Also, if it was in a sunny corner, move it there.
How come my succulent is becoming white?
Throughout the summer, generous watering of succulents is advised. Between waterings, their potting mix should be let to dry out; do not submerge. Reduce watering to once every two months in the winter, when plants go dormant.
The most frequent reason why succulents fail is overwatering (and the potential plant rot it can bring about). An overwatered succulent may initially swell up and appear to be in excellent health, but the cause of death may already have begun to take hold underground, with rot rising from the plant’s root system.
Succulents that have received excessive water have softer, discolored leaves that may turn yellow or white and lose their color. Even though a plant in this state may be beyond saving, you can still take it out of its pot to look at the roots. Cut out the dead roots and repot the plant in drier potting soil if the roots are brown and rotting. Alternatively, you can take a healthy cutting and propagate the parent plant.
Similar to how a plant that isn’t getting enough water will first cease growing before losing leaves. On the other hand, the plant could get brown blotches on its leaves.
Succulents change color with time; how long does that take?
Color can be influenced by temperature, water, and other elements, but sunlight exposure is one of the most important ones. A succulent grown outside of its preferred light conditions for an extended length of time can appear sickly and finally die, yet moderate light stress can bring out lovely hues in plants. Early detection is key to resolving most light issues, yet early indications of both too much and too little light can be difficult to spot.
We conducted an experiment and placed a variety of succulents in two extreme light conditions: full daylight and complete darkness, to help you identify them. We do
Trying this with your own succulents is not advised. The findings reveal some plants that have been gravely mistreated, but they can also show you which succulents are in the wrong lighting conditions.
What does light stress look like?
In order to replicate shipment in a dark box, we initially placed two sets of various succulents under a dark cover for four days. One pair was still under the cover with water and ventilation but no light after four days of darkness. The other set was relocated to a spot with all-day sun after being taken out of its package. Although light conditions were more akin to 70 percent sun than genuine “full sun” due to the dense smoke from California’s major wildfires, you can still see dramatic reactions in the spectrum of results below.
You can see how drastically the plants kept in the dark altered over the course of two weeks on the left side of the diagram. Each plant’s core began to fade and turn green, and the leaves on each plant’s rosettes expanded wide and flat in search of sunshine.
The plants that were moved from a dark box into direct sunlight are seen to the right. The hues became more vibrant and changed from green to crimson tones. Rosettes that had before opened widely started to constrict once more to defend themselves. As time passed, some areas displayed the usual scaly, crispy sunburns of
Even if some of these succulents appear to be injured, everything is not lost! Moving your succulents can solve light-related issues quickly.
How can I make my succulents more colorful?
Time is the secret to a good adjustment in lighting conditions. The succulents in the experiment above were severely harmed by switching abruptly between two extremes of light. Regardless of whether they exhibit indicators of insufficient or excessive light,
Give succulents 1-2 weeks to gradually adjust to the correct quantity of light, and they can restore their vibrant hues. A succulent needs more time to convert the more abrupt the change in light levels is. Check out how we revivified some drab succulents.
The aforementioned illustration displays the whole color transition for two types that underwent the four-day shipping experiment. It’s also an excellent example of how to take care of newly delivered succulents that you own. The plants in our experiment recovered in a total of eight days, but recovery times will vary by region and season. It will be simple to adjust as necessary as long as you’re making small changes and keeping an eye out for indicators of both too much and too little light. The general steps are as follows:
- Plants should be started outside where they will have bright shade all day for 4–7 days.
- Adaptation should take an extra 4–7 days after moving to a region with partial sun (approximately 4 hours of sun in the morning and bright shadow the rest of the day).
- Examine the change in color and gradually move the plants to a spot that receives more or less sun as necessary.
Bonus advice: Are you not seeing as much color in your succulent as you anticipated from additional sunlight? Try using less water or placing the plant outside during the winter (keep soft succulents above freezing). Water and temperature stress can also cause a flush of pigments, just like light stress. Always keep an eye on your succulent to ensure that a prolonged period of drought or being below its minimum cold hardiness doesn’t push it to the point of death due to stress.
How much light do succulents need?
Despite the fact that our tests in complete darkness and full daylight were fairly harsh, the results do indicate that some kinds can withstand low light or bright sun remarkably well. For more than 650 varieties of succulents, there are detailed recommended lighting requirements specified at
Full-Sun Succulents
The succulents that tolerate full light the best are sedum. Sun-loving succulents typically have pink, crimson, or purple coloring, and as can be seen in the variety shown below, their pigments get more vivid when they are exposed to more sunlight.