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Am I Killing my Succulents?!
rosiegailor
Posts: 4
Hi all!
I was recently gifted some succulents (I believe Tiger Aloe and either Grenada/Echeveria) and I noticed this morning that the Aloe's leaves have curled inwards, and the other one is a bit spongey and thin on the leaves. I have tried not to over-water them (which may mean they're super thirsty) and have tried to keep them in sunlight....
Please help!
Rosie
0
Posts
they need watering about once a week in summer and hardy at all in winter, they like being in full sun. they must not sit in water (like a dish or solid pot) otherwise the roots rot
I've been doing that - making sure to water in the evening when it's cool, perhaps they've been in direct sunlight too much? They do live on my windowsill which gets the morning/afternoon sun, so have taken them out of that for today just in case.
Like I say still v. new at this!
Rosie
I'm not sure if you're talking about echeverias or aloes - both rather different from each other.
The aloes have a very fleshy centre which can rot really easily if water sits within the leaves. They need very little water but mine live in partial shade here in the Languedoc - outside from February to November and watered only occasionally and if it is very hot, like now (38 degrees today). The leaves may fold in a bit to preserve moisture in hot weather. They like a very gritty free draining soil and cannot bear to stand in water as mentioned above. Any water should drain through the pot fairly quickly.
The echeverias are true succulents - again very gritty free draining soil and need even less water. I have mine in two balconnieres in full sun and they have not been watered since early April. I took pity on them this week as the temperature soared. They live on a wide wall all summer and will come in for the winter in November. They do not like sitting in water, and again if you allow water to remain within the rosettes they will rot. They are flowering right now.
My grandson grows succulents in England because they can stand a lot of neglect, like cacti!
I've tried to post a picture but the camera icon doesn't seem to do what the old green tree icon used to so I'm afraid that has been a failure. i Can't find a "how to" anywhere.
I took these photos of the two this morning!
Photos may not have worked - link to google drive here!
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0MA9v_Db5LKR3hsMXl2Ui00M00
Cacti are tolerant of neglect ; they don't 'enjoy' it !
like I said, they don't like being in solid pots, you can never tell how much water they've got.
they need to be in full sun and water sparingly, they are a desert plant and you need to treat them as such.
I would repot into a pot with a drain hole and gritty compost, that way you can mange the watering levels correctly.