The leaves of a rotting succulent will be dark from the bottom up. The stems would seem mushy and possibly black or brown. These are indications that overwatering has caused the plant to rot from the roots up. If the plant is left to rot on its own, it will eventually dissolve and turn into a mushy mess, leaving you with nothing but a rotting mess.
Overwatered Sedum burrito (burro’s tail or donkey’s tail) plant with rotting leaves
This succulent planter can’t be rescued, regrettably. Overwatering caused it to decay and turn to mush. (My mum absolutely adored this Mother’s Day gift that I gave her.)
Why are my succulent’s stems brown?
Your plant has acquired infected roots if you unpot your succulents and see that the roots are dark brown or black. As a result, you must take action right away to address it or your plant may perish.
The stems and leaves will get paler and yellow if the rot gets to them. Your succulents’ leaves will deteriorate into mush over time. Overwatering is likely to be the cause of lower leaves turning pale. But if the upper leaves start to yellow, there may not be enough nutrients in the soil.
How is succulent stem rot treated?
After that, clean the container and fill it with new dirt. A drop of antibacterial dish soap should be added to a bowl of water. Carefully clean the succulent’s roots with brand-new cotton swabs. The roots could also be submerged in a weak anti-fungal solution. Before repotting, allow the roots to totally dry out. For two weeks, let the plant remain dry, and keep a constant eye on it.
Why is my succulent’s stem dying?
Overwatering and poorly draining soils are the main causes of succulent deaths. Succulents need the soil to dry out between waterings because they are drought-tolerant plants. Succulents get root rot in wet soil, which turns their leaves brown, black, or yellow and gives them a withering appearance.
While overwatering is the most frequent cause of dying succulents, there are several other potential causes as well:
Succulent plants typically die back when they are kept in environments that are drastically different from their native habitat.
Replicating some of the minimal rainfall, full or partial sun exposure, and stony, well-draining soil conditions will help revive dying succulents.
How can a succulent’s dying stem be preserved?
Making sure your soil is entirely dry before rewatering is the greatest approach to prevent overwatering. As I’ve mentioned in several of my prior posts, most succulents can survive three days—and perhaps even a week—without water, so if in doubt, wait.
Start by reducing your watering schedule as soon as you see signs of overwatering on one of your plants. Additionally, you might want to use a pot with a drainage hole and convert to a better soil mix.
You’ll need to perform some minor surgery on your succulent if it has a black stem or patches. It’s lot simpler than it seems to do this! Simply remove the top of the plant, remove any dark spots, and then propagate it in fresh soil after giving the cutting three to five days to dry out.
You can see how I removed every portion of the stem that was moist or discolored on the cuts below.
It’s worth waiting to see even though it’s unlikely that the original plant will survive! Leave the bottom area alone and wait till the soil is completely dry before watering it (all the way to the bottom of the pot). If you’re lucky, the plant may recover from the excessive watering after a few days of drying out and may even start to delay new growth.
You don’t want to risk harming the other succulents if the decaying succulent was part of a succulent arrangement. I advise pulling the rotting succulent out of the ground in this situation.
Can you prevent stem rot on a succulent?
You tend to your succulent plants. You try your best to take excellent care of them and carefully water them. However, you currently have a plant whose succulent leaves are falling off. The leaves have a somewhat translucent appearance and a soft texture. These are indications of succulents that have been overwatered, according to your research. You come to the conclusion after more research that some succulent rot was caused by overwatering. Don’t be upset; things happen. While it’s important to understand the issue, you also need to know what to do next. Learn how to rescue your overwatered succulents by reading on.
Checking Succulent Roots
Your succulent received too much water. It occurs. Perhaps it was exposed to the rain. Sometimes compacted roots obstruct the drainage hole. Now we have to fix it.
Never hesitate to remove your succulent from the ground so you may examine it more closely. Any plant’s roots are crucial to its survival, but succulents can withstand being dug up much better than most other plants. Simply removing the succulent from its container may cure the problem if you overwatered it but there are no signs of succulent rot or leaves breaking off. Squeeze out extra water while keeping the soil and root ball in tact. The plant and root ball can then be placed next to the container and left there for a day or two, allowing the dirt to quickly dry out. To stop any rot from growing, do this.
Signs of Overwatered Succulents
The first indication of overwatered succulents is probably when the leaves start to change color and look a little translucent. The water-storage cells’ walls were ruptured as a result of the extra water. The water rushes through the leaf instead of being neatly contained within specialized cells, causing color dilution and making the leaf feel squishy as it starts to decompose. These succulent leaves will soon start to fall off the plant.
The simplest way to kill succulent plants is to overwater them, which causes succulent rot. The sooner you spot a succulent that is overwatered, the sooner you can intervene to save it.
Treating Overwatered Succulents
A few wilted leaves were the first indication that Terran’s echeveria was in peril. The smallest touch caused them to fall off. When she pulled up her plant, she discovered that the stem had a brown tint and that the succulent leaves had fallen off. It resembles a fruit bruise in appearance. She was aware of her succulent stem rot.
A problem is evident from the tiny amount of root structure in comparison to the size of the top growth. Either this was a freshly rooted cutting of a succulent, or the roots had mostly withered away. Dig up your succulent if you want a better look at the root system. Compared to other plants, succulents are much more tolerant of this, and it’s an excellent method to know for sure what’s going on. Remove any extra soil and, if the soil is muddy, rinse the roots if you’ve found or suspect root rot. If you find rot, throw away the used soil and give the container a good cleaning.
Dealing with Succulent Stem Rot
Terran discovered succulent stem decay. Her succulent was rotting at the soil line from overwatering. See how the leaf bases on the left are discolored? They exhibit rotting symptoms just like the stem. The leaves on the succulents started to fall off because of this. because they withered where the meristem was Plants’ meristem tissue, pronounced mehr-i-stem, comprises uniform tissue that cannot be propagated. The portion of a leaf that can produce new roots and leaves is called the meristem tissue. There can be no more growth or development once this has withered.
Close examination reveals that the remaining leaves above the succulent stem rot still seem healthy.
Saving a Plant with Succulent Stem Rot
It’s crucial to distinguish the rotting tissue from the healthy plant when dealing with a succulent that has succumbed to overwatering and developed succulent rot, whether on the leaves, stem, or roots. Throw away used soil and any damaged plant pieces. Only the top of the plant was healthy in this instance due to the plant’s weak root system, rotting lower leaves, and lack of root structure.
First, get rid of all rot indicators. Cut off the stem with any rot and remove the leaves. Then, examine the stem’s interior to see if the stem’s core exhibits any indications of rot. Trim it back until there are no longer any rot indications. Terran did this, stripped the stem of its nutritious leaves. These wholesome leaves could be multiplied from their meristem tissue. After removing all evidence of succulent rot, she still had a rice rosette growing from the very top of her echeveria with a stem that was about 1/2 inch long. She successfully propagated the remaining rosette by using it as a succulent stem cutting.
Terran was able to salvage her overwatered succulent since the top of the rosette rooted well in new soil and had several leaves forming baby plants.
Succulent Rot in Black Echeveria
Black echeveria, such this Black Prince, are peculiarly susceptible to rot. You’ll inevitably see a plant with all of its succulent leaves dropping off at some point if you adore growing these types as much as I do. When overwatered, these plants immediately respond by abruptly losing all of their leaves. Even while their sensitivity is annoying, it usually implies that the majority of the leaves will be in good enough shape to root and grow into plants on their own. This is a survival strategy that allows the plant to multiply even when the parent plant is more prone to demise.
Steps to Saving Overwatered Succulents
Despite our best efforts, overwatering succulent plants still occurs. To prevent further harm and prevent succulent rot on your plants, take the following actions:
What does a succulent look like when it is overwatered?
The appearance of the leaves is the best indicator of whether your succulent is being overwatered or overwatered. While an overwatered plant will have mushy, nearly translucent leaves, an underwatered plant will have wrinkly, shriveled up foliage.
These are the plainly visible warning signals that your succulent is being overwatered or underwatered. However, the signs are frequently difficult to read. A succulent that has been submerged in water may act similarly to a plant that has been overwatered.
And here is the part where most folks are perplexed. Other indicators can help you determine whether you are indeed overwatering or underwatering your plants.
How can overwatered succulents be fixed?
Yes, I am aware that it seems illogical to remove extra water from the soil, but bear with me. This is the justification. Too much water has already put the succulent under stress, and exposure to sunlight makes matters worse. Direct sunlight is a big no because most succulents require brilliant indirect light.
Place the succulent that has been overwatered somewhere dry and bright, but out of direct sunshine.
2. Permit the roots to breathe.
Cut off any brown or black roots as they are already rotting. Dig the succulent out of the ground and remove any excess soil that has become stuck to the roots. Place the plant on a mesh or other strainer until the roots have had two to three days to air dry. Replant the roots in the pot once they have dried completely.
Remove the entire root system and any puckered, spotty, black, or brown stems if the roots are entirely rotted. The succulent stem can be buried in the ground for propagation.
Keep the overwatered succulent on a mesh screen or other strainer until the roots have had two to three days to air dry.
3. Modify the ground
You might not need to entirely alter your succulent if it is already rooted in homemade or commercial succulent soil. Algae (green living matter) typically grows on soil that is too wet. If so, it is your responsibility to remove all of the top soil from the area around your plants and replace it with new succulent soil.
How does a succulent look as it ages?
The leaves on your succulent may appear yellow, translucent, or wet. Your succulent is starting to die as a result of overwatering. A more serious condition is indicated by leaves that are brown or black and appear to be rotting. Therefore, you must begin saving your withering succulents!
Can you replace a succulent after cutting the stem?
I make a lot of movies and posts about succulents because I have a lot of them in my yard. They are perennial gifts, so to speak. You can simply cut them to acquire more.
Because the vast majority of succulents spread in the same manner, I wanted to write one post that you could refer to whenever I write about a particular succulent. These are the two incredibly simple methods.
Let me demonstrate how to grow succulents:
I usually divide succulents using stem cuttings. Ensure the sharpness and cleanliness of your pruners. Simply trim the stems to the desired length, remove the bottom third of the leaves, and then wait 2 weeks to 4 months before planting them to heal off (the cut end of the stem will callus over).
I either plant them straight in the ground or in a pot with planting mix for succulents and cacti. I use one that is made nearby; it’s also good. Succulents require a loose mixture so that the water can drain completely and prevent rot.
I rarely use individual leaf cuttings to propagate succulents, but it’s still simple. Lay the leaf on top of the mixture after removing it from the stem, making sure to remove the entire leaf all the way to the stem. Off the cut end, there will be a new plantlet.
I suppose I could propagate succulents in my sleep because I do it so frequently! Although many succulents make excellent houseplants, mine all grow outside. If you have just one or two of these bizarre plants, you can easily grow more using these simple methods.
Aloe Vera must be multiplied by division, which involves removing the pups from the mother plant.